Staff members working in the Naval Research Laboratory's Ruth H. Hooker Research Library have been honored with the NRL Award for Excellence in Mission Support. The six employees are recognized for their longstanding commitment and dedication in supporting NRL research scientists along with other Navy personnel outside the Laboratory. The ceremony was held at NRL on July 26.
The six employees are recognized as follows:
Suzanne Ryder, the chief librarian, is honored for her outstanding contributions in directing the resources of the Library to deliver the foundation research material essential to the Laboratory's mission. Ms. Ryder has provided the entire research staff of NRL with prompt service and has established an excellent digital archival system for quick archival literature searches and online bibliographies. She monitors the performance of her staff, providing various library services to scientists. These include desktop/workbench access to all relevant scientific resources, NRL scientific digital repository (TORPEDO), authoritative database of NRL-produced publications with online bibliography, comprehensive literature/citation/classified searches and one of the most extensive collections of books, journals and archival reports.
Rosette Risell, an acquisitions and budget specialist, is honored for her outstanding contributions in performing library acquisitions that provide NRL employees with critical library resources. Through her effectiveness in analyzing the complete procurement process and developing solutions to guarantee the continuation of library resources, Ms. Risell has saved NRL time and money. She worked tirelessly over a span of 11 months with Contracting, Supply, and FEDLINK in the effort to get the new $2.9M journal/serials contract let for FY11. The results of Ms. Risell's expertise in Library procurement services touch nearly everyone on the Lab. Many NRL employees have expressed their appreciation for Ms. Risell's service contributions.
Carol Lucke, a senior research librarian, is honored for her outstanding contributions in performing the highest level of reference services and publication citation analysis. Ms. Lucke's superior research assistance saves NRL's researchers time and effort thus providing cost savings to NRL. Her expert citation searching and publications analysis provide tangible evidence of NRL's impact in ongoing scientific research. Ms. Lucke diligently worked to improve access to the Library's electronic resources so that the most current and critical resources would be available to NRL staff. Ms. Lucke has received commendations from colleagues, researchers and Laboratory managers for the quality and level of support that she has provided.
Marybeth Dowdell, who heads the Research Reports and Bibliography Section, is honored for her outstanding contributions in leading the process to maintain a comprehensive collection of NRL-produced Technical Reports and also leading the NRL Online Bibliography (NOB) project with citations of NRL work in all outside publications. The analysis of these repositories provides NRL management with summary information about NRL's important contributions to scientific literature and highlights areas of potential interest for technology transfer. Ms. Dowdell is a skilled planner and project manager, which results in cost savings to NRL. She also maintains a classified environment with superior service to many SIPRNet clients and NRL researchers preparing for presentations outside the U.S. Ms. Dowdell has received commendations from NRL managers and researchers for her exceptional support.
Judi Griffin, Reports Reference and Central Control POC, is honored for her outstanding contributions in performing technical report reference and Central Control Point coordination that provides NRL researchers with critical technical information while maintaining strict classification and dissemination standards to avoid security compromise. Ms. Griffin analyzes the reference requests and applies her extensive knowledge of technical report literature and also her knowledge of technical data sources to retrieve reports in an expeditious manner. The result of this process could avoid duplicative research, save NRL research dollars, and time savings for NRL researchers. Ms. Griffin has received high praise from many at NRL and also afar for her superior support.
Jef Haesloop, Head of the Digital Library Development Unit, is honored for his outstanding contributions in performing at the highest level in directing the Information Technology (IT) resources of the Library to deliver the research systems, services and materials essential to the Lab's mission. His successful coordination of Library IT systems and joint branch IT teams has ensured that the Library IT infrastructure achieve the highest levels of performance and reliability. He directed technology upgrades that provided cost savings to the Lab and improved accessibility, response times and the protection of critical digital data stores. The evolution of the digital library and the improvements in the management and distribution of critical information resources has received high praise from the NRL community, and from colleagues and researchers at other Navy and Federal libraries with whom NRL shares resources and services.