2026 University Libraries Awards recognize outstanding employee contributions

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State University Libraries recognized 16 outstanding faculty and staff on May 27, from among its more than 500 employees University-wide. Faculty and staff based at the Abington, Beaver, Berks, Brandywine, Harrisburg, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Schuylkill, Shenango, University Park, Wilkes-Barre and York campuses received awards.

Faye Chadwell, dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications, presided over an awards ceremony to continue a tradition of recognizing employees that spans more than 50 years.

"The impact of what we do is seen - by our users - in our collections; our services and our spaces; and in the experiences that we create for our students, faculty, researchers and for each other," said Chadwell during her opening remarks. "We are here today to celebrate that excellence, dedication and community, and to thank our colleagues, whose efforts truly make us university partners amplifying learning and research. Congratulations to all our honorees!"

James McCready, library services specialist, Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Social Sciences Library, William and Joan Schreyer Business Library, at Penn State University Park, received the Margaret Knoll Spangler Oliver Award. This award, named for a 20-year University Libraries employee, is presented for outstanding service and successful performance of an employee of the University Libraries.

McCready demonstrates the positive attitude, cooperation and courteous interaction central to the Margaret Knoll Spangler Oliver Award criteria, consistently exceeding expectations in initiative, quality of work, and effectiveness, Chadwell said. His role requires coordinating the movement, analysis and processing of materials across multiple units, including Acquisitions, Cataloging, Commons Services, the Conservation Centre, the Annex and Special Collections, and he does so with precision and efficiency.

His enthusiastic engagement is not only technical but strategic, she added. He identifies problems, proposes solutions, and executes them with exceptional quality, while listening with an open mind and continuing to tweak his data-driven solutions. His work has had a deep, measurable, and lasting impact on the positive and dynamic stewardship of print collections in the Education Library and beyond.

Douglas Burchill, library operations supervisor, Common Services; and Jennifer Norton, senior design and production manager, Penn State University Press, both at Penn State University Park, received Shirley J. Davis Staff Excellence Awards. Named for a former employee who assisted the Libraries' directors and deans for more than four decades, the award honors outstanding service of employees who create a nurturing, encouraging and inspiring workplace and demonstrate excellence and professionalism in their field.

Burchill approaches every patron encounter with patience, empathy, and an unwavering commitment to service, Chadwell said. At the Common Services desk, he is a trusted source of guidance, always ready with thoughtful context and effective solutions to challenges involving Workflows accounts or technology. His ability to demystify complex issues not only resolves immediate concerns but also empowers others to feel more confident in their own work.

Norton has been a committed, attentive, and grounded leader for more than 26 years, Chadwell said. As a staff mentor, she responds to concerns with a cool and mature decision-making style and is dependably centered. She has advocated for the Press, considered her coworkers and strived to make the culture of the Press as positive as possible, even under times of great stress, showing time and again that she is willing to put her colleagues' and the Press's needs first.

Christina Riehman-Murphy, open and affordable educational resources librarian, Library Learning Services, at Penn State Abington Campus Library, received the University Libraries Award, given to a member of the University Libraries holding an academic or staff appointment who has contributed significantly by his or her performance to the operations of the University Libraries.

Riehman-Murphy's work has significantly expanded the adoption of open educational resources at Penn State, Chadwell said. She co-created the Open Educational Resources (OER) Leads, a program which expanded capacity across the Libraries to bring OER adoption to the colleges and campuses to which Leads are liaisons. She then used funds from the Kalin endowment to pay for seven librarians and libraries staff to complete the Creative Commons Certificate and for five librarians to attend conferences or complete additional professional development relating to open education.

Jamilyn Houser, information technology accessibility consultant, Marion McKinnon Adaptive Technology and Services at Penn State University Park, received the Diversity Award, which recognizes extraordinary commitment and/or contributions to enhancing the Libraries' environment of mutual respect for differing backgrounds and points of view as well as those who have championed the causes of diversity and climate.

Houser is leading the Libraries' Accessibility Project Plan, ensuring that all digital library content meets guidelines, promotes equitable access for users, and positions the Libraries at the forefront of compliance with the Department of Justice's Title II ruling on digital accessibility. The impact of this work means, Chadwell said, that accessibility is becoming a shared institutional responsibility and reinforces inclusion as a core value.

Additionally, Houser helped create and support the unit-wide Accessibility Training program which teaches best practices and encourages University Libraries employees to build awareness and skills in inclusive digital design. This work expands shared accessibility knowledge across departments, fostering diversity and inclusion, Chadwell added.

The members of the Commonwealth Campus Library (CCL) Closures Collections Committee received the Collaboration/Teamwork Award, given in recognition of a collaboration or team within the University Libraries that benefited the Libraries or Penn State community.

