UBC Library is pleased to announce that Sarah Blay, Katherine Hill, Paul Lesack and Lorne Madgett are the 2019 recipients of UBC Library Awards. Each year, the Library Awards Program shines a light on those employees who have demonstrated exceptional creativity, innovation, leadership, excellence and a dedication to customer service through their work.
The awards were presented at the annual Library Recognition Luncheon at the Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre on May 28, 2019. Congratulations Sarah, Katherine, Paul and Lorne, and thank you to everyone who participated by submitting nominations.
Sarah Blay
Sarah Blay (Program and Administrative Assistant, Koerner Library) is the winner of our newest award, introduced this year. The 2019 UBC Library Leadership From Within (aka the Gumption) Award recognizes employees who do not have supervisory responsibilities. Recipients of this award consistently demonstrate leadership through their ability to inspire engagement in others, while exemplifying the Library’s values. They step up to fulfill a need either themselves or by motivating others or teams.
Sarah brings a welcoming team approach and works from a place of inclusion. She ensures everyone in the Research Commons space knows each other and feels welcomed and included. She also stepped up to help out when others were unexpectedly away at a crucial time.
Katherine Hill
Katherine Hill (Circulation and Office Manager, Woodward Library) earned the Employee Excellence Award, which recognizes a Library employee who consistently demonstrates their commitment to making an impact on the Library by making it a better workplace for all through living our values and behaviors.
In everything she does, Katherine works to create an exceptional workplace environment. She is known as a go-to person across the Library, sharing her knowledge widely and helping colleagues in other units get up to speed. She brings patience, creativity, humour, and solution-oriented support to each workplace experience.
Paul Lesack
Paul Lesack (Data/GIS Analyst, Koerner Library) is the winner of the Unsung Hero Award, which recognizes a Library employee or team who keep our libraries running, delivering its services, collections and operations. Their efforts help UBC Library to effectively deliver the stellar service that users have come to expect.
Paul has become the backbone of critical support for UBC’s complex network of campus-wide interdisciplinary data need. His unsung work can be seen at the core of many research projects, including his work with the Vancouver Aquarium to create digital, manipulatable versions of the original paper maps. These maps have become essential to researchers who are currently working to daylight once hidden streams.
Lorne Madgett
Lorne Madgett (e-Resources & Access Library Specialist, Collections Services) is the winner of the Innovation Award, which recognizes a Library employee who has demonstrated new ways of performing existing processes or has introduced a new library service or program that is beneficial to Library employees and/or users.
Lorne has demonstrated the ability to work with people at all levels of the organization and supply chain, earning the respect and loyalty of his unit members, other technical services staff, branch liaisons and Library administration. His curiosity and desire to problem solve inspires an unhesitant quest to ask questions and find answers through peers, online tools and other experts.