2008 ILA Update #4

NEWS RELEASE

In their nominating letters, three colleagues from University of Illinois at Chicago’s Library of the Health Sciences wrote words of praise for Sanders. Veronica Jones stated that, "Sanders never lets his title as supervisor determine his level of customer service. He is always willing to assist any and every individual seeking the services offered by the library."

UIC colleague Verlene Sims said, "An important aspect of making sure that staff provide, and our patrons receive, great service is good teamwork. Sanders continually tries to maintain a friendly and inviting learning environment for those employed [by] and visit[ing] the library. Sanders has this unique ability to work with both his staff and the library patrons...[using] effective interpersonal and communication skills...[to communicate] pertinent information to all."

Connie Camp noted, "He has a genuine, natural ability to help and direct patrons and staff to reach their goals and maneuver the sometimes complicated pathways of an academic, medical library. Sanders is always on the lookout for ways to improve services, morale, and communication here at UIC."

2008 Oberman & Rich Award Winners
Lori J. Wilcox, Chicago Public Library, Wrightwood-Ashburn Branch, and Robert Wise, Chicago Public Library, Edgewater Branch, are the 2008 winners of the Oberman & Rich Awards. The award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated personal and professional growth to advance themselves to a position of leadership within their own library, library system, ILA, or library community at large. The recipients receive free registration to the 2008 Reaching Forward Conference of Library Assistants, $50 for expenses, and a framed certificate.

"When it comes to loyalty, flexibility, and dedication, Wilcox goes beyond the call of duty. She hit the ground running when she joined the Chicago Public Library family," stated Regina Johnson, branch manager, Wrightwood-Ashburn Branch, Chicago Public Library.

Johnson continued, "She has created many new programs for various ages; works at two branches, collaborates with various community organizations to get grants, and has overseen three teen programs and a young adult book discussion.

"She has published articles on mentoring males, spoken at forums on teen violence, been featured for programming in library publications, and has been on the radio and television for her efforts with youth. She’s built a network of donors and volunteers in the communities that she serves and, most importantly, she stresses customer service to all our patrons. Wilcox exemplifies the model employee."

Robert (Bob) Wise was praised for his hard work "at his job that consistently goes beyond, anticipating what’s needed and taking the initiative to make improvements," said K. Griebel from the Edgewater Branch, Chicago Public Library. Griebel continued, "The quality of his work is the best that he can make it and he takes special care to shelve quickly yet accurately. His greatest contribution to our branch, however, is probably his positive attitude. He cares passionately about the quality of the branch environment, whether that includes the appearance of the branch, its security needs, or the backload of books to be shelved."

Reaching Forward Annual Conference of Library Assistants These awards will be presented at the Reaching Forward Annual Conference of Library Assistants awards ceremony, Friday, May 9, noon, at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont.

Reaching Forward is an Illinois Library Association forum created to address the needs and interests of library support staff in academic, public, school, and special libraries. The forum sponsors the largest conference for support staff in the nation. This year will be the 17th annual conference and more than 1,000 participants are registered for the event.

Joe Contrera will be the keynote speaker. Contrera is the president and founder of ALIVE@WORK® LLC, a management consulting firm that works with organizations to motivate and engage their people at work. After the keynote session, there will be three breakout sessions with eleven concurrent sessions featuring mystery writer J. A. Konrath, Miriam Pollack, Dan and Sharon Wiseman, Rebecca Teasdale, and many others. The registration fee ($100 for members or $110 for nonmembers) includes all sessions, continental breakfast, and lunch.For further information about Reaching Forward, the above-mentioned awards, or to register for the conference, please contact the Illinois Library Association.