The Library Board of Trustees honored these Library Leadership winners for the first quarter of FY2019 (October-December) at its regular meeting, March 21, 2019. Board Chair Ronnie King (R) and Director Tim Rogers (L) personally congratulated them and presented them with their awards.
Nicolle Burton: Employee of the Quarter:
Nicolle first won the Encourage the Heart Award and ultimately the Employee of the Quarter Library Leadership Award. Along with her many job responsibilities, Nicolle works hard and is positive and encourages staff to contribute to various citywide initiatives such as the Daniel organization's Thanksgiving baskets and Salvation Army's Christmas Drive for Children, etc. Promoting participation by JPL staff while cooperating with other city departments running charitable campaigns, Nicolle has done a superb job--and always with a smile. She is also appreciated for coordinating staff celebrations and get-togethers which take effort, patience, and passion. Nicolle is a bright light in JPL!
Carolyn Armstrong - Inspire A Shared Vision:
On Saturdays at Dallas Graham, each child is asked to do
some reading before logging on to the computer. They check with staff on their
reading, either relating elements of the story or reading along with a staff
member. Part-time Clerk Carolyn Armstrong takes this mission seriously
and spends significant time with each child, usually reading with them for
several pages and ensuring they comprehend what is written. Her patience
and determination serve as an example to other members of the team and
reinforces the sense of purpose staff has in developing young readers.
Catherine Currier - Encourage the Heart Award:
Catherine formed and strengthened
partnerships with local community organizations during the first quarter. She
coordinated the exhibition of two Jacksonville Historical Society displays,
ensured all paperwork was completed, and managed the installations. Catherine worked
with Cummer Museum staff and library staff to develop adult and children's
library programs to complement the Cummer Museum's Augusta Savage exhibit
and to cross-promote institutions. She attended Memorial Park events and
distributed library information. She established a partnership with Alliance
Francais which resulted in the planning of a series of tours of Special
Collections and English language instruction for a group of French
visitors in the Main Library's Center for Adult Learning. The partnership also resulted in
promotion of the "Mapping Our Past" event on Alliance Francais's
website and an email blast to Alliance Francais's email distribution list of
750 people.
Mandy Elliott (not pictured) - Enable Others to Act:
For the 3rd year in a row, JPL
has participated in Jacksonville Beach's Deck the Chairs by sponsoring and
decorating a lifeguard chair. Each year, Pablo Creek Library's Mandy Elliott has stepped
forward to give her assistance in this endeavor. This year, the library didn't have the help of the carpenter and an area school that had participated previously. The call was put out for regional staff to help assemble the chair and
Mandy offered to chip in again. She studied the chair design, grabbed a string
of lights, climbed up the lifeguard chair and within a few hours she led a JPL employee and
a group of teens successfully through setting up and lighting the chair. Mandy
brings this can-do attitude into every project and her willingness and talent are admired and appreciated. (Region Manager Michael Sullivan accepted the award for Mandy Elliott.)
Sylvester Rease - Model the Way:
Sylvester consistently goes above and beyond as he pursues and executes his duties at JPL's Conference Center. He takes the initiative to look for
improvements needed, projects to make our work more efficient, and to get
started on tasks needing to be completed without being prompted or waiting
for direction. He prepares for
event set-ups prior to his shifts by printing and reviewing floor plans and
asking questions. He exceeds
expectations by being precise and taking measures to ensure safety and
attendee comfort. He sets up equipment properly and submits ideas and
recommendations for improving working conditions and methods. Sylvester models a strong work ethic,
kindness, humility, and dependability.
He absolutely models the way for Conference Center helpers and is a huge
part of the Conference Center's success.
