I can't believe it's been a year since I won the Spirit of Librarianship Award! And now with the self-serving comment out of the way, let's get to the people who really deserve the attention…
(I'll update the SoL page when the winner is announced. If anybody has a digital camera, can you take pictures of the nominees on the stage and the winner and send them to me so I can add them to the page as well?)
—
Hi all,
I would like
to thank everyone who nominated someone for this award we have a lot of
strong contenders for the award this year. The following list contains
all the nominees for this year’s award:
– Matthew Bingham
– Peter Bladlund
– Chantale Boileau
– Rachel Chan
– Erin Fields
– Natasha Hesch
– Michelle Lake
– Jessica Olliver
– Megan Potts
– Tina Steed
– Danielle Winn
We are looking forward for the voting to begin. But first there are a few rules:
1. Everyone including students, faculty and staff are eligible to vote for any of the above students.
2. All votes must be submitted by a UWO email address, those that are not from a UWO email address will not be counted.
3. All votes must be in by Monday April 9th at 10 pm.
4. You can only vote once, and for one person.
5. All votes must be made to Student council email address, mlisstudentcouncil@gmail.com
6. You must vote for someone even if you nominated them.
7. Nominees are eligible to vote.
This is a very strong group of students; a list of the nominated students with the nomination testimonies will follow.
Congratulations to all the students who have been nominated and good luck.
Thank you!
Spirit of Librarianship Committee
—
Matthew Bingham
Everybody
knows Matt, because he makes an effort to be everybody's friend. He
works part-time at the GRC, and always has a smile on his face. He's
the class clown, and always makes us laugh!
Peter Bladlund
Peter
is one of those people who stand out in the MLIS program. He is a very
supportive person, whether you're his partner for a project or a
classmate. In a team environment, he doesn't sweat the small stuff,
believes in the capabilities of his group members, and is very
personable. He always goes the extra mile to help people, and what I
find the most encouraging about Peter is the fact that he reaches out
to you FIRST when you're having assignment difficulties in comparison
to you reaching out first. This is the type of nature Peter has, rare
to find, and appreciated by all in his presence.
Chantale Boileau
Chantale
Boileau should be rewarded with the Spirit of Librarianship Award
because she has demonstrated exceptional commitment to the profession.
Throughout her time at FIMS Chantale has been on the Executive of
Librarians without Borders and the Student Chapter of the Canadian
Library Association. She works hard to share current information, and
is a great resource for jobs in the Ottawa area. She is also a great
person to work with, she is always going out of her way to make life
easier for others.
Rachel Chan
Since her first
semester at FIMS, Rachel has been very active in extra-curricular
activities and has even worked as a Job Web Assistant. She’s been the
SOGS Rep for the Student Council and has worked to increase the success
of the CLA’s Peer to Peer and Professional Mentorship Program through
her role as a participant on that committee. She’s also very involved
with Ask Ontario, a major initiative dedicated to creating a 24hr.
virtual reference service for Ontarians. Rachel will be an accomplished
librarian one day in the very near future and is deserving of this
award.
Erin Fields
Erin Fields has been a positive
presence in this program since she arrived. She is always smiling or
laughing, and is always there for comfort or cheering up when it is
needed. She is the rep for the Archive Association, is a member of CLA,
and is currently the chair of Librarians Without Borders. Erin truly
represents everything which the Spirit of Librarianship award stands
for.
Natasha Hesch
She is friends with everyone in
the class (of first term) and always has a smile for everyone, and has
gotten to know upper-term students as well. She is doing very well in
her classes and asks intelligent questions in class. She is a great
combination of friendly, fun and studious and is always willing to lend
a hand to fellow students.
Michelle Lake
Testimony One:
I
would like to nominate Michelle Lake for the Spirit of Librarianship
Award. Michelle has been an inspiration to many fellow library students
— her love of the profession is communicated through her enthusiasm
and her activism, in short her infectious spirit of librarianship!
This
semester, Michelle organized a reading and awareness campaign for the
Faculty of Information and Media Studies in support of Freedom to Read
Week, receiving coverage in the UWO community — and was an eloquent
host and participant in this successful event.
In addition,
Michelle has been an active participant on the MLIS Student Council,
responsible for a housing blog, an especially useful tool for students
who come and go on co-op in this program — providing access to
information for the rest of us…Michelle builds community &
promotes discussion in this program (where interests are diverse!)
through her regular communications with colleagues, through email and
through her blog “Yarns from M” — drawing our attention to
controversies and new innovations. (see:
http://msmeshell.blogspot.com/)
Active in attending conferences,
Michelle eagerly shares information and excitement with her fellow
students. She fires off emails and letters to support access to, and
widespread use of, our libraries. Michelle Lake deserves the Spirit
of Librarianship Award this semester as she has proven herself to be an
excellent communicator, defender of the profession, and exemplary
student in this program.
