Infinite Mile Awards, 2008

Individual | Team

Communication and Collaboration: Jennifer Morris
Community: Stephanie Hartman
Unsung Hero: Christie Moore
Unsung Hero: Anita Perkins

Communication and Collaboration: Jennifer Morris

If this individual had an Olympic event, it would be the biathlon. US biathletes are better known for choking under pressure when it comes to the visual attention necessary to hit their mark after prolonged exertion. However, the Libraries has its very own elite marksman whose aim remains steady under pressure. Trekking through mazes of database code does not tire her, nor do hidden bugs elude her. She endures pages of line-by-line hunting and hits the bull's-eye with her fixes. Her training is precise and streamlined. Her motto? 'Faster. Easier. Simply Better.'

A nominator wrote, "Prior to [this staff person's] arrival, our staff lived in a state of alarm, worried about what might go wrong next, like the server running out of space, work templates being destroyed by Windows updates, loss of work due to storing files in the wrong place, and worse. [Now] we're freed from so many of these distractions, and are able to focus on filling requests for users and getting our work done."

This person has fostered strong cross-departmental relationships. She has worked with the E-Reserves team that gives STELLAR performance; aided the Library Storage Annex in getting its document delivery project underway; and worked with the Client Focus Group, establishing their wiki and instructing committee members in its use.

While technical skills play a huge part in her work role, this person also excels at listening and communicating. She serves as motivator and coach, encouraging staff to try out and adopt new applications that will improve their daily workflows. She strives to bridge the gap between technical devices and their human operators.

A colleague writes, "The nice thing about [her] is that she's incredibly approachable. If you hastily apologize for asking a dumb question, she thanks you for the relief from the complicated stuff that's always on her plate. If there's an error that keeps showing up on your computer and you describe it in blatantly non-technical terms, she doesn't sneer at you for your appalling ignorance. After all, [she] is bilingual in tech and non-tech languages. Above all, it amazes me how she consistently puts others first."

For her ability to develop strategies for individual and team work that lead to a high standard of quality and efficiency, and for her ability to make connections between people and technology, the Libraries' 2008 Infinite Mile Award, for an Individual, in the category of Communication and Collaboration, goes to Jenn Morris.

Community: Stephanie Hartman

The spirit of the Olympic Games is embodied by a unique mascot representing the cultural heritage of the host country. Perhaps, then, it is not a coincidence that this chosen recipient has been known to don the costume of MIT's mascot, "Tim the Beaver", as a way to reach out to students. This individual also connects with students at Academic Expo, and while scooping ice cream during Libraries Week. Her friendly and caring personality helps students feel welcome and she promotes the Libraries, as one nominator says, ""just by being an approachable, fun person that the students can turn to." She has been lauded by colleagues for her empathy, shown in all aspects of her work, from giving personable reference service via email, to taking student workers under her wing and offering them advice and a sympathetic ear. One colleague notes that, "her very personality fosters community because she cares about people".

This colleague takes great pride in making the Libraries a more aesthetically pleasing and comfortable atmosphere for both patrons and staff. Her creative vision can be seen everywhere in her library. The signage, the color of the carpeting and furnishings, and even the tablecloths and napkins for library functions all show traces of her fingerprints.

But the praise for this recipient doesn't stop at her connections with the user community. She receives accolades from coworkers for social activities that she initiated years ago, and still maintains today, that foster a sense of fun and community both within her department and the MIT Libraries as a whole. The Oscar pool and the March Madness pool make her department's staff, which is physically distributed over four different locations, feel like a single unit. Piefest brings them together for a wide selection of pies and fun conversation. And, the wildly popular annual Cookiefest, conceived of and planned by this individual, is "a celebration honoring the cookie", which grew from a Barker-wide event, to ESL-wide, to now system-wide. As one nominator asks, "Who can go wrong with great conversation and cookies?"

In a recent Cookiefest announcement, she quoted Congresswoman Barbara Jordan: "Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap." Well thanks to this colleague, we do have cookies and milk at about three o'clock on at least one afternoon each year, and we are the beneficiaries of her many other contributions that make the MIT Libraries a "better world".

For her ability to connect with students and make them feel welcome in the Libraries, her ability to build connections between the Libraries and the MIT community and, for the numerous ways in which she brings us together as colleagues, the Libraries' 2008 Infinite Mile Award, for an Individual, in the category of Community, goes to Stephanie Hartman.

