Thomas Adeetuk to Retire
After 39 years with UW Libraries, Thomas Adeetuk is retiring. His final day will be Friday, February 4th. The staff of College Library will miss Thomas deeply, but we wish him the absolute best in his retirement!
Thomas’s Madison odyssey began in January of 1982. Having completed teacher training in Ghana, Thomas also finished a BA degree in Geography and Sociology at the University of Ghana-Legon. He later worked on a joint project between Ghana and USAID before coming to UW-Madison’s Center for Development Studies to pursue a master’s degree in public policy and administration. In the years that followed, Thomas continued his education, completing his master’s in public policy and administration (1983), a PhD in Land Resources (1991), and a master’s in library science (1994). Beginning in August of 1982, Thomas held the first of many positions at the UW-Madison Libraries. His first job was as a student assistant in College Library’s Circulation Department, and he feels a sense of completion that his career took him full circle and he is now retiring from that same department. From that first position, his progression to full time as an LTE and an LSA came quickly with work for Memorial, Math, Steenbock, and College Libraries. Thomas barcoded items when discovery turned digital. He cleared the way for movable shelving. He worked the first ever ID check shift for Memorial Library. Throughout his career, he made countless friends at UW and positively impacted the experience of tens of thousands of library patrons.
This is especially true at College Library where Thomas primarily interacted with patrons who needed to replace lost or damaged materials. His patience and delicacy when handling negotiations were appreciated by all parties. One student went so far as to send Thomas a thank-you card after he waived her fine, writing, “I realize it would’ve been much easier for you to not work for any type of exception and I wanted to make sure you knew how much I appreciate your time and effort. You made my month!” This student was only one of many patrons who took the time to express their appreciation for Thomas’s efforts. Thomas recalled helping a patron at a time when book renewals were handled by hand and limited to twenty-five at a time. He took what was an all-day process for her and expedited it, working behind the scenes to renew the items while she enjoyed the delights of State Street. Her appreciation knew no bounds. In reflecting upon his approach to customer service, Thomas replied, “There are policies, but we have to temper them with humanity.”
When asked to sum up Thomas’s contributions to College Library, Carrie Kruse, the library’s director, stated unequivocally, “Thomas is all heart.” One major contribution he made to College Library is evidence of that sentiment. Thomas was the primary force behind creating the library’s “Excellence-in-Service” award for student assistants. He has served on the award committee every semester since its inception in 2006 and introduces the award at each semester’s student assistant appreciation party. Kruse noted, “Thomas is such a strong advocate for the library’s student staff. The continuation of this award in years to come will be part of his legacy.”
In addition to finding lost books and prepping materials for inter-library loan, Thomas was one of the stalwart employees who came into the library every day during the early days of the pandemic. He quickly shifted priorities to scan thousands of pages of materials for faculty and students when classes suddenly went fully online in March 2020.
As Thomas reflects on his first days at UW Madison and the breadth of the career that followed, we know there’s some sadness in departing. That sadness is tempered by the new opportunity to focus on connections to friends and family across many nations. And, fortunately for all his friends, there will be chances to connect with Thomas each summer. Although he plans to winter at his home in Ghana, he’ll be back in the Madison area each May through August to run his booth, Akarim African Enterprises, at festivals across the Midwest. We are delighted that he will be selling clothing, straw baskets, drums, balafons, calimbas, and mudcloth while promoting cultural connections between Africa and the rest of the world for the foreseeable future!