December 1999 - Cornell University Library

DECEMBER 1999
CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
VOLUME 8 • NUMBER 5
Service Awards
The following remarks were written by
the award winners’ supervisors. They
appeared in the booklet prepared for the
Cornell University Library Service
Recognition Luncheon held on
November 17, 1999.
Thirty-five Years
Dawn Johnson - Delivery Services,
Central Technical Services
Dawn joined Cornell University Library
in April, 1964. During her thirty-five
years at Cornell, Dawn has seen the
evolution of library technology progress
from the manual typewriter to the
personal computer. Dawn has quietly
adjusted to the changes and has
overcome tremendous challenges during
her career. She has performed just about
every task within the library system with
enthusiasm and an eye for accuracy and
productivity. She has worked with the
shelf list, done authority work, and
created preliminary records in NOTIS for
books and CISER data files. She has
contributed to the library collections by
cataloging materials, and most recently
assisted in pre-order searching, creating
order records for books, and processing
claims for missing items. She performs all
tasks with a single-minded goal—get it
done and get it done right!!
Dawn has always enjoyed working and
keeping busy. In addition, Dawn is a
caring grandmother to four
grandchildren, ranging in age from eight
months to twelve years old. She enjoys
the outdoors and loves the scenic beauty
of the area. She is a classic movie buff
and enjoys listening to fifties and sixties
rock music during fitness workouts. Dawn
has also been a perennial volunteer for
the United Way. Congratulations on all
your achievements and keep up the same
level of interest and enthusiasm that
you’ve shown in your service to the
Library.
—Ed Zieba
1
Thirty Years
Gary Bogart - Law Library
Due to Gary’s long tenure at the Law
Library, he is a good source of
information on how procedures fit
together. Gary is very personable and gets
along with co-workers. He seems very
fond of his work.
Continued on page 2
IN THIS ISSUE
1
SERVICE AWARDS
11
HOLIDAYS AND OPEN ENROLLMENT
11
CUL ANNUAL NEW EMPLOYEE
WELCOME
11
DIVINE ORDER
12
PEOPLE NEWS
13
SEASON’S GREETINGS
14
OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
AWARDS
Service—continued from page 1
Barbara Tarbox and Mary Wesche (photo by
Robert Barker, Cornell University Photography)
Gary has several years’ involvement
developing a Christian FTP/ Web
archive for ICLnet, in Portland, Oregon.
He has accumulated experience with
several computer platforms, including
Macintosh, Windows, and UNIX. His
main interests are along the lines of
providing logistical support, primarily
concerning international missions and
apologetics.
-Eric Cooper
Jeffrey Diver - Mann Library
Jeff greets new challenges with energy
and enthusiasm. In January of 1998, he
took over as the manager of the Stone 1
microcenter where he supervises more
than thirty undergraduate students and
assists patrons on the use of Information
Technology. His willingness to take
Stone1 head-on along with his positive
attitude have made working with Jeff a
great pleasure.
—Nan Hyland
Lynne Personius - Library Technology
As technology has played an everexpanding role in the operation of the
Cornell Library, we have had a careful
and caring hand at the rudder. Lynne
Personius came to the Library fifteen
years ago to assist in the implementation
of Cornell’s first Library management
system. She was on a one-year loan from
Cornell Information Technologies where
she had worked for the previous fifteen
years. Luckily, she stayed, and the Library
has benefited every day from that
decision. Lynne proudly asserts that she
really has had a cataloging course, and
she probably knows as much as anyone
about the broad range of functions
conducted throughout the Library. She
also knows a great deal about our
collections and particularly Cornell’s
unique strengths. I think that Lynne has
the mind of a systems analyst and the soul
of a librarian. We could not have a more
capable and trusted person to direct the
implementation of Voyager.
Lynne is an affable presence in the
Library. She is genuinely cheerful and
kind. She handles crises as if they are
only minor inconveniences to be
addressed without great to-do. She is
consistently supportive of her staff. She
seems always to be able to maintain a
levelheaded sense of perspective. She is
usually smiling, sometimes even when
delivering a bit of bad news. My sense is
that Lynne is one of those people who
always know what really matters. What
really matters to Lynne is her family,
husband Alan, daughters Jen and Becky,
and Jake, their dog. Flowers also matter,
as her many African violets attest.
Fortunately for all of us, the success of
the Cornell University Library also really
matters to Lynne.
—Tom Hickerson
Mary Wesche - Delivery Services,
Central Technical Services
Many people are honest, but Mary will
take honesty a step further and tell you
the truth, even when you don’t want to
hear it. As a manager for the past eleven
years, I have come to depend on Mary to
tell me the impact on the receiving
process or staff of any proposed change.
Mary and I have weathered many
changes, staffing and procedural and she
has never let me down. In thirty years,
Mary has witnessed our Library’s progress
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and systems migrations from keypunch
cards to OCLC to RLIN to NOTIS and
now, thirty years later, she is about to
join the next migration to Voyager.
None of us needs fear this migration as
we can depend on Mary to make it
happen right.
Mary and husband Ron share a passion
for square dancing. Their hobby allows
them to travel from town to town and
meet a wide variety of others who share
their passion. Mary dreams of dancing
across Texas with her husband on one
arm and her grandchildren on the other.
Nope, that’s not a tornado. It’s Mary and
Ron with three other couples dancing up
a storm.
—Scott Wicks
Twenty-five Years
Barbara Tarbox - Technical Services
Support Unit
Barb has been a conscientious and loyal
employee for all of her many years at
Cornell. She was so young when she
started working here after high school
that she had to have a working permit—
how many of us can say that? She enjoys
sharing her knowledge and skills with
others in the library. “Tenacious” is a
good word to describe Barb—she likes
solving problems and doesn’t like
leaving things unfinished. It can honestly
be said that Barb is one of the few people
left in the library who fully understand
the card catalog and its filing rules (she
still has a copy of the “A.L.A. Rules for
Filing Catalog Cards” if anyone needs
it!).
