SUPERVISOR OF THE YEAR:

This award recognizes a supervisor who exhibits that unique blend of human relations skills, knowledge of the organization and its mission, and skill in training and leading employees.

 

Nominee: Emily Giles

Department: Cataloging

Testimonial: Emily's knowledge of the procedures of the Cataloging Department is considerable. Her willingness to apply this knowledge to help in solving the various problems that Database Maintenance employees run across in our work is outstanding. Throughout the past year, as I have completed my Master's degree in Library and Information Science, Emily has consistently balanced an interest in my academic progress, continued assistance with my liason work and other individual responsibilities, and the many special projects that passed through Database Maintenance. She has helped to instruct
me in procedures of the Database Maintenance Unit, after I worked in the Marking Unit for six years and lost my familiarity with some of those procedures, while she also trained a new full-time employee and a student worker in various procedures and special projects. Both her personal kindness and understanding, and her broad knowledge of Cataloging procedures, make her an excellent supervisor.

 

Nominee: Sheila McAlister

Department:  DLG

Testimonial: As Associate Director of the Digital Library of Georgia, Sheila McAlister coordinates digital projects that involve the efforts of nine staff members and four librarians inside of the DLG; coordinates metadata creation based upon a wide range of metadata standards; collaborates with numerous inter-departmental and inter-institutional departments on the creation and presentation of original digital content, and ensures that production goals are met and user needs are addressed. She does this while fulfilling other professional obligations such as serving on and/or leading UGA Libraries committees, state and national professional organizations, and grant review panels.

For someone responsible for many tasks that require the dotting "i"s and crossing of "t"s, Sheila has demonstrated a great deal of flexibility in supervising the staff in her unit. She is extremely well-organized
and patient managing the numerous and varied workflows (and subsequent methods, practices, and processes) that each member of her unit is responsible for delivering. She is also very conscientious about structuring effective ways for unit staff and collaborative partners to communicate. With varying technical cultures, skills, and learning styles in a busy digital production environment, this can be especially challenging. She is responsive to our needs and concerns with regard to meeting our production goals, helps us find ways to prioritize our work without neglecting ongoing projects, makes herself accessible, and facilitates communication amongst members of the department. When things run smoothly, as they do under Sheila's watch, it is easy to lose sight of how demanding it is to keep so many projects moving forward. I don't think that any of her colleagues with whom she works closely doubt the amount of effort she puts into her work, or the high standards she sets for herself--but it may not be broadly recognized that the timely delivery of our departmental output is the result of so much preparation and engaged supervision on her part. 

Our unit is service-oriented, productive, and collegial, and we enjoy working in it--this amidst numerous transitions and a trim funding environment in recent years. A large part of this is because Sheila is fair, considerate, loyal to our best interests, and supportive of our personal needs. But it is also because we see Sheila doing so much
of the hard work that is expected of all of us; Despite having high-level responsibilities and complex tasks to manage, she still chips in where there is a need--this includes helping clean up after an office party, or handling the cash box on-the-fly during an auction at the Society of Georgia Archivists conference for a short-handed committee.
Although describing someone as a "team player" can be hackneyed, having a team player for a supervisor contributes to the high morale
of our unit: it is an essential part of what makes our workplace run smoothly, makes it pleasant to come to work here every day, and
what makes Sheila a great supervisor.

 

Nominee: Virginia Feher

Department: Interlibrary Loan

Testimonial: Virginia Feher is dedicated to making Interlibrary Loan as efficient as possible and frequently develops new processes to increase the department’s productivity.  Virginia attends conferences and webinars in order to stay up-to-date with current and upcoming practices. Through her many years of experience, Virginia has developed a wide-ranging knowledge of the UGA collection, as well as the collections of other libraries around the country. Her extensive knowledge helps her to find even obscure items quickly.

       When interacting with patrons, Virginia goes the extra mile to ensure they acquire their needed information. She conducts complicated searches, as well as contacts librarians at other schools
in order to fill requests. She also has extensive knowledge of the library’s policies as a whole and what services each department
offers. If Interlibrary Loan cannot meet a patron’s need or if there is another, more effective method, she can direct him or her to the correct department.

      Virginia is skilled in technology and working with computers, and she uses these talents to benefit the department. Several times throughout the year, she has identified the source of problems with ILLiad and Odyssey and collaborated with tech support to resolve the issues.  In the past year, when Interlibrary Loan upgraded its ILLiad system, Virginia helped the department adapt to the new functions. She quickly adjusted to the changes and was able to teach others
how to use the new features. 

     Virginia carefully trains each of her employees and encourages them to feel free to ask for help. She is always willing to explain policies and clarify different tasks.  She also leads by example, demonstrating the importance of attention to detail and how it aids the quality of service.

    Virginia is careful to acknowledge the individual work of her employees. She expresses her appreciation for her assistants’ effort, no matter how small the task. In addition, she looks for opportunities, such as presentations and events, which will increase her assistants’ knowledge and skill. She also alerts them of opportunities that will
help them advance their careers. Most importantly, she regularly emphasizes the significance of each person’s work and how it benefits patrons.