Awarding Excellence: Quality Service Award

Pam Bach (center) with colleagues from Reference & Instructional Services

Public service in any venue can be messy, including in a library. Users arrive at the Langsam Library Info Commons Desk often unprepared to use our vast resources, uncertain of how libraries work, or just plain confused about their assignment, Blackboard, campus directions – you name it. According to one colleague, "Pam Bach is a problem-solver extraordinaire! Whether the issue involves a non-functioning ID, unusual software needs, or a question on how to use JSTOR, Pam will pursue a plethora of options until she finds a truly satisfactory solution." It is for this dedication to helping the user, that Pam, instructional librarian in the Reference and Instructional Services Department, was awarded the summer 2012 Quality Service Initiative Award.

Pam goes to all lengths to make sure that the most useful and accurate information has been located for a user. She frequently will take down a student's information at the end of a transaction in order to provide follow-up. Pam views every encounter at the Info Commons as a journey that a patron is beginning. She eagerly assists them in navigating the resources so that they successfully arrive at their intended academic destination.

A Group Effort

Preservation Services & Lab along with the QSI Award Committee

Staff in the Preservation Services Department have been engaged in a project to merge the Collection Care Lab at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County (PLCH) with the Preservation Lab of the University of Cincinnati Libraries to create a jointly operated Preservation Lab located in Langsam Library.

The staff worked to lay the foundation for the collaboration, including: preparing documentation for applying for the State Library of Ohio grant that funded the collaboration, developing a renovation plan for the space to incorporate three additional staff and new equipment, training the PLCH conservation technicians in advance conservation techniques and evaluation processes, and participating in PLCH/UC Libraries planning meetings to determine where our processes differ and where improvements can be made by both institutions.

Through the collaboration, we increased the staff engaged in preservation activities, expanded areas of expertise, and installed a full-time conservator charged with addressing the needs of the rare book collection. Library users at both PLCH and UC now have improved access to collections thanks to the work of the Preservation Services and Lab. In recognition of this successful collaboration, the Preservations Services and Lab were awarded the 2011/12 Group Quality Service Award.

Source Index