On her off work hours she enjoys
working in the yard, tending her flowers,
and relaxing at home with her cat and
her family (she is a devoted aunt and
great-aunt). A hint: if you want to get in
Barb’s good graces, try chocolate!
—Diane Hillmann
Jeri-Lynn Buchanan - Delivery
Services, Central Technical Services
Front row, from left: Jeri-Lynn Buchanan, Ann Beyer, and Lucy Burgess; back row,
from left: Omar Afzal and Igor Fonarov (photo by Robert Barker, Cornell University
Photography)
Ann Beyer - Fine Arts Library
Twenty Years
Omar Afzal - Echols Collection
Omar Afzal has been an invaluable
member of the Echols Collection for
many years. As the person in charge of
Southeast Asia serials, he is responsible
for ordering, paying invoices, precataloging, and claiming. The demands
of his job are anything but routine. He
must deal with publications written in a
bewildering number of languages and
scripts, often published by obscure
organizations located halfway around the
world. Omar’s facility with languages, he
has a Cornell Ph.D. in linguistics, has
been an indispensable asset in tracking
down and processing serials from these far
away places.
Omar is an accomplished researcher and
has written widely on Islam in South
Asia. He is also frequently sought out by
Cornell’s Islamic students to minister to
their spiritual needs as well as to perform
marriages. He is an accomplished
gardener, providing a steady supply of
fresh vegetables to his wife Selma who is
an exceptional cook (attested to from
personal experience).
—Allen Riedy
Among Ann Beyer’s many wonderful
qualities as an employee and friend, I
think we value most her extraordinary
reliability, honesty, tact, and
thoughtfulness. In addition, her
unparalleled knowledge of the Cornell
Library system has saved the day on many
occasions, and more than a few library
users as well as staff have reason to be
grateful to her. As the serials supervisor
and information assistant in Fine Arts, she
has graciously accepted every challenge
we’ve handed her and carried it out with
calm competence and good humor. No
one could ask for a better employee.
Ann is well-known as an inveterate
traveler, with treks to Thailand, China,
Oman, Israel, and Ethiopia in her
portfolio, but not many people are aware
of her secret ambition: she has always
wanted to be a pole vaulter. Then there’s
the ball of string: just about every day for
the last two decades Ann has saved the
string wrapping each day’s journal
shipment. The ball is now a work of art in
its own right, measuring over a foot in
diameter, and weighing in at around
twenty-three pounds. Come by and see it
on display behind Ann’s desk at the Fine
Arts Library!
—Rebecca Davidson
3
Jeri-Lynn joined the serials receiving
team in May 1998. She worked in book
receiving for a few years, and accounting
services for many years before that. We
were very happy to have such an
experienced person, in both accounting
and in receiving, join the team. Jeri does
a very thorough job with everything she
does, and we can depend on her to do her
job well. She is an easy-going, friendly
person, very cooperative, well liked by
her co-workers, and selectors, a great asset
to the team. Jeri is a dedicated,
dependable library employee.
Jeri-Lynn has a growing, large, very
supportive, loving family; she enjoys
spending time with her children and
grandchildren. With her sense of
adventure I’m sure that her grandchildren
love to spend lots of time with her. After
all, when Jeri was seventeen, she joined a
carnival and lived on a train. Jeri-Lynn
still loves to travel, and loves to visit new
places.
—Elizabeth Perenyi
Lucy Burgess - Division of Rare and
Manuscript Collections
Lucy Burgess is remarkably productive
and effective in more different kinds of
work than most people ever have to deal
with. Over the years, her quick
intelligence, versatility, and ability to
handle multiple simultaneous projects
have made her invaluable to the
Division, one of those people without
whom it seems we would just have to
close our doors. She combines a hardworking, get-it-done approach with
flexibility, friendliness, and good grace—
the kind of combination of qualities that
a supervisor dreams about, and that
colleagues and library patrons delight in.
Continued on page 4
Service—continued from page 3
Lucy has a talent for dealing with
people. Faculty, staff, and students all
over campus, and many visitors from
elsewhere, have warmed to her
friendliness and good sense of humor.
Her gentle teasing and her distinctive
laugh are among the more colorful
hallmarks of the Division, that keep
colleagues and customers coming back
for more.
—Margaret Nichols
Igor Fonarov - Delivery Services,
Central Technical Services
Igor has been the Library’s main resource
for Slavic, East European, and Hebrew
and Yiddish materials for the better part
of the last twenty years. Igor is originally
from the city of Riga, in Latvia. After
completing his post-graduate university
studies in linguistics and literature, Igor
immigrated to Israel in 1972. Taking a
slight detour in his career, Igor worked
in banking and finance until he met his
wife. They decided to come to the
United States in 1977 and settled in
Ithaca. Igor and his wife Gita both began
to work for Cornell. Igor came to the
Library and became the Slavic Section
Assistant. Igor brings strong language
skills, including Russian, Hebrew and
Yiddish, as well as a broad knowledge of
world literature, to his position. He also
has a keen eye for problem solving, since
the materials he works with pose special
problems because of transliteration
variations and different publishing
standards of foreign publications.
Igor and Gita have one daughter, Maya,
who received a Master’s Degree in
Engineering from Cornell. Maya is
currently enrolled in a Ph.D. teaching
program at Columbia. Igor’s hobbies
include reading, of course, as well as
being an avid fan of basketball and
soccer. He also enjoys traveling and a
good glass of red wine. Igor’s guiding
goals have always been to build
Cornell’s Slavic collection into a worldclass resource and to conquer the
challenges presented by the acquisition of
Hebrew and Yiddish material. Thanks to
Igor’s contributions, we are well on the
way to accomplishing these goals.
