UH Libraries News

University of Houston Libraries celebrated its outstanding employees at the 2026 Library Excellence Awards recently. Now in its 26^th year, the event, held at the MD Anderson Library Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion, recognizes the commitment and talent of UH librarians and staff. The annual tradition is supported through the generosity of the John P. McGovern Foundation.

This year’s event theme was “Greatest of All Time,” inspired by the distinctions of UH Athletics, the recent Olympic Winter Games, and the upcoming World Cup. Dean of UH Libraries Christina Gola opened the festivities with gratitude for the many individuals who helped produce the awards event, including all nominators, members of the awards committee, members of the employee engagement committee, and staff. Libraries student employees who won scholarships for the upcoming academic year were also honored.

The Dean’s Advocate Award went to Heidi Appel, dean of the Honors College, who has been an extraordinary collaborator and advocate for UH Libraries over the past two years. Dean Appel deeply understands the essential role libraries serve in student success and has been a true partner in advancing that mission.

Dean Heidi Appel and Dean Christina Gola

Brooke Bailey is the McGovern Staff Rookie of the Year. Bailey is described as “an absolute marvel” whose expertise has had a positive impact on several processes at the Jenkins Architecture, Design, and Art Library. Under her direction, social media engagement has doubled, and with her promotion of materials, circulation has increased by more than 20%.

The McGovern Librarian Rookie of the Year is Louise Kidder, who is described as a “reliable, collaborative, and inclusive colleague.” Just six months after joining the Libraries, she stepped into an interim department head role, helping her team maintain “positive, steady morale during a time of significant change.” She successfully led several complex projects, improving workflows, strengthening partnerships, and enhancing the Libraries’ ability to support student success and research.

The Student Achievement awards were presented to Riya Dhanduke and Christina Miller. Dhanduke is a “highly collaborative and dependable employee” in Resource Management and Metadata whose assistance in the Pressbooks to MARC Pilot project was invaluable. Miller is recognized for her “reliability, cheerful personality, playful creativity, and excellent work ethic” at the Jenkins Library.

This year’s McGovern Outstanding Student is Kira Giannetti, who is known to be a collaborative, professional, autonomous, and diligent sound engineer for the Hamill Studio. Giannetti conveys care, good judgment, and a high degree of technical expertise that is appreciated by her many studio clients.

Jamie Duke and Susan Houston received Staff Achievement awards. Duke is an exceptional team member and “natural problem-solver” who shows grace and skill in her position, making sure that Libraries resources are used wisely and that recruiting and onboarding go smoothly. Houston juggles countless daunting tasks related to building management, and her “practical expertise and deep institutional knowledge” never fail to impress. 

Winners of the 2026 Library Excellence Awards

The McGovern Outstanding Staff awardee, Austin Stakes, is recognized for the essential behind-the-scenes contributions that help make the work of UH Libraries possible. Described as a “meticulous and exacting” digital photo technician, he is known for the attention to detail and technical expertise that strengthen every project he supports. 

Veronica Arellano Douglas and Kate Carter were honored for Librarian Achievement. Douglas has built an exemplary record of scholarship, service, and leadership while advancing UH Libraries’ mission both on campus and within the profession. She led the development of Teaching and Learning’s Reflection Toolkit, serves on the editorial board of the journal portal: Libraries and the Academy, and is a facilitator for ACRL Immersion.

Carter advances the Libraries’ mission through her work in open educational resources. She has taken on important leadership roles in the profession, and contributes to the field through scholarship, including a recent book chapter exploring the work of OER librarians. As chair of the Libraries Research and Scholarship Travel Committee, she leads improvements to application processes and documentation to better support students and future committee work.

Jennifer Holland is the McGovern Outstanding Librarian. “Supportive and dedicated,” Holland made various valuable contributions in 2025, such as participating in the Texas Library Association 2026 planning committee and the National Forum on Privacy Literacy Standards and Competencies at Penn State. She also became a co-convener of the American Library Association’s privacy literacy discussion group, co-presented with a colleague on library resources and research strategies for the Houston Early Research Experience program, and serves as chair for the Library Excellence Awards committee.

This year’s Outstanding Group is the Subscription Accounts Management team, Susan Ryan and Jeannie Pham. Their “tenacity, attention to detail, and insistence on accuracy,” along with their ability to respond quickly to unexpected challenges, were critical to the project’s success. Working collaboratively with colleagues and vendor partners, they navigated numerous billing and subscription management challenges while building strong, high-trust relationships with new partners. Their teamwork and persistence ensured continuity of access to UH Libraries’ print and electronic collections and demonstrated excellent stewardship of these important resources.

The Trailblazer Award for Leading Organizational Change went to collaborators Keith Komos, Frederick Young, and Selina Khan, who navigated the complexities of a shared library system with exceptional creativity and persistence. The group brought together partners from UH Libraries, university IT, and faculty across the UH system to meet an ambitious implementation timeline. Their technical expertise, programmatic leadership, and commitment to collaboration helped establish new relationships and set a standard for effective cross-campus teamwork. 

Members of the Library Excellence Awards Committee are Jennifer Holland, Sarah Barber, Susan Hoover, Eric Larsen, Yesenia Umana, Duong Pham, and Marian Smith; and ex officio members Jamie Duke and Santi Thompson.

Members of the Employee Engagement Committee who contributed to the development of the theme and celebration are Armin Lopez, Susan Ryan, Ann Blosser, Molly Knapp, and Quoc Phung.

