SMALL GROUP COLLABORATION:

Small Group collaboration, whether occurring as part
of the Libraries' formal committee structure, a formally organized work group or team, or an informal group, is
a vital part of the participative decision-making process in the Libraries. The group or committee's work may result in a recommendation or a final product such as a new policy, guideline, workflow, webpage or statistical analysis.

Testimonial: Together, Sean Purcell, Dave Falke, and Mary
Willoughby created the way in which ALL special collections patrons request material via GIL, GIL-Find, the finding aids for the Russell and Hargrett Libraries, and the Media Archives databases. Without Dave's brilliant use of Java script and willingness to learn about how finding aids are electronically structured, we wouldn't have been able to implement our online request system for archival materials. This would have resulted in a very clunky, unsophisticated method of
users accessing and requesting material. Dave and Mary worked together to facilitate how the request would work within the finding aid and look as well as what information it would send to the patron management and circulation system. Sean created the links within
GIL to request material located in the special collections library and
worked with Dave to add a request button to GIL-Find for the same purpose.

One of the most gratifying things about their work is that it is groundbreaking in terms of how collections are accessed. While the initial goal for the group was to create a similar request mechanism to that which the Ransom Center at the University of Texas uses, their results quickly surpassed that and are now being examined by institutions like Yale and Duke as something to replicate in their special collections departments. Their work on this project is
definitely a major asset to the University of Georgia Libraries.

 

Testimonial: Science Reference continues to exemplify the gold standard in instruction.  The group teaches a wide variety of science labs, creates dynamic content modules, and performs substantial outreach to half of campus.  Each year they increase the Libraries' presence in South Campus, and they are a shining example of the Libraries' mission.

 

Group Name: INFOSouth Redesign Team (Diana Hartle, Jacquie Houston)

Testimonial: The old INFOSouth offices on the 4th Floor of the
Science Library have long been an underutilized space used mainly for storage. These two cantankerous individuals saw this space, full of piles of dusty books and discarded office furniture, and shouted "No! This shall not be! We shall make this place bloom with knowledge and joy once again!" And by that I mean create a quiet study area so
students who need absolute silence to concentrate have a space on South Campus to do so. And so began the epic INFOSouth Redesign Project (or the IRP as I like to call it). Diana (aka Sparks) and Jacquie 'the Brit' Houston did the following over the course of the year:

*Applied for and received a $10,000 Parents and Families
Association Grant.

*Coordinated with John Purcell and Eric Matthews (who were also key players in this, although I can't think of any nicknames for them) to clean the space, installing new carpeting and painting the pale yellow walls to something that reeked less of 'government agency' and more of 'quiet studiousness'--pale blue in case you're wondering what color that is.

*Drew up a floor plan and ordered furniture for the space, and even polled the staff for a kickin name: The Think Tank.

*Contacted the Scientific Illustration Department at the School of Art for paintings to hang on the walls. These range from beautiful creatures of various types (birds, etc.) to gigantic cockroaches whose emotionless, shark-like eyes follow patrons around the room
reminding them of the blank inevitability of the heat death of the Universe.

The upshot is that without any prodding or orders, these two individuals showed enough initiative and gumption to organize, fund, and execute a plan to improve our services to our patrons and they did so with a minimum of fuss. This is the sort of thing we should encourage, in my humble opinion, so I think they deserve this award. Also, they’ll beat me if they don’t get it so my continued survival is in your hands.

 

Testimonial:Tifton had approximately 1500 volumes of print Serials
that needed to be withdrawn from the collection, in part because of shelving issues within Tifton. Jeanette and will retrieved this materials from Tifton; members of DBM (Simon, Warren, Eric, Jasmine) sorted, unloaded and unboxed materials within a few hours of arrival. Members of DBM worked very well as a team with the Gifts staff, not only in unloading, but in organizing and getting these materials on the shelves IN ORDER, thus facilitating the GIL work without complaint, despite the fact that the boxes were heavy. Simon helped keep everything in order and Jasmine helped tremendously with shelving. This project was very manual labor oriented, and demonstrates how well DBM works as a team, especially in a crunch situation. 

 

Testimonial: In 2011, this group saw a need within the department regarding information for helping patrons with legal and legislative questions.  In response this group created a network of online guides with original content to lead students and librarians to the right sources for state and federal level legislative and legal questions.  They also held training sessions for the department, and
incorporated feedback into the subject guides.