—Ed Zieba
Kathleen Hartman - Law Library
If human cloning were a reality, I would
love to have another Kathy around.
Kathy embodies many of the qualities
most valued by employers: intelligence,
dependability, good humor,
cooperativeness, perseverance,
dedication, conscientiousness,
consideration of others, and a willingness
to work hard. Since she is not one to toot
her own horn, I could add modesty to the
list. Because she has so many fine
qualities, I am reluctant to identify any
particular one as the most valuable. I
prefer to pay tribute to the unique
combination of strengths, skills, and
talents that make Kathy a special person
and a pleasure to work with.
One extraordinary thing about Kathy that
not everyone may be aware of is her
almost preternatural ability to locate
books that, for some reason or another,
have gone astray in the library. Whenever
we can’t find something, we turn to “The
Finder” as she is known. More often than
not, Kathy’s mysterious inner radar is able
to zero in on the book we were looking
for in short order!
—Jean Pajerek
compiled for training temps and students
to do ‘vanilla’ receiving, and the
successful administration of the mail
delivery within CTS. The traits that I
admire most in Judy are her perpetual
up-beat attitude, her ability to add
delight and amusement to our everyday
workplace, the joy she gets from her
work, her total honesty, and her
excellent work ethic. Working with Judy
is extremely interesting and refreshing.
Judy has a large, closely-knit family and
spends much of her time away from work
attending family functions and events.
She does unique and special crossstitched projects for others. She is a
shopaholic and manages to complete her
Christmas shopping long before anyone
else I know. Judy and her husband enjoy
a jaunt on the Central New York wine
trails and eating out in different and
unusual places.
— Mary Wesche
Kenneth Fung - Music Library
Ken is a very dedicated employee—he
cares about our collection and this is
reflected in the careful work he does. He
is a skillful crafts person and this too
provides benefits for the longevity of our
music materials. For many years Ken has
served as the Concertmaster of the
Cornell University Symphony Orchestra.
Although he is on leave this year, I am
certain you will find him playing his
violin somewhere.
— Lenore Coral
Fifteen Years
Judith Adams - Delivery Services,
Central Technical Services
For the last twelve of the twenty years
Judy has worked in the library system, she
has been an invaluable member of my
staff. It is difficult to list all of the
contributions that Judy has made. Some
of Judy’s accomplishments include the
work she does on the network
administration team, the manual she
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Julie Lonnberg - Division of Rare and
Manuscript Collections
When Julie is on the job in RMC’s vault,
I never have a moment’s doubt that
Cornell’s rare books and manuscripts
aren’t receiving the very best of devoted
care. Julie is now a fifteen-year veteran
of the rare book collections, first in the
Department of Rare Books, and since
1992 in the Division of Rare and
Manuscript Collections. Her great
Marjorie Robinson - Division of Rare
and Manuscript Collections
Front row, from left: Ed Zieba, Judith Adams, Nancy Moore, and Laurie Stevens; back row, from
left: Julie Lonnberg, Marjorie Robinson, and Kenneth Fung (photo by Robert Barker, Cornell University
Photography)
attention to detail and her concern for
the safe and accurate storage of our
300,000 books and 7,000 manuscript
collections, make Julie an invaluable
member of RMC’s collection
management team. Whether she is
paging materials for researchers, carefully
handling copy or ILS orders for rare
books, shelving new acquisitions, or
maintaining our circulation files, Julie
shows an unparalleled level of
dedication. Her colleagues value her
wide knowledge of the book collections,
and her ready willingness to lend a steady
and practiced hand.
Julie is also an expert horsewoman! She
greatly enjoys her weekend gallops, and
her colleagues are delighted by the stories
of her rides.
—Katherine Reagan
Nancy Moore - Law Library
Nancy Moore is the embodiment of
professionalism. Part of the definition of
a professional is a person having or
showing great skill, an expert in their
chosen field. When performing any of
her duties at the Law Library, Nancy
demonstrates these characteristics.
She brings equally high levels of
knowledge and skills when running the
Library’s Interlibrary Loan and Document
Delivery Service, working at the
Circulation/Reserve Desk, or at the
Reference Desk. Professor Yvonne Cripps
(Annual Visiting Professor at the Law
School) says of Nancy: “I have been
visiting the Cornell Law School from the
University of Cambridge in England
since 1987 and during those years Nancy
has provided an absolutely superb library
service to me and also to my colleagues.”
Nancy has a dedication to Public
Services that sets a high standard for all
who work with her. She is tireless in
pursuing a source for patrons whether it is
in print or database form. Many of the
faculty and students at the Law School
depend on Nancy to help them find the
law.
In the past few years Nancy has become
an avid runner and walker as a member
of the Cornell Wellness Program. Her
latest pursuit in this area is Tae Kwon Do.
She just recently earned her green belt.
Nancy also likes to garden and play with
her cat “Tommy.”
—Janet Gillespie
5
Marge is well known in the Division of
Rare and Manuscript Collections for her
high productivity and high standards.
The cataloging projects she works on
require the speed of an express train and
a keen eye for detail, and we know we
can depend on Marge for both qualities.
One project after another has depended
on her industry and prowess to carry it
through, and one after another has
succeeded. From doomed French
politicians and lyrical Icelanders to fierce
abolitionists and learned Italian literary
critics, many authors in the library’s
online catalog owe their visibility to
Marge’s industry, skill, and good
cataloging sense.
Marge is in steady demand for her
knitting. She specializes in making baby
sweaters. Recently some of her creations
were displayed in the exhibit case
outside the Olin Library staff lounge,
together with snapshots of her young
customers modeling their new attire (and
looking very warm and contented).
