University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries Magazine | Page 34

www.gobigread.wisc.edu

34 | LIBRARIES Fall 2015

Honors and
Accomplishments

by Jenny Price, University Communications

Library Awards

2014 award recipients:

The University of Wisconsin–Madison
Libraries are fortunate to have a dedicated
staff. Each year, we gather to celebrate our
employees with the annual Library Staff
Service Awards and Recognition ceremony.
The event recognizes employees for their hard
work, specifically in the following areas:

Staff Service Awards
Academic:
Melissa McLimans—University of
Wisconsin Digital Collections
Classified:
James (JJ) Johnson—Memorial Library

Archbishop Desmond Tutu calls Bryan
Stevenson “America’s Mandela.”
Stevenson has spent his career fighting for
racial justice and wants his fellow Americans
to realize that something is inherently wrong
with the land of the free and the home of the
brave having the highest incarceration rate in
the world.
In the 1980s, Stevenson co-founded the
nonprofit Equal Justice Initiative, based in
Montgomery, Alabama. Since then, he has
argued before the U.S. Supreme Court five
times and played a role in landmark court
cases that have transformed how the criminal
justice system deals with violent youth. His
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption,
is the latest selection for Go Big Read, UW–
Madison’s common-reading program.
Choosing this book seems especially
timely since hundreds of UW students and
community members have taken part in
demonstrations following the grand jury
decisions in Ferguson, Missouri, and New
York, as well as the fatal shooting by a
Madison police officer of a bi-racial teenager
in March. Many more added their voices to
discussions on diversity during recent campus
forums.
Stevenson’s book focuses on one of his
first cases, which involved Walter McMillian,
a black Alabama businessman sentenced
to die for the murder of a white woman
despite having an alibi verified by dozens
of witnesses. “The message of this book,
hammered home by dramatic examples of one
man’s refusal to sit quietly and countenance
horror, is that evil can be overcome, a
difference can be made,” said a review in The

New York Times. “Just
Mercy will make you
upset and it will
make you hopeful.”
Sheila Stoeckel,
Coordinator of the
Chancellor’s Go Big
Read Program and
a UW–Madison
librarian, remarks “Everyone should
put this important book on their reading
list. Stevenson’s narrative is inspiring,
heartbreaking, and will leave you truly
affected.”
Planning is underway for how students,
faculty, and staff will use the book in
classrooms, for special events associated
with Just Mercy, and for the year’s program
theme of “Inequalities in America.” Stevenson
is scheduled to visit campus Oct. 26, when
he will give a public talk in Varsity Hall at
Union South. Copies of the book will be
given to first-year students at the Chancellor’s
Convocation for New Students and to
students using the book in their classes.

“Everyone should put this
important book on their
reading list. Stevenson’s
narrative is inspiring,
heartbreaking, and will
leave you truly affected.”
Sheila Stoeckel, Go Big Read Coordinator

Student Staff:
Elzbieta (Bess) Beck—Gender and Women’s
• Exemplary working relationships with
Studies Librarian’s Office
library colleagues and/or library clients
Nicholas (Nick) Bunker—Memorial
• Contributions to establishing a welcoming
Periodicals
learning and research environment
Cassondra (Cassy) Keyport—College Library
• High-productivity coupled with teamwork,
Angelina (Angel) Ziegler—Memorial
leadership, and/or cooperation
Cataloging
• Creativity, initiative, and independence
that positively influences library services
A Length of Service certificate was also
• Achievements and work products that
given to employees based on five-year
significantly benefit library services
increments of service.
Congratulations to all our award winners
for the contributions they make to the
Libraries!
Look for the 2015 recipients in the spring
issue.

http://www.library.wisc.edu/
news/2015/06/02/collegelibrary-honored-with-division-ofstudent-life-partnership-award/

College Library, Staff Receive
Division of Student Life
Partnership Awards
College Library was recognized for both its
work with the LGBT Campus Center and with
the McBurney Center. Carrie Nelson is the
official partner with the McBurney Center
award. Carrie Kruse and the College Library
staff as a whole were recognized for the LGBT
Campus Center partnership award.

LGBTCC staff and College Library staff with Dean of Students,Lori
Berquam during their award presentation.

University of Wisconsin–Madison | 35

News & Events

Author Bryan Stevenson,
Just Mercy
Photo: Nina Subin

Go Big Read selects
‘Just Mercy’ for 2015-16