Staff receive Dean's Awards for Outstanding Performance

UK Libraries will honor three staff members with the 2016 Dean's Awards for Outstanding Performance. Josh Monroe, Beth Reeder, and Kopana Terry will receive their awards during the annual UK Libraries Employee Celebration. This is the highest honor accorded to staff by UK Libraries.

Josh Monroe

Monroe is a Monograph Library Specialist at William T. Young Library. He is head of the monographs area, and provides support to all academic liaison librarians by sourcing print and electronic materials needed by UK faculty, staff, and students. He was nominated by Jen Bartlett, Head of Young Library Reference Services.

“I have frequently been amazed at the speed and efficiency with which Josh locates and orders materials,” said Bartlett. “Rarely has there been a situation in which Josh has been unable to find what faculty need, in whatever format; often he locates these materials at much cheaper cost than anticipated.”

Monroe is also active in UK Libraries committees and activities. He recently gave a presentation to LEX Week interns on the basics of acquisitions, and will be repeating the presentation for graduate assistant training. Every fall he volunteers to work at the welcome desk to greet new students in Young Library.

Beth Reeder

Reeder is a Library Technician Senior in the Agricultural Information Center. She manages the public service operations of the AIC, including student hiring and supervision. Valerie Perry, director of the AIC and head of Branch Libraries, nominated Reeder.

“Not only is Beth completely reliable and dependable, but she is also an excellent problem solver and innovator,” said Perry. “Beth gained significant extra responsibilities in the past two years, as she coordinated and planned two major facility renovations and upgrades. We are fortunate to have such a fine employee leading our public service efforts.”

Reeder has taken on projects that were ongoing when she arrived at UK Libraries, including migrating VHS holdings to DVDs and major review of the AIC reference collection. She also serves on UK Libraries committees, and participates in numeours library workshops, campus activities, webinars, and regional conferences.

Kopana Terry

Terry is an Oral History Archivist in the Special Collections Research Center Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History. She oversees the accessioning of new oral history interviews, the description of the existing collection, processing interviews, digitization and preservation of interviews, and preparation of interviews for reference requests. She also manages Nunn Center student employees. Terry was nominated by Nunn Center Director Dr. Doug Boyd.

“Last year we indexed a record number of interviews in a single year. Additionally, Kopana accessioned 624 new interviews in 2015 – also unprecedented,” said Boyd. “We have a very successful oral history archival operation. This is, in large part, thanks to Kopana’s determination, dedication, and – most importantly – her focused attention on implementation.”

According to Boyd, “the Nunn Center’s success depends heavily on the oral history archivist position, and this year Kopana Terry has taken her role to a new level.”

In addition to recognition at the Employee Celebration, the awardees will recognized during the UK Libraries Spring Gala on May 10, 2016.