—Margaret Nichols
Laurie Stevens - Mediation Services,
Central Technical Services
Laurie Stevens has worked in a variety of
positions in CTS since she was hired as a
records assistant in 1983, and has gained
a wealth of knowledge along the way.
Since early in 1998 when I started
working closely with her, I have relied on
that knowledge more times than I can
count. In her current position, she acts as
support person for the nearly eighty CTS
staff members as well as to the Director of
CTS. And support us she does! She also
manages the flow of backlog materials
and has supervised the nearly thirty
students who have been hired to work on
the Backlog Project over the last twenty
months. Laurie is always a good sport
Continued on page 6
Service—continued from page 5
about helping other staff. If I didn’t
already know how dependent we all are
on her, I’m reminded of it whenever she
takes well-deserved vacation days.
Invariably when I tell people that she is
on vacation, they sigh deeply, knowing
that no one else can substitute for her.
Laurie does a superb job of balancing her
mom career with her career in CTS. She
and her husband Gary have two sons,
Andrew and Brandon, ages five and ten.
Though she has very little leisure time,
when she does find a few minutes to
spare, she enjoys working on various
crafts. She also is having a wonderful
time with the computer her family got
last year for Christmas, and many of us
have been the lucky recipients of her
special greeting card creations.
—Lois Peret Purcell
Front row, from left: Anne Keville, Cammie Hoffmier, Don Fenton, and David Tarbox; back row,
from left: Eugenia Givotovsky, Sharon Wargo, Mary Goodsell, Jeanne Hagberg, Judith Miller, and
Elizabeth Fontana (photo by Robert Barker, Cornell University Photography)
Ten Years
Ed Zieba - Delivery Services, Central
Technical Services
Don Fenton - Shipping & Receiving,
Administrative Operations
Ed has a continual drive to discover how
things work, how to make the best use of
new technology and tools. In our
evolutionary world, one needs to have
such drive to learn new ways, to develop
procedures, and to train others to use
them while maintaining a positive
morale with staff who may have a less
enthusiastic approach to constant
change. Ed has recently accepted the
position of electronic resources
assistant—a job that is changing daily as
we learn what it means to serve
electronic resources to the Library user.
I’m happy to report that Ed is Y2K
compliant.
The name Don Fenton is synonymous
with the term customer service. He’s
always willing to do whatever it takes to
accommodate requests from staff and to
assist in solving problems. And he does it
all with a smile.
Ed continues to enjoy an active interest
in professional bicycle racing, both as a
spectator and participant. His
knowledge of worldwide race results and
champions is second to none. But Ed is
also involved on the local scene by
organizing weekly rides for us amateurs
through an arrangement with the Bike
Rack in Collegetown.
— Scott Wicks
His interest in history goes along with his
hobby of collecting antiques, including
furniture, old documents, and old books
chronicling local events. It’s no surprise
that he’s been successful in the
restoration of furniture and old houses.
that sets a standard for us all. Cornell and
the Library are fortunate that Beth
continues to share her talent and
commitment with us.
Beth’s energy and management skills are
evidenced in her work outside the
office—raising two young sons with her
husband, Steve. In addition to the
expected “mom-related” responsibilities,
she has recently renovated and decorated
a beautiful home. Beth entertains, keeps
in contact with all her friends and
relatives, participates in community
volunteer activities, and is generally an
“all-around super person!”
—Marisue Taube
—Sharon Wargo
Eugenia Givotovsky - Delivery
Services, Central Technical Services
Elizabeth Fontana - Library External
Relations
Beth’s ability to make lasting contacts
and collegial relationships serves the
library well in the public relations area.
She is a superb writer and is able to
represent the Library and it’s many
faceted activities with great skill. Beth is
particularly adept at balancing many
tasks and deadlines at the same time, and
does so with a calm and professionalism
6
Eugenia started as a part-time searcher
and inputter for Slavic material before
moving to full time. In her ten years at
Olin Library, Eugenia has witnessed many
changes in her job duties. She now
receives and pays invoices for Slavic
approval books, checks in serials,
fastshelves Cornell theses, and searches,
inputs, and places orders in many
languages. She is extremely conscientious
and dependable in all her tasks.
Eugenia is a quiet person who dreams
about the ocean and loves to find beauty
around her, whether it is flowers, nature,
or gardening. Her two German shepherds,
Masha and Dina, are her dear companions
and share her nature walks daily. She
visits art galleries and museums and
enjoys especially Russian paintings, the
love of which she probably inherited
from her artist grandfather. She herself has
tried painting too. She also enjoys
knitting, and reading about culture,
history, and literature.
—Anna Korhonen
Mary Goodsell - Accounting,
Administrative Operations
Mary has worked in the Accounting
Services dept for 3 1/2 years and has
proven to be a valuable employee. Mary
is what I call our “front line” person in the
office. And lucky for us, she has excellent
customer service skills. She is always
willing to go that extra mile to help
someone. Mary is also a very detailoriented person, often catching problems
or missing documentation when
reviewing purchase orders and invoices
for processing. I appreciate all of Mary’s
hard work and dedication over the last
3 1/2 years.
Mary is an active member of the Cornell
Wellness Program. Her regular and
dedicated workouts inspire all of us to
better health; well … maybe some of us;
well … maybe someday … oh, just pass
the chocolate!!
—Susan Bristol
Jeanne Hagberg - Delivery Services,
Central Technical Services
Jeanne is the classic example of how hard
work, patience, and perseverance are
recognized and rewarded. Jeanne has risen
through the ranks in the Library, from
data inputter to student supervisor.
Jeanne has always utilized available
technology to maximize production. For
years, Jeanne was known as the “Queen
of the Macros.” If a function key could
do laundry, Jeanne would find a way to
do it! In her present position, Jeanne has
had to learn how to deal with the
administration of a large group of
student assistants. She is responsible for
hiring, training, and evaluating the
students, all activities new to Jeanne.
