David A. Cofrin Library to receive Regents honor
The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents will honor this year’s recipients of the Academic Staff Awards for Excellence at its regular board meeting Friday, April 8 in Green Bay. The David A. Cofrin Library and its staff is one of three 2016 recipients. This is the UW System’s highest recognition bestowed on members of its academic staff. A UW System press release captured the activities of the library and the spirit of the award:
“Under the leadership of Director Paula Ganyard, the Cofrin Library serves as a central part of the academic and student life of UW-Green Bay. The library and its staff have created successful partnerships with other university departments, including Adult Degree, Student Life, FOCUS (the first-year experience program), Phuture Phoenix, and more. The results have been innovative and user-friendly services to better meet the needs of students. One example is an informal open house called “Bash in the Stacks” designed to connect students and the campus community with the wealth of resources available at the library. The event has become a campus tradition, attracting more than 700 students last fall. Using a marketing plan created by a marketing intern, the Cofrin Library adopted the tagline “Your Guide to Answers.” The marketing efforts have paid off with higher gate counts, increases in interlibrary loan usage, and an increase in reference interactions. In its quest to meet the teaching, research, and scholarship needs of faculty, the library hosts the bi-annual UW-Green Bay Author and Artist Event. The most recent event recognized more than 50 faculty and staff and featured 150 publications and art installations. The library also partners with the wider Green Bay community and serves as the regional host for the National History Day with more than 400 local high school students visiting each year. The library secured a generous donation to start the Robert L. Ganyard Library Endowment, which tripled in the first year and will allow the library to have available funds for future projects not funded by state dollars. In 2012, the Cofrin Library was selected as the Wisconsin Library of the Year by the Wisconsin Library Association.”
Also receiving Regents awards were Michael Martin, Senior Advisor/Administrative Specialist, College of Education and Professional Studies, UW-River Falls and Linnea Burk, Clinical Associate Professor, Director, Psychology Research and Training Clinic, UW-Madison. More on the award recipients here.