Testimony Two:
Even if you haven't had
the pleasure of getting to know Michelle Lake personally, or met her in
one of the various activities she has coordinated and attended, you
probably still know her name from the many emails she has sent, sharing
information that she feels the MLIS population would be interested in
or benefit from. Michelle is all about sharing information, whether by
email, on her well-maintained and relevant blog, or over a cup of
coffee in the Grad Club. But it's not just because she is a true
information professional that she exemplifies the Spirit of
Librarianship. Neither is it just because she has sat on Student
Council each term, representing her peers and helping them with housing
issues. Nor is it just because she organizes events, like the Freedom
to Read Week reading, or because she attends events and encourages
others to participate (she is a faithful attendee at Trivia Nights).
It's not just because she takes advantage of professional development
opportunities (having attended the CLA conference in 2006 and OLA in
2007). Michelle isn't worthy of the nomination only because she manages
to juggle working at London Public Library with a full MLIS course
load, with academic success, or because she has worked in libraries in
Hamilton, London, and Guelph. No, it's not for any of those reasons
alone. Michelle Lake exemplifies the Spirit of Librarianship because
she does ALL of those things, with a smile on her face, a positive
attitude, and a willingness to help her fellow students every step of
the way. She is genuinely passionnate about librarianship. She has
contributed to every aspect of the program and is committed to the
profession, to FIMS, to her studies, and to her peers. That is why
Michelle deserves the nomination.
Jessica Olliver
Testimony One:
Ms.
Olliver is very engaged with the student community and has a great
interest in the MLIS program and its ties to the professional
community.
Ms. Olliver has been a SOGS rep for Student Council
since September, and she is hoping to become more involved with council
this summer.Ms. Olliver is also an active member of OLA and currently
working to get a student chapter at FIMS. At the moment, she is
contemplating having an “OLA Day” once a term where students could
focus on professional issues such as resume building, interview skills,
networking, etc.
Testimony Two:
Jess Olliver deserves
the Spirit of Librarianship Award because of all she does to make the
library school experience more enjoyable for her peers. She is a very
active member of the Student Chapter of the CLA, and participates in
planning and running fun events. She also worked with the Student
Council to bring guest speakers to FIMS this semester. It’s amazing,
but Jess also finds the time to act as a MLIS SOGS Rep. Jess is always
thinking of ways to serve and help others and is truly committed to
librarianship.
Megan Potts
Megan would be a deserving
recipient of this award for a number of reasons–she is an articulate
and constructive contributor to class discussions, is always willing to
take time to assist fellow students, and is a positive influence on
anyone and everyone she meets. Megan epitomizes the ideals of the
profession with her helpful attitude, her interest in learning, and the
courtesy with which she treats both students and instructors alike.
Megan is a leader and role model to her fellow students, is both bright
and hardworking, and she represents all the most positive aspects of
Western's MLIS program. For these reasons, she deserves this nomiantion
for Western's Spirit of Librarianship Award.
Tina Steed
Testimony One:
As
past Chair of the CLA, Tina successfully increased membership and made
innovative changes to the executive. She has been an active member of
the CLA her entire time at Library School and is currently serving as
the Treasurer. Additionally, Tina has been active on the Student
Council and currently serves as a Social Rep. Tina is always willing to
help out fellow students, and exemplifies the spirit of our profession.
Testimony Two:
Tina was my peer mentor during my first
term here (September – December 2006) and we have been friends since
the first day we met. In fact, even before I arrived on campus, Tina
answered my panicked email and IM messages daily, and answered them
thoroughly and honestly. She is an incredibly warm and friendly person
who genuinely cares the well being of her fellow classmates. Moreover,
she is passionate about the field and is genuinely excited to get out
there and make a difference. I would not have made it through my first
semester without her, and I continue to value her friendship and
support.
Danielle Winn
Over her tenure in the MLIS
program, Danielle Winn has consistently made positive social and
professional contributions to the program. Throughout her schooling,
she has been active in student groups and social and professional
activities. This term, while balancing the academic commitments of this
program and the demands of a teaching assistant, she has volunteered
her time as MLIS Student Council Chair and Communications
Representative for the student chapter of the CLA. In these roles she
has helped to organize fundraisers and social events, and bring in
guest speakers from the wider library community. Her warm, outgoing and
fun personality certainly brightens the sterile halls of North Campus
Building, and her enthusiasm for librarianship permeates all of her
endeavours.
) 