Jeanne’s group last year was fantastic in
terms of production, morale, attendance,
and lack of discipline problems.
Jeanne has many attributes that may not
be common knowledge. She loves all
things medieval and Renaissance, and
yet is a huge fan of Star Trek and modern
detective novels. She is also a skilled
seamstress. In fact, Jeanne put together all
the dresses for her daughter’s recent
wedding in Las Vegas—a Renaissance
theme, of course. Jeanne also does not
suffer fools gladly. She is honest and does
not accept arbitrary or unfair treatment
without a fight. She possesses a broad
knowledge of literature, history and
popular culture. You would want Jeanne
on your team in Trivial Pursuit!
— Ed Zieba
Cammie Hoffmier - Annex Library,
Access Services
It is hard to limit the number of
contributions and accomplishments from
Cammie’s ten years with Cornell
University Library and there is not
enough room to list all the qualities that
make her one of the best employees in
CUL. She is among the most dedicated,
cooperative, loyal, and pleasant
employees ever. If I had to pick one
thing from early in her career in the
libraries, it would be her help in getting
NOTIS up and running. She helped not
only with circulation but the even
trickier patron database, which required
a huge amount of careful planning, great
public services attitude, and creativity.
She also helped automate office
procedures for many manual operations,
7
supervised the security tagging of the
backlogs prior to the 1996/97 Access
Services backlog project, and helped
coordinate the move to the 101 office
area. In her new position as
administrative supervisor at the Library
Annex, she has done an incredible job of
updating and integrating procedures for
both the old and new warehouses, and
has recently helped significantly with
establishing a document delivery
operation. We routinely receive letters of
commendation and thanks for the extra
effort Cammie has taken to make sure our
public services is the best it can be. She is
truly one of the most outstanding
employees with whom I’ve had the
pleasure to work.
I’m pretty certain that there’s nothing
Cammie couldn’t do if she put her mind
to it, but people may not know she
recently completed a course at the
Raymond Forklift headquarters to
become a certified forklift trainer.
—Susan Currie
Anne Keville - Interlibrary Loan
Services, Olin/Kroch/Uris Libraries
Annie brings so much to her job. She has
a wonderful work ethic that, combined
with a very positive attitude, intelligent
decision making, and sense of the overall
lending operation, make one of the larger
interlibrary lending units in the country
run very smoothly. Cornell staff and
students as well as interlibrary loan
colleagues across the country appreciate
her kindness and sense of humor.
Annie loves gardening, cooking,
dancing, and every kind of music.
—Julie Copenhagen
Continued on page 10
SERVICE AWARDS LUNCHEON
Tom Hickerson, associate university librarian for
Information Technologies and Special Collections (photo by
Robert Barker, Cornell University Photography)
Lois Purcell, administrative supervisor for the copy cataloging and
backlog project in Central Technical Services (photo by Robert
Barker, Cornell University Photography)
Elaine Engst, director of the Division of Rare
and Manuscript Collections and university
archivist (photo by Robert Barker, Cornell
University Photography)
Linda Westlake, director of accounting
services in Administrative Operations (photo
by Robert Barker, Cornell University
Photography)
8
Sarah E. Thomas, university librarian (photo by Robert
Barker, Cornell University Photography)
Rebecca Davidson, assistant and reference librarian at
the Fine Arts Library and visual collections archivist in
the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections (photo
by Robert Barker, Cornell University Photography)
Sharon Wargo, operations manager for Facilities and Business
Operations in Administrative Operations (photo by Robert
Barker, Cornell University Photography)
9
Service—continued from page 7
Judith Miller - Mann Library
Under the definition of “dedication” in
Webster’s Dictionary for the New
Millennium and All of Those to Follow,
Judy Miller’s name should appear first.
She performs her purchasing duties as if
every transaction were coming out of her
checkbook, her photocopy system tasks
as if she were getting her home ready for
company to visit, and her office duties as
if her life, not just her work life,
depended upon their successful
completion. It is a rare day not to find
Judy in the office making sure we all
have what we need to do our jobs but not
one item more!
We all suspect that Judy’s main goal in
her personal life has always been to be a
doting Grandmother. Her seven
grandchildren make frequent visits and
scarcely a Monday goes by without the
recounting of an outing. Speaking of
personal life—if you live in Tompkins or
one of the surrounding counties, you can
bet that someone in your family is in
Judy’s memory bank somewhere. She has
an incredible ability to remember
people!
—Peter Schrempf
Sharon Ray - Preservation/
Conservation
Sharon spends her days working on
periodical and monograph preparation
for Ridley’s and any extra time out in the
Stiffening Unit. Sharon is a very
dedicated worker and grandmother. She
spends most of her free time enjoying her
eleven grandchildren.
—Susan Cobb
Cheryl Rowland - Division of Rare and
Manuscript Collections
Cheryl is part of the backbone of RMC’s
public service operations. In fact, it
would be hard to open our doors
everyday were Cheryl not at her station
with such reliable good cheer. Cheryl has
an amazing ability to juggle many tasks at
once. And since many of these tasks are
carried out “behind the scenes,” some
researchers never realize that the smooth
efficiency with which we apparently find
the obscurest of documents is due to
Cheryl’s patience and extensive
knowledge. Cheryl retrieves and
reshelves rare book and manuscript
materials, helps manage the flow of
archival and other materials to and from
the Library Annex, answers a steady
stream of questions related to Cornell’s
past alumni (from 1868 to the present!),
and serves as a liaison with Facilities
Engineering for University building
plans.
Cheryl is always a source of flexibility
and calm under pressure. She is treasured
by her colleagues for her positive
approach to challenging situations, and is
a true asset to the Library.
