Michelle Sancen, Director of Libraries Ellen Safley, Paul Oelkrug
Top Library Awards
go to curator, multi-media manager
McDermott Library's chief curator and a multi-media service manager were honored as the recipients of the 2011 Ethel Ward-McLemore Awards for Library Excellence.
Paul Oelkrug, C.A., of Carrollton and Michelle Sancen of Dallas accepted their awards from Ellen Safley, PhD, director of UT Dallas Libraries at a recent banquet.
Oelkrug is the head of McDermott Library's Special Collections that houses the History of Aviation Collection, the Wineburgh Philatelic Research Library, and the Belsterling Botanical Collection. In recent years he has guided the department in widely publicized events such as the Central Intelligence Agency symposium about Air America and the televised 9/11 panels of pilots and air traffic controllers who provided first hand accounts of Sept. 11, 2001. He came to UT Dallas in 2002 as a volunteer project archivist and became curator in 2003. He was named head of Special Collections in 2007.
Sancen came to McDermott Library in 2005 as an entry level library assistant. In 2006 she became multi-media service manager and stacks maintenance supervisor. She serves on the university's Staff Council and that group's communications committee. She also conducts Spanish language tours for incoming freshmen.
Oelkrug and Sancen received gold pins, certificates and $1,000 checks.
The 2011 McLemore Awards committee consisted of Jach Ross, Susan Fisher, Susie Kutchi, Jennifer Gordon and Shanelle Frye.
The late Ethel McLemore worked in geophysics and conducted research in the Geological Information Library from an office in McDermott Library. Impressed by the professionalism, knowledge and concern of the library staff, she created an endowment in 1989 for the awards presented in her name.
Library hosts worldwide library cooperative workshop
A guest of McDermott Library, Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (OCLC) presented a free day-long workshop on May 5, 2011 for regional members from local university and public libraries. The event was titled "Good Practices for Great Outcomes: Cataloging Efficiencies that Make a Difference."
OCLC is a worldwide library cooperative, owned, governed and sustained by members since 1967. Members work together to improve access to information held in libraries around the globe, and find ways to reduce library costs through collaborations.
Dr. Ellen Safley, Director of Libraries at UT Dallas, welcomed the guests. The opening keynote speaker was Stefanie Wittenbach, University Librarian at Texas A&M-San Antonio. She spoke on "Extreme Makeover: Reengineering Technical Services for the 21st Century."
She was followed by Glenn Patton, Director, WorldCat Quality Management of OCLC. A panel discussion that followed included:
- Debbie Montgomery, Head of Cataloging Team, UT Dallas: "Going Beyond the Catalog: Cataloging to Enrich Discovery, Access and Function."
- Jennifer Gordon, Head of Electronic Resources Team, UT Dallas: "Best Practices in Ebook Management: A Work in Progress."
- Beth Walters, Head of Cataloging, Fort Worth library: "Improving Workflow Efficiencies: Outsourcing vs. In-house."
The remainder of the program featured a Roundtable discussion of small groups and a closing keynote, "Training the Cataloger of the Future," by Shawne Miksa, Associate Professor, Department of Library and Information Sciences, College of Information, University of North Texas.
Overseeing the proceedings for OCLC was Eric Forte, Member Services Consultant.
OCLC panelists included (left to right) Debbie Montgomery, UT Dallas; Jennifer
Gordon, UT Dallas; and Beth Walters, Fort Worth Library.
Director, staff participate
in national LOEX meet in Fort Worth
Director of UT Dallas Libraries Ellen Safley and two of McDermott Library's information literacy experts took part in the LOEX 2011 39th Annual Conference from May 5-7 in Fort Worth. It has been several years since LOEX (Library Orientation Exchange) has held this national conference in the Southwest.
Dr. Safley served on a Saturday morning panel that addressed "The Role of Library Leadership in Advocating for Information Literacy."
Loreen Phillips, Head of Information Literacy at McDermott, and Susan Kutchi, Instruction Librarian, served on the planning and organizing committee for the conference. Reference Librarian Chris Edwards was a conference volunteer.
HAC holds semi-annual meeting
Special Collections at McDermott Library held its History of Aviation Advisory Council semi-annual meeting at the Frontiers of Flight Museum located at Dallas' Love Field on May 12, 2011.
The members review recent activities and plans. Included was a slide show by accomplished aviation photographer Jay Miller.
The Council consists of Jan Collmer, Bruce Leadbetter, Brian Johnson, Jack M. Taylor, Bruce Bleakley, Dick Atkins, John Luckadoo, L.J. "Chet" Tschetter, George W. Lodge, Dr. David R. Webb, Jr., Luke J. Gill, USAF (Ret.), Joe M. Dealey, Jr., and representing UT Dallas, Paul Oelkrug, Head of Special Collections.
First place winner David Ortiz is congratulated by
Director of UT Libraries Dr. Ellen Safley
Ph.D. Student wins Nook color reader
in National Library Week contest
UT Dallas graduate student David Ortiz won a new Nook color e-reader by guessing closest to the weight of the combined volumes of Samuel Johnson's 1755 A Dictionary of the English Language. The contest drew more than 100 entries and was a part of McDermott Library's National Library Week observance held April 1-15.
Ortiz, who received his previous degrees in Puerto Rico, is pursuing a doctorate in electrical engineering and a masters in supply management at UT Dallas. Students were asked to observe the dictionaries on display in Special Collections and estimate the combined weight in kilograms. Ortiz guessed 12.5 kg and the actual weight is 12.51 kg or 27.52 pounds. He is a student worker in Facilities Management.
Yvette Wang also guessed 12.5 kg but Ortiz had the earliest entry to take the top prize. Wang was presented a TI-84 Plus calculator. She is studying biomedical sciences.
Longtime Geosciences professor James L. Carter weighed the dictionaries that are housed in Special Collections. The first edition dictionary was one of several books recently donated to McDermott Library by Dr. Ludwig Michael of Dallas.
Members of the National Library Week Committee were Mary Jo Venetis, chair, Linda Snow, Paul Oelkrug, Debbie Montgomery, Jean Vik, and Tom Koch. National Library Week is promoted by the American Library Association.
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Above, Geosciences professor James Carter takes a precision
weight reading of the two-century old dictionary
with Paul Oelkrug, head of Special Collections.
Tahmoures Elyasi, Employee of the Quarter
Software support specialist
selected inaugural
Employee of the Quarter
Tahmoures Elyasi, Library Software Support Specialist, was chosen Employee of the Quarter for the first three months of 2011 at a National Library Worker's Appreciation Day brunch at McDermott Library on Tuesday, April 12.
Elyasi was praised for his expertise and cooperative approach in finding solutions for various tasks throughout the library. One nomination noted, "Any time I come to his office, he is ready to assist me with any questions. Without Tahmoures the Treasures project and Online Room Reservation system would not have happened. It is a pleasure to have such a knowledgeable and reliable worker."
For his efforts Elyasi received a Purple Parking Pass that will allow him to park in the premier lot adjacent to the library for the next three months. The presentation was the first in a new program initiated by Director of Libraries Ellen Safley to regularly reward outstanding efforts by library employees.
A native of Iran, Elyasi joined McDermott Library in April 2001 as a part time employee in Library Information Technology. He studied computer technology at a local community college and earned an associate's degree in 2005. That year he became a citizen of the United States. He was hired full time to work on library computer networks and technical equipment. In 2006 he was presented the library's highest award, the Ethel Ward-McLemore Award for Library Excellence. In 2009 he received a BS degree in computer science from The University of Texas at Dallas.
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