Join Us in Celebrating Our 2022 Librarian of the Month Winners!

by Elise Aiello on Dec 28, 2022

We were honored to recognize the achievements of twelve outstanding librarians from across the country this year!

See the round-up of our Librarians of the Month Winners for 2022.

January 2022- Meghan Flynn of Grand County Public Library, Moab, Utah

"Meg has been a valued member of the open-source community for many years. We’re thankful for her contributions, infectious energy, and the positive impact she has made in the open-source community over the years."- Jessica Zairo, Director of Sales and Outreach, ByWater Solutions

February 2022- Tara Wood of SWAN Library services in Illinois

"Tara has done an amazing job doing Usability Studies, Accessibility Reviews, and coordinating SWAN Member libraries as they implement Aspen Discovery. The Usability Studies she does with her libraries help to inform Aspen's development and the Accessibility Review she performed has helped to ensure that Aspen is available to more library patrons." -Mark Noble

March 2022- James Donaldson of Montgomery County Public Libraries in Maryland

"We are so grateful James is a part of our community. He demonstrates a commitment to open source software and sharing developments."

April 2022- Vicky Steever of Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative in Florida

"As coordinator, Vicky is charged with getting our cooperative of 6 separate city libraries to agree on a myriad of issues every month. Our smooth migration to Koha, which took place in September 2021, was a clear illustration of how skilled Vicky is at “herding the (library director) cats.” -Tricia Gould, Manager, Fort Walton Beach Library

May 2022- Monterey County Free Libraries staff in Monterey, California

"The staff's attention to detail, never ending patience, and ability to see the bigger picture and bring others along in the process really helped us through the ILS migration transition." - Kris Amaral, Managing Librarian, Monterey County Free Libraries

June 2022- Kathy Morgan of Del Norte County Library District in California

Kathy was nominated by Phyllis Goodeill, Director of the Del Norte County Library District. Phyllis recognized Kathy for her excellent work as a Cataloger.

July 2022 - Amanda L. Goodman of the Darien Library in Connecticut

"In a short time Amanda has joined the Aspen Discovery community, constantly shared code improvements, and offered guidance to those of us who are less code-inclined. She's really demonstrated the spirit of open source and librarianship. She's troubleshooted issues for me from afar and proven herself to be a wonderful Librarian." - Sam Passey, Uintah County Public Library

August 2022 - Mary Lopez of the Hamilton Township Free Public Library in New Jersey

"She has not only been with the Library for over 40 years as a Reference Librarian, but she goes above and beyond to help our patrons. No matter what it is, she is there for them. Helping a person who is new on the computer, finding assistance for people in need, giving out endless information while searching relentlessly for people and the correct information. She works tirelessly, always! Our Seniors adore her! She also collects food for the homeless year round and socks for our homeless or less fortunate in the winter. She is a one woman reference machine! I can go on and on! I don't want her effort to go unnoticed for one more minute. She deserves an accolade!" - Stacey Lytle, Circulation Supervisor, Hamilton Township Free Public Library

September 2022 - Kate Sheehan of the Stratford Library Association in Connecticut

"Kate is the head of our Information Technology Department. She's been at Stratford Library for four and a half years and it is not and exaggeration to say that she has technologically transformed Library in that time. She shepherded our migration to Koha in her first year here and just last winter, she oversaw the Library's transition to fine free.Throughout these huge changes, Kate has remained patient, good-natured, and an excellent teacher to her co-workers. She created stellar training materials to help the staff learn to do things in new ways." - Gero Diorio, Assistant Library Director, Stratford Library Association

October 2022 - Joel Sasse of the Plum Creek Library System in Minnesota

"Joel makes an active effort to stay informed of updates and changes and does a great job sharing that information with the PCLS member libraries. The staff at member libraries appreciates the thoughtfulness that Joel puts into his ILS support." - Elizabeth Hoffman, Director of the Plum Creek Library System

November 2022 - Nick Tepe of Athens County Public Libraries in Ohio

"Nick has been a positive force for change since joining the Athens County Public Libraries in 2016. An enthusiastic breaker of barriers to information, Nick has expanded and improved internet access at ACPL’s seven locations (and facilitated the installation of several WiFi hotspots at rural community centers), overseen the return of library outreach to Athens County, served as Chair of the Ohio Library Council Board of Directors, and currently serves as ALA Councilor for Ohio" - Laura O'Neil, ByWater Solutions

December 2022 - Chanel Wheeler of the Yavapai Library Network in Arizona

"Chanel is great at digging into the details of how Aspen works with Symphony and is such an enthusiastic participant within the Aspen Community!" - Jordan Fields, Aspen Product Librarian

Nominate a Librarian for 2023

Do you have a staff member at your branch that you would like to nominate for ByWater's Librarian of the Month for 2023?!

We love to feature library staff members (not just librarians) that are impacting their patrons, are valued members of the library team, and who go the extra mile in the open source and library community.

Email us and let us know who they are, brag about all their accomplishments and we'll share it!