—Katherine Reagan
Dave Tarbox - Shipping & Receiving,
Administrative Operations
Dave is always willing to be of assistance
to others. If he sees someone who appears
to be lost, he immediately asks if he can
be of help. The same desire to help others
is seen in his work with the Mecklenburg
Fire Department. This dependable
shipping clerk can always be relied on to
spread holiday cheer as he makes his mail
deliveries. It may be from wearing a
festive hat, giving a joyful wish,
distributing candy, or a combination of
all three. He loves to dance, enjoys
country music, and is an avid NASCAR
supporter.
the ranks, fueled by her obvious talents
at, we assume, most everything she does.
While working within the Facilities &
Business Operations complex, Sharon
worked in five positions in ten years,
each one a step up from the previous! I
guess Sharon’s good at climbing ladders.
Sharon started employment at the Library
just over a year ago, in September of
1998. As Operations Manager, Sharon is
in charge of Shipping and Receiving,
Photocopy Services, the Public Copy
Operation, and numerous building
related activities. Within the year,
Sharon has established herself as an
invaluable member of CUL’s Department
of Administrative Operations. Sharon
really knows how to get things done at
Cornell and who to turn to for assistance
when needed. And we’re glad she does.
Before coming to Cornell, Sharon held a
number of interesting professional and
community service positions, some of
which were: real estate broker, resident
manager for a condominium and
apartment complex, director of the
Lansing Ambulance Service, emergency
medical technician, and president of the
Board of Education in Groton. So, if you
need to get something done it’s a good
bet Sharon can handle it!
—John Hoffmann
—Sharon Wargo
Sharon Wargo - Administrative
Operations
Sharon Wargo came to Cornell on
September 1, 1988. Hired by
Construction Management as an “office
assistant” Sharon quickly rose through
10
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
HOLIDAYS AND
OPEN
ENROLLMENT
CUL ANNUAL
NEW
EMPLOYEE
WELCOME
DIVINE
ORDER
By Ardeen White
By Debbie Shigley
T
hese two subjects seem to cause
the most confusion this time of
year, so I will try to address them
both.
The holiday week this year is Friday,
December 24, 1999 through Friday,
December 31, 1999. For those of us lucky
enough not to have to work during the
holiday week, we return to work on
Monday, January 3, 2000. The time card
that would normally be due on Thursday,
December 30, 1999 will need to be
completed by 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday,
December 22, 1999. I recommend you
complete the paid holiday time first on
your time card, remembering that each
holiday is paid at one-fifth your standard
hours. That would mean you have six
days to complete. You may need to adjust
your schedule by adding or decreasing
some work time if you normally do not
work on one of the paid holidays, or you
normally work a different number of
hours than you will be paid for. Please
note benefit eligible employees are
paid for all six holidays regardless of
their work schedule. If you are required
to work during the holiday week please
check with your payroll rep to be sure
you input the necessary data to your time
card to be paid correctly. Your payroll
rep can check with LHR if there are
questions.
All forms for benefit changes, updates,
and enrollments are due in the benefits
office by December 10, 1999. No
exceptions can be made. Please be sure
you have completed all forms necessary
to assure the coverage you want. If you
O
n November 16, 1999, Cornell
University Library’s New
Employee Welcome was held to
familiarize new employees, hired since
March 1999, with the organization.
Thirty-five new employees were invited
to this annual event which featured four
speakers on various topics of interest to
our new staff. Susan Markowitz, director
of Library Human Resources, provided a
warm welcome and helped everyone get
to know each other through
introductions. Next, Sarah Thomas,
university librarian, shared the Library’s
vision and goals. She highlighted
objectives such as developing a strategic
plan for digital initiatives and increasing
diversity in the library. Ross Atkinson,
deputy university librarian, then
provided a succinct overview of the
often-confusing library organization—no
small feat! He also discussed the way the
libraries communicate and work together
and stressed the importance of being on
the cu-lib listserv to get the latest library
news. Last, but of course not least, Elaine
Engst, director of Rare and Manuscript
Collections and university archivist,
delivered a pride-building overview of
our library history. She brought some
wonderful rare items to share with the
group, such as Ezra Cornell’s first book in
which he inscribed the date and how he
begged his mother to purchase it.
Overall, it was an enlightening afternoon
and a great opportunity to interact with
and learn about our new staff.
Pamela Rothbard is the staff
development specialist in Library
Human Resources.
Continued on page 16
11
D
o you love giving and receiving
gifts but hate the fact that every
gift seems to contribute to more
clutter? Consider asking for—and
giving—clutter-free gifts this year. A
clutter-free gift is anything that can be
used up, that takes up little or no space,
or that involves a service rather than a
product. Some examples of consumable
items are food (chocolate, cookies, nuts,
dried fruit), bath salts, candles, cologne,
and school or office supplies. Items that
take up little or no space include photos,
photo albums, books, recordings,
software, calendars, or cash. Other nonmaterial gifts are certificates for movie
rentals, massages, restaurants, concerts, or
sports events. You can also be creative—
offer ride coupons to friends without cars,
bake a casserole for a busy mother, or do
some pet sitting.
PEOPLE NEWS
11/1/99-12/1/99
RETIREMENTS
WELCOME
“ONE YEAR”
HOLLIDAY STYLE!
Kristina Buhrman is a new consultant/
advisor in the Physical Sciences Library.
She has a BA from Cornell University.
Christina DiGiusto has returned to CUL
as a temporary reference librarian in the
Fine Arts Library. Christina previously
worked in public services at Mann
Library and the Nestle Library. She has a
BS in psychology from St. Lawrence
University, a BA in biology from SUNYCortland, an MS in environmental and
forest biology from SUNY College of
Environmental Science and Forestry, and
an MLS from Syracuse University.
Michele Martin is a new public services
assistant III in the Fine Arts Library. She
has a BA from Cornell University.
