Adam Brisk and Kay Westergren were the recipients of the Library Staff Award, an award given out twice annually. The award is based on “exceptional leadership on the job, customer focus, and/or quality of service within the past year,” and nominations are put forth by fellow library staff. The award consists of a certificate of appreciation and is accompanied by a $250 cash award.
Adam Brisk is the Library’s Online Learning and Outreach Librarian. Library Director, Matt Rosendahl shared comments that were put forth by nominators in regard to the impact of Brisk’s leadership and support:
“Adam's leadership contributes a great deal to the continued success of library events such as Bulldog Welcome Week & Stressless Week. He not only organizes the events but works hard to recruit & involve volunteers. He has also been a leader in working with other units on campus to contribute to, and participate in, events. He applied for, and received, student services funding to increase & expand popular reading options and to purchase games for addition to the collection.”
“Students are the focus for Adam! His energy and enthusiasm are contagious even after a long week of working hard to provide each student with a positive experience in the library. It seems likely that there are students that may not have used the library for study but have participated in an event (or just enjoyed that morning cup) and who knows? Studying might be next. Looking from the outside in, the quality of the student events has gotten better every year. I know there is a lot of credit to be given to others but I feel like Adam is the driving force. I really appreciate that Adam will seek feedback to improve procedures or communication when a need is recognized. ”
Kay Westergren manages the Library’s Interlibrary Loan service. She received the award in December. The following comments were shared in regard to her impact:
“Kay consistently demonstrates leadership by focusing on our patrons. Her patron focus is a real credit to her, and a reminder of what libraries really should be about.
Kay is proactive, hardworking, and goes above and beyond to ensure that library patrons receive the materials they have requested. In an instance this year when a faculty member had repeated access issues, Kay was willing to work with the faculty member to submit loan requests as we worked to resolve the access issues, ensuring the faculty member's access to resources needed for a class. Kay always puts patron needs first in her work, and being able to rely on her means I can feel confident recommending that students take advantage of interlibrary loan.
Whenever I speak to faculty about library services, they mention interlibrary loan. Without fail, they bring up how great Kay's service is, how quickly they receive the materials they've asked for, and how much better our ILL service is than at other campuses they've worked at. I absolutely believe that Kay's work is our best faculty outreach, and that belief has been reinforced by conversation after conversation with faculty on campus. Recently, a faculty member made an extremely ambiguous request for material, and I was truly impressed by Kay's willingness to work with both the faculty member and liaison to determine how best to fill the request. Again, Kay goes above and beyond in her service and she absolutely deserves to be recognized for that.”
The Library congratulates both Adam Brisk and Kay Westergren on their exceptional service and selection for this award!