The Libraries recognizes its outstanding student workers

Each year, the Libraries’ Student Assistant Program Committee acknowledges the tremendous contributions of its student workers with several awards. This year, the awards ceremony was held online on April 12 and included a heartfelt thanks for all Libraries student workers from Associate Director for Collections & Research Services, David Goldsmith, as well as a competitive Kahoot quiz with NC State trivia, and a virtual raffle.

The Outstanding Student Assistant of the Year for 2021 is Lily O'Brien (in Access Services). When her spring 2020 semester abroad was interrupted by the pandemic, O'Brien rejoined the Libraries and quickly became an essential part of both the Bookstacks and Tripsaver units because of her "expertise in multiple areas, her adaptability, and her dedication to excellence." O’Brien also works at the Gregg Museum on campus.

One of O'Brien’s nominators said: "Knowing we had an experienced student colleague in these units during a time of immense change and uncertainty made us feel more confident that we could continue to provide the same high level of service expected by our students, faculty, and staff." Another noted that "without Lily working in Tripsaver, there might have been some delays in the receiving and returning of ILL items." 

The Libraries’ two Above & Beyond Award winners are Adam Phillips (in Access Services) and Meghan Tankersley (in Learning Spaces & Services). Phillips is a senior studying Geology and Tankersley is a senior studying Psychology and Art & Design.

Phillips’ nominators said: "Adam was one of our first students to return when we reopened last year. As one of a severely reduced student workforce, he had to learn new tasks and software systems quickly... Within the first couple of weeks he had mastered all these new responsibilities, and continues to be an invaluable help to staff as we are pulled in a variety of new directions. Adam is always eager to help and demonstrates a genuine curiosity in our operation and how it fits into the greater context of the Libraries’ mission."

Tankersley’s nominators specifically mentioned her contributions to one of the Libraries' newest programs. "Over the course of the 2020-21 academic year,” they wrote, “Meghan has once again taken a leadership role with her work at our newest Libraries service point: streaming on twitch.tv to highlight games and electronic resources available to students via our catalog and collections. This work leads our organization into an exciting new medium for student outreach and instruction and has made our Libraries a leader in this nascent platform. Meghan has contributed excellent customer-service, creativity, and attention-to-detail within her work and our Libraries are better for it!"

Congratulations to our award winners, as well as all our amazing Libraries student workers!