PROMOTIONS
Meg Ackerblade has been promoted to
public services assistant III in the Annex
Library.
Cammie Hoffmier has been promoted to
administrator II in the Annex Library.
GOOD-BYE
Good-bye and good luck to Paulette
Manos, Kheel Center, Catherwood
Library, who recently left the Library, and
to Melissa Jackson, Fine Arts Library,
who is taking a university leave of
absence.
By David W. Corson
Judith
Holliday
formally
retired as
Fine Arts
Librarian on
August 31st,
but after
thirty-eight
years at
Cornell?
How can that possibly be? It says “one
year” right there on the front page of her
original Cornell employment
application. Yes, right there in the box
headed “Expected Length of Stay in
Ithaca,” in Judith’s still recognizable
hand, are the words “one year.” She
actually wrote that, I think, a very long
time ago, but I also have to tell you that
the evidence for this is somewhat
circumstantial. Why is that? Because
Judith never dated that original
application! There, in the line for
“name,” is neatly printed “Holliday
Judith Elizabeth,” but the adjacent line
for “date” is conspicuously blank. Maybe
she somehow thought the home phone
number she wrote in right below this
would be sufficient to establish her
application’s date. The phone number
she gave was “Monument 3-1000.” Well,
the one thing I know for sure, Judith, is
that there aren’t very many of us left who
can still remember when Manhattan
phone numbers looked like that!
But whatever the date of that
application, it really was thirty-eight
years ago, September, that Judith began
her long and distinguished Cornell
Library career. And what a remarkable
12
thirty-eight years it has been! But it didn’t
begin in the Fine Arts Library. Judith
arrived on campus in the fall of 1961,
having just received her MLS from
Columbia. Although originally hired as
an assistant catalog librarian in Olin, as
fate would have it she ended up that first
year drawing on her strong undergraduate
background in music history. Before even
arriving in Ithaca, she was offered
another position, temporarily filling in
for Harold Samuel, head of the Music
Library, who was on leave for the year.
And thus it was that Judith, remembered
by one and all today for the thirty years
that she has headed the Fine Arts Library,
actually began her Cornell career in the
Music Library.
But if you have done your arithmetic
here, you will have already figured out
that the Fine Arts Library didn’t follow
immediately. From Music Judith moved
to the newly renovated and renamed Uris
Library (“the new Undergraduate
Library”) where she became one of the
original Uris staff. She served until 1965
as a reference librarian in Uris, while also
working part-time stints in Olin
Reference, Cataloging, and Engineering.
After a year’s leave of absence which she
spent in Rome (the beginning of a
continuing “affair” with Italy), Judith
returned to Uris in the fall of 1966 as
Reserve Book Librarian with overall
responsibility for an enormous (manual!)
operation. In an age of e-reserve and fulltext databases, few today remember that
thirty years ago 10,000 volumes a
semester went on reserve in Uris!
And then, in November 1969, Judith
transferred to the Fine Arts Library.
Given that she had worked in the Fine
Arts Library at Columbia while in
graduate school, perhaps this move to
Continued on page 16
A portion of a lithograph from ca. 1905, titled Cornell Characters. The actual lithograph is 64” x 8 1/2”. It can be found in the Cornell University Archives,
in the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Carl A. Kroch Library.
13
OUTSTANDING
PERFORMANCE AWARDS
By Sarah E. Thomas
Nancy has a reputation in Mann Library
for her incredible dedication and
performance, but her participation in
several projects this last year has been
truly exceptional and essential for our
success. During the recent move of
350,000 volumes from Mann Library to
the Annex, Nancy immediately pitched
in to get the volumes moving. Technical
Services relied on Nancy to supervise an
increase of almost 200% in the student
employee population. Numerous book
trucks filled with problem volumes were
shepherded through Technical Services
by Nancy daily and her desk overflowed
with items requiring her decisions.
Despite what seems an overwhelming task
Nancy confided to me that she enjoys the
project. Nancy has a rare combination of
skill, energy, and dedication.
Nancy Banfield, Ardeen White, and Nancy Dean (photo by Robert Barker, Cornell University
Photography)
L
ast year, a generous, anonymous
donor created an award to
recognize outstanding
contributions to the service of the
university by a member of the Library’s
support staff. After careful review by
several members of the Library
Management Team and myself of the
nineteen nominations submitted, I have
selected three individuals, Nancy
Banfield, Nancy Dean, and Ardeen
White, to share the honor. Each received
a $1,000 cash award in honor of their
distinguished service that was presented
at the Library’s annual Employee Service
Recognition Luncheon on November 17.
Although our intention was to make a
single award, the superlative
achievements of these three staff
members merited an exception for this,
the first year in which the award is given.
The complete list of nominees below
reveals a wealth of talent and dedication
of which the Library can be justifiably
proud.
I commend the staff nominated and
thank their colleagues who took the time
and care to submit detailed descriptions
of and testimony to their
accomplishments. We are fortunate to
benefit from such excellence.
—Bill Kara
Nancy Dean - Division of Rare and
Manuscript Collections
Sarah E. Thomas is the university
librarian.
1999 Outstanding Performance
Award Winners
Nancy Banfield - Mann Library
Photo by Robert Barker, Cornell University
Photography
14
Photo by Robert Barker, Cornell University
Photography
Through Nancy’s thirty-seven years with
the Library she has approached her work
with unwavering cheerfulness,
dependability, and productivity. And
because she has been associated with the
archival and manuscript collections for
longer than any other person on staff, her
memory is a treasure trove for researchers
and staff alike. Nancy never attempts to
evade troublesome or tiresome tasks and
her patience is legendary, as is her
knowledge of Jennie McGraw; just ask
any of the hundreds of students she has
worked with at the Lansing Middle
School.