Unsung Hero: Christie Moore

Like a marathoner who must sustain the energy to pursue their goal mile after mile, the unsung hero perseveres with grace and enthusiasm. For over four decades, this individual has kept the pace in a tireless pursuit of excellence in the MIT Libraries.

This nominee's skills range from stellar public service to space planning to web work. She is also a pro at order processing – offering excellent service by going the distance to find the best price on each order and by highlighting related items of interest. Her nominator is convinced that she has saved the library "many thousands of dollars over the years."

She has mastered many responsibilities and is always seeking opportunities to learn and apply new skills. For example, she volunteered to learn Dreamweaver when the software was new, and subsequently took on her library's web work. More recently she took the initiative to learn InDesign, which enabled her to update her library's newsletter with a striking new format. A colleague points out: "It is remarkable that [she] has been able to sustain her enthusiasm for her work while constantly adapting to new technologies, workflows and priorities. [She's] always thinking about how to do it, not how to get out of it!" Her nominator said that "if she takes on job, it will be done thoroughly, quickly, and with a creative spark."

This individual not only goes the extra mile with behind-the-scenes work but also excels in customer service. She "takes the extra step by emailing faculty when certain materials in their area of expertise are received by the library." One faculty member writes:

"Since I've started working with [her], I've had this recurring feeling that my memory is slipping. I'll go to the web to request a book order and strangely, it's already ordered and on hold with my name on it. [I wonder if I already ordered it and forgot about it.] …I will suddenly remember a book that I forgot to order for my class and there it is, not only already rush ordered, but cataloged and placed on reserve. …But her hand in improving the library and student learning at MIT goes far beyond correcting professors' forgetfulness. Whether it is a top-notch monograph from an obscure press or a beautiful facsimile collection, she has both a vast knowledge and a keen eye for materials in whatever medium that enhances research and teaching at MIT."

She quietly wins over the dedication of student assistants in her library with her baking skills. Years ago she started the tradition of baking delicious cookies for them at the beginning of each semester, which has no doubt encouraged faithful attendance. And when these students graduate, she thoughtfully prepares for each of them a cookie recipe booklet.

For the enormous impact she has had on the operations and success of the Lewis Music Library, and for her commitment to service excellence, the Libraries' 2008 Infinite Mile Award, for an Individual, in the category of Unsung Hero, goes to Christie Moore.

Unsung Hero: Anita Perkins

Like a cycler in a peloton pacing the pack so the lead rider can make a break and win the race for the team, the unsung hero in the MIT Libraries quietly accomplishes key tasks so that the whole organization can succeed.

It's ironic that this nominee should receive an unsung hero award since so many of her co-workers sing her praises at the top of their lungs. Numerous nominators claimed that this new award category was created with this person in mind.

This individual never shirks from taking on unglamorous jobs that are essential to providing outstanding library service. Always the first to cover a reference shift, provide training, help a colleague answer a tricky question, or drive around Somerville to pick up ice cream for a public social event, this staff member always has your back and never looks for any credit or thanks.

"As the epitome of the unsung hero," one nominator writes, "this individual is not inclined to sing her own praises, but rather is content with the personal satisfaction of doing her job well." Another says she "is always more than willing to pitch in and help out – her own schedule be damned." A more succinct summary: "She's a superhero! Plus, she's funny as hell."

This sense of humor is key to her success and she knows how to deliver it at just the right time in a stressful situation. One nominator says, "She is a pleasure with whom to work and brings to every day a spirit of fun and collaborative work."

Several mention her quiet but important role in reaching out to support staff and helping all staff feel like contributing colleagues. At the mention of her name you hear things like:

"[She] has done more for my time and career in the MIT Libraries than most people and I don't think she has any idea of her very positive impact."

"She is an oasis of kindness, intelligence, wit, and humility…"

"She is one of the most unselfish people in the MIT Libraries…"

"She knows EVERYTHING … and has an uncanny ability to appear … exactly when you need her expertise…."

For her unfailing support of her colleagues, for her countless daily contributions to user services, but most of all, for being the valued colleague that she is, the Libraries' 2008 Infinite Mile Award, for an Individual, in the category of Unsung Hero, goes to Anita Perkins.