Stephanie Boilard (3rdd left) and Nicole Rivera (2nd left) - Challenge the Process:
Stephanie Boilard and Nicole Rivera 'Challenged the
Process' in their efforts to develop, launch, and facilitate the first Girls Who Code Club at the Jacksonville Public Library. With the idea to host a club for 6th - 12th
grade students, they began meeting in the spring of 2018, along with volunteer
Alexandria Lewis. They established milestones, prioritized their tasks to launch the first club meeting, September 15, 2018, with 20 students in attendance. Over the semester, they held a total of 11 sessions with an average of 13 participants in each session. Since then, they have held regular planning meetings,
attended webinars hosted by Girls Who Code, and reviewed the program tutorials
and curriculum. Although both Stephanie
and Nicole have coding experience, they dedicated time
to improve their skills and researched other Girls Who Code Clubs for best practices. Stephanie and Nicole developed the
course and scope of the group project for the club. In addition to the club curriculum, they
compiled passive coding activities in the event of participant overflow.
They then worked with CR and M to develop promotional
materials and reached out to local schools and organizations to generate
interest and potential participation in the club and promoted it at outreach
events. Stephanie and Nicole also
developed the parameters of the club, including holding club sessions in
Main's e-Classroom and they set the semester schedule. They are still working to improve the processes for the next semester.
Shirdellah Grouix (not pictured), Kim Kirkland, Mary Fletcher (not pictured), Margaret Esposito (4th left), Doug Fair (3rd left), Akeem Adell (5th left), and Albina Akramova (not pictured) - Inspire A Shared Vision:
Murray Hill Branch Library celebrated its 50th Anniversary, Saturday, December 15, 2018, along with a name change and dedication to the
late local attorney and library activist Bill Brinton. Over 300 people attended
the event. The celebration was a perfect example of inspiring a shared vision and
collaborating with others to achieve a successful community event. MH staff organized and hosted the event, led by Branch Manager
Shir Groulx and Assistant Manager Kim Kirkland with support from Library
Associate Doug Fair, Library Assistant Margaret Esposito and Library Clerks
Mary Fletcher, Albina Akramova and Akeem Adell.
Staff began planning in June and reached out to
community groups and businesses for support. They decorated the branch
with the theme Flashback to 1968 and the holiday season. Staff and many customers dressed in 1960's attire and 1960's games were played at the event. The team did a wonderful job
working with other JPL departments, the Friends of the Murray Hill Library,
community leaders, and area businesses to ensure that the celebration was a
success. Bedside this fabulous team, CR and M, Conference, and Facilities staffs, many local businesses, City Council members, our Director and Admin team all made this anniversary/renaming of MH a tremendous success. Please see the December 19, 2018, article in this blog to enjoy fuller coverage of this event.
National Library Week was celebrated at South Mandarin Branch, April 13, 2019,
with the theme, "Libraries Are for Everyone.” Twelve children and their caregivers discussed the importance of traditions
in families and in Latino culture. Additionally, they enjoyed the movie
“Coco”, which is about Hispanic traditions, including celebrating the Day of the Dead and the children made skull masks for themselves. Thanks to Isabel Moreno-Santiago, SOM's YS Librarian II, for the input and picture.
JPL fans of DJ Easy E (of "Duuuval Chant" local fame) can cheer Mackenzie Freeman and Illesha Massaline, two astute library clerks at University Park Branch Library. They were surprised to find during DJ Easy E's recent visit that he did not have a JPL card. Mackenzie and Illesha convinced him he could have many new adventures with a JPL card and DJ Easy E signed up for his first library card. (Illesha shared a little background on DJ Easy E: he created the "Duuuval Chant" 25+ years ago and it has rung out nightly on local radio. He recently released a song, "My City Is Duval", featuring local Jacksonville Jaguars footfall players and a well known local rap group, Quad City DJ's.) 
Main Children's department's first B is for Baby event, April 6, 2019, attracted 140 customers ready to celebrate babies. Fifteen community partners participated with library staff to offer programs and presentations where our customers learned about medicine safety, car seat safety, sleep safety, infant health, lactation, yoga, sign language, financial information, and even prenatal belly dancing," reports Joanna Nigrelli, Main's YS Librarian II. 
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