Nancy M. Cline, Roy E. Larsen Librarian of Harvard College, held a reception in her office for the recipients of the 2010 Excellence in Service Award recently. Back row, from left, Jason Clarke, Stockton Andrews and Enrique Diaz. Front row, Nancy Cline, Isabella Quintana, David Leyenson. Not pictured: Nicola Mantzaris.

Dedicated. Enthusiastic. Organized and attentive to detail. Creative and willing to work with colleagues. Exceptionally knowledgeable and productive. A mentor willing to generously share her expertise. These traits and more describe the recipients of the 2010 Excellence in Service Award, a merit-based honor established to recognize employees who go above and beyond the call of duty to support the mission and values of the Harvard College Library.

This year’s honorees are: Stockton Andrews, library assistant, HCL Technical Services; Jason Clarke, library assistant, Widener and Lamont Library Access Services; Enrique Diaz, designer/multimedia specialist, HCL Communications; David Leyenson, bibliographic specialist for Western Europe, Collection Development; Nicola Mantzaris, staff assistant, Widener and Lamont Library Access Services; and Isabel Quintana, head of Technical Services and senior cataloger, Tozzer Library.

Established in 2005, the award is given annually to support staff and administrative professional staff who are nominated by co-workers for their exceptional contributions to HCL. Winners are selected by a committee made up of the previous year’s winners.

At a reception on November 19, Roy E. Larsen Librarian of Harvard College Nancy Cline congratulated the winners. “The Excellence in Service Award is special, not only because it recognizes your dedication and commitment to quality service, but because that recognition comes from your colleagues,” Cline said. “Each of you contributes in invaluable ways to the success of HCL, and deserves to be acknowledged for your accomplishments and commitment to the Harvard library community.”

This year’s winners were nominated for a variety of reasons. Library assistant Stockton Andrews was recognized for his dedication to HCL Technical Services during the recent reorganization, particularly his contributions to the new User Services and Direct Access Processing unit. Andrews trained staff and students in the receipt of English, Italian and German approvals, complex ordering for patron requests, and a variety of other activities. Andrews consistently displayed strong organizational skills, whether working with the unit manager, colleagues or vendors, and helped create documentation during the implementation of new work flows and strategies. Andrews was also honored for keeping staff and student workers informed of new and changing processes, all while learning various computer programs for receiving and processing new patron requests.

Library assistant Jason Clarke was nominated in recognition of his exceptional effort to implement ShiftBoard, a new web-based scheduling system for student workers. Replacing the time-consuming manual process, the new system allows students to sign up online, look up their schedule at any time, and make changes to their schedule. In addition to implementing the use of the ShiftBoard system for units in his area, Clarke also created the materials needed to assist other HCL units interested in using the system. Working with his manager and other colleagues in HCL, he developed and executed a pilot plan to use the system in the Newspaper Microfilm Reading Room, the Periodicals Reading Room, and Circulation.  He was also instrumental in creating guides to document various processes and for training students, staff, supervisors and managers. 

Staff Assistant Nicola Mantzaris was recognized for her work coordinating all aspects of the Access Services Ivies+ Conference, hosted by Harvard in March. Mantzaris managed all aspects of registration and communication with participants; coordinated the process for choosing topics; reserved space; ordered food; designed and printed conference materials; assisted throughout the conference; and analyzed the planning process to create a guide for future conference administrators. Mantzaris was also commended for her dedication, organization, attention to detail and positive outlook during the Access Service reorganization. As staff assistant, Mantzaris had a wide range of responsibilities, including ensuring that all job descriptions were aligned with new common Access Services language and duties.

As the Designer/Multimedia Specialist for HCL Communications, Enrique Diaz played a key role in the development of the new online guide Tools of the Trade: A Library Starter Kit for Harvard Freshmen. This resource serves every first year student, will be used in every Expository Writing Class, and serves as a basis for helping all students in the College understand the research process. Since its launch in mid-September, the Toolkit has been praised for its “innovative” layout and design, and library colleagues have called the resource “so useful, so rich with information, and so beautifully designed (great artwork, graphics, and organization), highly functional, and just plain cool!” Others have commented that it is “so well done - graphically as well as organizationally and has a design that supports students' ultimate model of efficiency.” Without Diaz’s expertise, collegiality, “visual magic,” and willingness to collaborate with HCL colleagues, this work could not have been accomplished. Diaz was also recognized for the difference he makes to HCL's online presence and to the users' experience of the Library.  His service to HCL touches every staff member and user, and his cooperative spirit and appreciation for all of HCL’s various needs, demonstrate a model of internal and external service to be commended.

The Bibliographic Specialist for Western Europe, David Leyenson was recognized for his dedication and extraordinary capacity for productive work, bibliographic expertise, and extensive knowledge of the European book trade. Working on the Retroactive Acquisitions Project, Leyenson made significant progress in eliminating years’ worth of selection backlogs for Germanic, French, Italian, and Scandinavian materials, and worked with colleagues in HCL Technical Services to help eliminate an enormous order backlog for western European materials. Leyenson’s collaborative approach helped his colleagues fulfill their responsibilities, and made vital contributions to the work of teaching, learning and research. Calling on his deep and broad subject expertise, Leyenson frequently alerts vendors to gaps in their coverage, publications they did not know about, and claims titles they omitted to include on approval. In addition to taking full advantage of vendors’ databases, he has made extensive use of WorldCat Selection and helped implementing it within HCL.

Isabel Quintana was commended for her commitment to providing the best possible service by generously contributing her time and expertise both within HCL and the larger Harvard Library community. During the conversion from HULPR to Aleph, Quintana helped to develop and lead training sessions in Aleph, and has mentored many catalogers within HCL and the larger Harvard community during her career at HCL. She has also served as an active participant in a number of professional groups both within and without the Harvard Library community. With her ability to see the bigger picture of how library services affect patrons and staff, Quintana was recognized for her commitment to maintaining high standards, as well as her positive outlook, support of others, and approach to challenges with grace and cheer.

Candidates for the Excellence in Service Award can be nominated by any member of the HCL community and can hold either a full-time or part-time position. The selection process is coordinated by HCL Human Resource Services, with recipients selected by a committee made up of winners from the previous year. The 2010 committee consisted of: Joanne Bloom, Fine Arts Library; Adam Johnson, HCL ITS; Jennifer LeRay, HCL Technical Services; Judith Nelson, HCL Technical Services; and Sarah Tudesco, Services for Collection Management. Houghton Library Staff Assistant Monique Duhaime, who received the award in 2008, also served on the committee. — This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , Harvard College Library Communications