—Katherine Reagan
Ardeen White - Mediation Services,
Central Technical Services
1999 Outstanding Performance
Award Nominations
Adams, Judith, Technical Services
Assistant III, CTS-Delivery, nominated
by Mary Wesche
Banfield, Nancy, Technical Services
Assistant IV, Mann Library, nominated
by Bill Kara
Dean, Nancy, Collections Assistant III,
RMC, nominated by Katherine Reagan
Fox, Patricia, Preservation Assistant III,
Preservation/Conservation, nominated by
John Dean
Photo by Robert Barker, Cornell University
Photography
Ardeen serves as a wonderful trainer, a
good cataloger,and most importantly
contributes pleasantly and aptly to a
positive work environment. Ardeen has
proven repeatedly that she is one of the
most competent and committed members
of CTS. She designed an ambitious and
useful training plan for thirty new
students on the Backlog Project. In
addition she conceived an independent
study to facilitate training in the maps
catalog backlog, and has been zealous in
providing her co-workers and other
library employees with information
concerning repetitive motion injuries.
Her column in Kaleidoscope has evolved
into an enjoyable read for all of us less
organized than she.
—Lois Purcell
Gagnon, Deb, Public Services Assistant
IV, Math Library, nominated by Steve
Rockey
Hedtke, Shannon, Public Services
Assistant IV, Music Library, nominated
by Lenore Coral
Majors, Rice, Public Services Assistant
IV, Music Library, nominated by Lenore
Coral
Mersereau, Darcie, Reference Specialist,
Management Library, nominated by
Donald Schnedeker
Moore, Nancy, Public Services Assistant
IV, Law Library, nominated by Claire
Germain
Paolillo, Michelle, Computer Operations
Supervisor, EMPSL, nominated by Jean
Poland
15
Piestrak, Jeffrey, Public Services Assistant
IV, Library Annex, nominated by John
Marmora
Purcell, Lois, Library Administrator II,
CTS-Mediation, nominated by Karen
Calhoun
Saikkonen, Rosemarie, Technical
Services Assistant IV, CTS-Delivery,
nominated by Mary Wesche
Sczepanski, Linda, Administrative
Assistant III, Library Administrative
Operations, nominated by John
Hoffmann & Sharon Wargo
Soper, Paul, Public Services Assistant IV,
Music Library, nominated by Lenore
Coral
Thitchener, Lynn, Public Services
Assistant IV, O/K/U Reference,
nominated by Nancy Skipper
Warfield, Debra, Technical Services
Assistant II, CTS-Delivery, nominated by
Mary Wesche
White, Ardeen, Technical Services
Assistant IV, CTS-Mediation, nominated
by Lois Purcell
Yeshak, Tsedal, Technical Services
Assistant III, CTS-Delivery, nominated
by Mary Wesche
Holidays—continued from page 11
Retirements—continued from page 12
have any questions do not hesitate to
contact the Benefits Office, by phone at
255-3936, or email
<[email protected]>. If you have
trouble getting through to them LHR will
try to answer your questions.
Sibley can be attributed to fate as well. In
any case, upon arriving in Sibley, Judith
was initially in charge of the planning
collection. Ten months later, she was
appointed head of the Fine Arts Library,
and for thirty years now she has guided its
growth and services. For Judith these
thirty years have literally been “a labor of
love.” The energy and commitment that
she has brought to Fine Arts are indelibly
recorded in the remarkable statistics that
characterize her tenure.
Debbie Shigley is the assistant
director of Library Human
Resources.
Kaleidoscope is published monthly except
June and July by Cornell University Library,
213 Olin Library ([email protected]).
Editorial Committee
Mary Arsenault
Barbara Berger Eden
Christina Bucko
Marty Crowe
Elizabeth Fontana
Elizabeth Teskey
Cornell University is an equal opportunity,
affirmative action educator and employer.
Printed on recycled paper.
©1992, 600
The Fine Arts Library, for example, has
grown over the course of Judith’s thirty
years by roughly 100,000 volumes. Given
its current size of more than 176,000
volumes, this means that Judith has
personally selected and added three-fifths
of this library’s total holdings! Three out
of every five volumes in Fine Arts today
are “hers!” Few, if any, in the history of
the Cornell Library have been able to
claim a comparable legacy. (And it is an
accomplishment that surely will never be
matched again.) And as for students?
Literally tens of thousands have passed
through Judith’s doors over these same
thirty years. Many of the College of
Architecture, Art, and Planning’s most
distinguished alumni can be numbered
among her personal friends, continuing
acquaintances begun “across the desk”
years ago. By any measure, it has been a
remarkable contribution!
And it continues still. Although she
formally retired at the end of August,
Judith generously offered to stay on in
16
Fine Arts, in a part-time capacity, to
handle collection development
responsibilities during this transition
period. And her continuing willingness
to contribute her talent and experience
to the enormous benefit of the Cornell
Library brings us back to the beginning as
well. The very first item in the Cornell
Library’s records to have Judith
Holliday’s name on it is a letter, dated
19 December 1960, from Giles Shepherd
to the Dean of the Columbia University
Library School. Shep, who was then
Assistant University Librarian, wrote:
“We are delighted to hear about Miss
Holliday, and I say right off we seldom
let any library talent go to waste in
Ithaca.” Well, we didn’t let her get away,
and we sure haven’t let that talent go to
waste!
So, for thirty-eight years of commitment,
of energy, of talent—and of soul—we
salute you Judith, and we thank you!
And all of us, colleagues and associates
former and current, wish you the very
best in this new “career” of retirement.
And speaking of careers, the next time
you fill out one of those employment
applications, maybe you should
concentrate on the date and just leave
the “how long” box blank!
David Corson is director of the
Olin, Kroch & Uris Libraries and
associate university librarian for
Social Sciences and Humanities.