Employee Appreciation
By Lisa Carter, Vice Provost for Libraries
March 5 is Employee Appreciation Day, and I want to take this moment to appreciate all of our tremendous staff members at the UW-Madison Libraries.
As we approach the one-year mark of the significant disruption caused by the pandemic, it is especially timely to reflect on the challenges we have overcome and recognize the accomplishments we have achieved. Every single one of our colleagues has risen to the occasion and demonstrated new levels of commitment, problem-solving, and community spirit as we worked together to ensure the Libraries continue to offer our campus community the support and resources they need.
I am so grateful for the tremendous efforts shown. Each staff member is absolutely essential to our success.
Many have worked remotely or behind the scenes to prepare resources and systems so that we could leverage our digital infrastructure to offer our users expanded remote access, online services, and the newly created “By Appointment” system. Others delivered direct support to our faculty and students, providing the in-person and virtual expertise and resources they need to get work done. Some have been onsite through it all providing critical ILL services, material retrieval, facility operations, and so much more. Still, others do the work that makes other work possible–there are too many examples of all the important efforts of library staff to list here.
Whether our staff is working remotely, onsite, or a mix, their contributions are valued and appreciated. Whether work is public-facing or behind-the-scenes, it is all crucial to the successful operation of the Libraries. I thank them for their continued efforts. I remain extremely grateful to work with such dedicated colleagues, who, despite the fatigue and stress caused by the situation we find ourselves in, continue to engage with and advance our work.
In addition to recognizing their hard work, I also want to thank our staff again for their outstanding participation in our 2020 Partners in Giving campaign! The GLS is being recognized with an award for achievement in the following categories:
- First Place in Percent Increase in Contributions
- Second Place in Increase in Percent Participation
- Third Place in Percent Participation
- Third Place in Per Capita Contribution
This so clearly speaks to their compassion and dedication to making our community a better place. Not only did you not let the challenging circumstances of last year hinder your generosity, they increased it.
With our combined effort, the GLS raised $29, 276, all of which will support worthy local, national, and international causes. I applaud this accomplishment and thank all who donated and all who participated in our campaign’s special events. Without them, we couldn’t have done it! And thanks also to Emily Eichstedt Anderson and Jessica Sayer for leading our effort.