BEST SUPPORTING PLAYER:

This award recognizes a person who remains steadfast in commitment to the Libraries' mission, contributes consistently to achieving departmental goals, and fosters esprit de corps among colleagues.

 

NOMINEES:

BEST SUPPORTING PLAYER

Nominee: Daron Mitchell

Daron Mitchell deserves the Best Supporting Player award because she IS the BEST supporting player! She is very generous with her time and is always willing to help solve tricky issues that come in the course of a day. If there is a problem with a patron or with a book, Daron knows what to do. I've called her many, many times with problems that I can't figure out when there is just something "weird" about a book's circulation record, and she not only does not run when she hears I'm the caller, but patiently explains what the problem is and then resolves it. I do not believe I've ever spoken to her and found her to be in a bad mood. While I do not work under her supervision, I believe that those she does supervise find her easy to work with. It may be hard for those not in Access Services to believe that keeping track of millions of books would make anyone enthusiastic about her job, but that notion is wrong. Daron has a love of problem solving and she does so with good grace and vast knowledge. Further, she inspires each of us who work with her to do our absolute best with patron records in the "Circ" module.

This willingness to share her knowledge and her great skill in problem solving does not just benefit her co-workers. She is devoted to seeing assuring that patrons are satisfied with the outcome as well. She is never short-tempered with patrons, even when that response would be easiest to apply to an encounter. When patrons are satisfied that the Libraries have protected their interests as well as those of the Libraries, the Libraries are held in higher esteem within the University community.

That part about "exemplary spirit of cooperation"? Daron has an unlimited supply. It may be fatiguing and exasperating to constantly be the “go-to” person, but if it is, Daron never lets on. She will help you over and over again without so much as an audible sigh of frustration.
It has been my pleasure to work under her guidance for the past six years and I very much appreciate all her efforts to keeping things running smoothly. When you’re looking for a Best Supporting Player, you need look no further!

 

Nominee: Daron Mitchell

Daron has always been a friendly force in Access Services.  She is able to deal with the most defensive of patrons in a professional, calm, and courteous manner that is admirable.  Recently, I remember hearing Daron help a patron who was very upset but could not understand spoken English very well.  Daron went above and beyond and incorporated writing to help this patron understand, and the situation was solved amicably.  She also seems to be constantly doing things beyond her normal duties (cleaning out areas of Access Services in preparation of the construction)and consistently stays late.  Daron is a pleasure to work with -- not only in her ability to solve difficult and sensitive situations, but also in her positive attitude.  Given the negative attitude of much of the patrons coming to contest library policies and fines, this is particularly impressive!

 

Nominee: Daron Mitchell

Daron is someone who leads by example.  She regularly deals with unreasonable angry patrons and manages to laugh it off and stay upbeat. I've never worked with someone who was so graceful about catching the mistakes of others--and she does this day after day. She’s an incredibly flexible supervisor-she makes it her number one priority to accommodate the needs of her staff. It seems like she’s always putting herself last.

With the retirement of Tom and Danny, and Viki as the new department head, Daron has stepped up and really functioned as a second in command for Access Services this last year. She's helped train new people (that would normally report to the Asst. Head), and taken on many additional duties. Her authority comes from her legitimacy as a leader; for years she’s been solving circulation problems for the Owens Library, the CML, Music Library, and every school that participates in GIL Express—she knows it all.

Nominee: Becky Wortham

For years, I have always been impressed by how on-the-ball and utterly dependable Becky is; but it just happens that this year, I have had to call upon her assistance more than usual. Becky has so many more people to serve in the Libraries; most of whose needs are a higher priority than mine, but her professionalism has ensured that everything I have asked for has -felt- like it has been handled as if it were of equal importance. Her enthusiasm and unflappability benefits us all--from travel forms to supplies, to P-card purchases, to managing budgets that support everything that we do. I know that handling these things is part of her job, but it makes such a huge difference to all that she does it so well. If she weren't such a funny and lively person, I'd suspect her of being built with robot parts! Although I can only speak for myself, I know that this nomination conveys the sentiments of others who may not have had time to write one. She is such an asset to our organization. Thanks, Becky!

 

Nominee: Byron Smith

Byron volunteered to be cross-trained in Science Reference 2 years ago.  This entailed sessions and follow up questions with each of the members of the Science Reference Unit and desk time with a Reference Staff Member.  Byron, did not begrudge the time this needed, despite his many other duties, and was an enthusiastic learner.

After successfully completing his training Byron has worked on the Science Reference Desk in a regular weekly shift.  He continues to seek out more in depth knowledge to improve his skills, especially when patrons' questions are more complicated or he feels he could have better answered their questions.

Byron, also fills in on shifts at short notice when Reference is short staffed or teaching a multitude of classes.

The Science Reference Unit appreciates Byron's willingness to assist us as needed; and his services allows the over extended staff to accomplish more outreach to the South Campus Community. 

 

Nominee: Susan Clay

Since defecting from the Law Library over 2 years ago, Susan has played a major role in the continued efforts to clean up the Map Library’s collections in anticipation of its upcoming move to campus.  During this past year, Susan finally eliminated the depository map processing backlog that had existed for at least a decade.  She has also identified, processed and discarded the last of the Map Library’s duplicate maps, eliminating another backlog that had existed for many years.  In order to prepare the map collection for its impending move, Susan completed the first inventory of all 1400+ map case drawers since the Map Library moved off campus almost 7 years ago; this project allowed for much better collection management and move planning.  With the retirement of long-time Map Library staff member Tom Hardaway at the end of 2011, Susan has capably and confidently taken on a number of new duties, including greater responsibility for in-person reference assistance and the collections as a whole.     

In short, the Map Library would not run and certainly would not be ready to move without Susan.  Her reliability, flexibility and well-developed sense of humor (including her ability to laugh with/at her boss) are very much appreciated, particularly as the Map Library is poised to transition to a new and radically different era.                

 

Nominee: Ann Carey

Ann is a tremendous asset to Government Documents Processing.  She very expertly and efficiently manages most aspects of new Federal documents processing and is very conscientious about identifying and resolving problems with new receipts in a timely manner.  She does an outstanding job of managing all aspects of the substantial MARCIVE record load process which adds 2000 to 3000 records for Federal documents to GIL on a monthly basis.  Ann also assists with the ongoing project to inventory and catalog the Federal documents collection, primarily processing and copy cataloging problem monographs and serials.  Besides her regular work, Ann has lent her skills and talents in copy cataloging to training new Government Documents Processing staff member Amy Fountain.  Amy very quickly became proficient, allowing her to assist with the inventory project and Federal documents gift backlog, a testament to Ann’s excellent ability as a trainer.

Ann is a calm, mature and efficient presence in Government Documents Processing.  She is always willing to lend a hand whenever necessary, no matter what the project or where it is located; during the past year she has regularly helped with shifting projects at the Repo and the inventory project in the Science Library. Her consistently positive attitude and pleasant demeanor are much appreciated by everyone who works with her.  Both Government Documents Processing and the Libraries as a whole are very fortunate to have Ann on staff.     

Nominee: Mary Willoughby

I am always pleased by the positive outlook and friendly attitude Mary brings to the table- I am constantly asking for her help! She's always there when I need help with my finding aid display or some other digital-related query. She even took time out of her schedule to come to my desk around to show me some tips in uploading files to the HMFA database, and to learn a little bit about the archives world. She is ever pleasant to talk to, even when there are challenges and frustrations. I feel like she demonstrates the native smarts and ingenuity as well as a willingness for teamwork that make her a very special asset to the libraries overall. Can we clone Mary please? I could really use one of her in Hargrett.