The CCL Closures Collections Committee, working with the Libraries' wide Deselection Committee, was formed to develop the processes and timeline for analysis, redistribution and deselection of more than 200,000 print and collection materials at closing Commonwealth Campuses.

The team is comprised of Tom Reinsfelder, head librarian, Lee R. Glatfelter Library at Penn State York and Mont Alto Campus Library at Penn State Mont Alto; Jason Reuscher, research and instruction librarian, Ciletti Memorial Library at Penn State Schuylkill; Amy Deuink, head librarian, Lartz Memorial Library at Penn State Shenango, and Beaver Campus Library at Penn State Beaver; Teresa Slobuski, special projects librarian, Brandywine Campus Library at Penn State Brandywine; Yesenia Figueroa-Lifschitz, library operations supervisor, Elisabeth S. Blissell Library at Penn State New Kensington; John Owens, liibrary operations supervisor, Nesbitt Library at Penn State Wilkes-Barre; Glenn Rudy, library services associate, Madlyn L. Hanes Library at Penn State Harrisburg; Michael Wright, library services manager, William and Joan Schreyer Business Library, Social Sciences Library, George and Sherry Middlemas Arts and Humanities Library at Penn State University Park; and James McCready, library services specialist, Pennsylvania Center for the Book, Social Sciences Library, William and Joan Schreyer Business Library at Penn State University Park.

They have engaged colleagues across the University Libraries in a common cause, to steward the collections from the closing campuses. They are respectful of the emotions and feelings that this process evokes in those at closing campuses, Chadwell said, and have provided clear guidelines and expectations. Their communication has been excellent, she added, and their project is not done. They have a roadmap on how the work will continue over the next year.

Linda Sanchez, part-time libraries specialist, Berks Thun Library at Penn State Berks, received the Part-Time Employee Excellence Award honoring a colleague who typically works 24 hours or less each week but whose initiative, peer support and outstanding performance have contributed to a positive working environment that has made an impact on the Libraries, colleagues or Penn State community.

Sanchez is quick to offer support to colleagues, patrons, and the campus community, Chadwell said. Recently, this was demonstrated when a young student asked if she could use the library for her high school remote classes because she was without power. Sanchez eagerly welcomed the student, introduced her to study spaces, helped her access the internet and made a reservation for the sensory room during her visit.

Sanchez initiated celebration plans for Thun Library's 50th anniversary, leading the effort to recognize this milestone event; continuously seeks out opportunities to connect with new students; and regularly attends outreach events and campus celebrations, Chadwell added.

Heather Moberly, agriculture and veterinary librarian, Life Sciences Library at Penn State University Park, received the Teaching Award, honoring an individual who has excelled in teaching and/or created an exemplary and innovative instruction program with an emphasis on the past year.

Moberly teaches more than 40 sessions per year across nine departments and programs at the College of Agricultural Sciences, demonstrating an impressive teaching style, Chadwell said. Her attention to detail and thoroughness with lesson plans, presentation files and supporting documentation challenges students to think critically and rise to address more engaging questions about information and knowledge.

Her impact on students is displayed through the growing demand for her teaching, added Chadwell. Instructors who have not worked with the Libraries in recent memory - or who previously never had - are now requesting sessions. Classes with one session are adding her support in "work sessions" for specific assignments, and her work now consistently encompasses almost the entire College of Agricultural Sciences.

Selecting recipients of the 2026 Libraries awards from among nominees were members of the University Libraries Awards Committee, which included Rebekah Hill, music and performing arts librarian, Walter and Doris Goldstein Music and Media Center, George and Sherry Middlemas Arts and Humanities Library, chair; Dawn Amsberry, undergraduate research and instruction librarian, Library Learning Services, chair-elect; Jackie Dillon-Fast, library operations supervisor, William and Joan Schreyer Business Library, Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Global News Center, past chair/adviser; Karen Hackett, web designer, Libraries Strategic Technologies; Erica King, instructional designer, Pennsylvania Center for the Book; Emily Mross, business librarian, Madlyn Hanes Library at Penn State Harrisburg; Angel Peterson, production specialist and accessibility coordinator, Open Publishing; Corey Wetherington, open infrastructure specialist, Open Publishing; and April Myers, administrative support assistant, Libraries administration, Dean's Office, staff liaison.

The 2026 University Libraries Awards, Years of Service Awards, and Service and Outreach Recognition Program were administered during the May 27 virtual event, to accommodate participants from branches and Commonwealth Campuses across Penn State University Libraries.

For information about the University Libraries Awards, contact April Myers at [email protected] or 814-865-4759.