Jessica Rodriguez and Larry Schmidt provided logistics support for the space and committees. Kyle Boberg provided photography.

See more photos on Facebook

To support a safe and accessible environment for all Library visitors, bicycles and electric scooters are no longer permitted inside the MD Anderson Library, effective April 6, 2026. As stated in MAPP 09.04.02, bicycles and scooters are not allowed inside buildings; and reckless or negligent operation of all bicycles and scooters (motorized or otherwise) on any part of campus is prohibited.

This change is being implemented to:

• Reduce safety hazards in high‑traffic areas
• Prevent damage to Library facilities
• Ensure clear walkways and emergency access routes for all visitors

What this means for you:

Bicycles and electric scooters may not be brought, ridden, charged, or stored anywhere inside the Library. Students, staff, faculty, and visitors are encouraged to secure or park bicycles and scooters at designated outdoor racks before entering.

We appreciate your cooperation in keeping our shared spaces safe, welcoming, and conducive to study and research. If you need accommodations related to mobility, please contact the Justin Dart, Jr. Student Accessibility Center. 

Thank you for helping us maintain a safe and accessible environment for everyone.

University of Houston Libraries honored outstanding employees at the 2025 Library Excellence Awards this week. Now in its 25^th year, the event, held at the MD Anderson Library Elizabeth D. Rockwell Pavilion, recognizes the special work and talent of UH librarians and staff. The annual tradition is supported through the generosity of the John P. McGovern Foundation.

Interim dean Christina Gola opened the garden party-themed celebration with gratitude for the many individuals who helped produce the awards event, including all nominators, members of the awards committee, members of the employee engagement committee, and facilities staff. Libraries student employees who won scholarships for the upcoming academic year were also acknowledged.

The Dean’s Advocate Award went to Terri Batiste of UH Human Resources. This award recognizes a UH employee from outside UH Libraries who has worked closely with the Libraries during the past year.  Batiste collaborated with the Libraries Organizational Development team to provide invaluable assistance with specialized leave scenarios, including Family Medical Leave requests and authorizations. Her dedication ensures that requestors, the Organizational Development team, and supervisors understand the complex FML process and navigate it with ease. 

The Student Achievement awards were presented to Rebecca Fox and Chelsea Dzu, two Coogs whose superior performance demonstrates their commitment to carrying out the Libraries’ mission for UH. Fox is recognized for her exceptional job performance and skill set. Her keen judgment and problem-solving abilities have earned the trust of her supervisors, who have asked her to take on progressive responsibilities as a student lead.

Dzu is described as an exemplary employee in the William R. Jenkins Architecture, Design, and Art Library. She is a self-starter who is curious by nature and has a positive impact on others. She took the lead in creating a workgroup chat for student employees for updates and to ensure coverage at Jenkins Library.

This year’s McGovern Outstanding Student is May Le, who is described as dedicated, meticulous, and extremely dependable. She has been crucial to the success of the Jenkins Library, taking on key service and operational responsibilities after unexpected vacancies. Her expertise with systems such as WorldCat, Iliad, and the Avery Index has been a valuable resource.

Julia Dion is the McGovern Staff Rookie of the Year. Dion quickly became an integral part of the Special Collections team, making what can be a hectic department run smoothly. In addition to managing the reading room calendar, coordinating supply orders, and making the effort to give student workers quality learning opportunities, Dion leverages previous archives experience in training students on processing and serves as the point of contact for inquiries received via Archives Space and Texas Archival Resources Online.

The McGovern Librarian Rookie of the Year is Katy Allred. Previously, she was a processing archivist in Special Collections, and in her current role as assistant university archivist, Allred processes UH archival materials that have been prioritized for the upcoming Centennial. She is a trusted, supportive colleague who is known for her calm professionalism and great attention to detail, and is not intimidated by difficult projects.

Eric Larsen and Frederick Young received Staff Achievement awards. Larsen’s performance has been particularly meritorious over the past year in the Music Library. After the departure of the manager, he assumed oversight of the student leaders and managed successful continuity of services to the academic programs supported by the Music Library. Larsen brings a high level of excellence to his role, seeking opportunities to learn, grow, and contribute, and providing wisdom and enthusiasm to the incoming colleagues and managers during the onboarding process.

Young is recognized for his expertise, strong relationship-building skills, and thoughtful approach to his work. Over the past year he has leveraged these strengths to achieve positive outcomes for UH and other university libraries. As leader of the UH Alma Stakeholders committee, he coordinated efforts to develop a sustainable infrastructure for shared governance of the library services platform and worked with Ex Libris to implement Alma Primo VE enhancements to improve the user experience.

The McGovern Outstanding Staff awardee, Lakeshia Clark, has made high-impact contributions to Information and Access Services. After expertly managing the course reserves and faculty delivery services for several years, she accepted the role of service desk manager during a time of departmental transition, becoming familiar with policies and processes while assuming new responsibilities over student hiring, training, and supervision. In addition to her new role, she continued to manage the course reserves and faculty delivery services as she worked closely with colleagues to transition these services to other areas.

Wenli Gao and Mea Warren were honored for Librarian Achievement. Gao has continued to build a national reputation in scholarship and service while leading several key initiatives for the Libraries. She is effective at collaborating with colleagues with a work style that is efficient and inclusive. In 2024 she led a holistic evaluation of Libraries collections, the implementation of Article Galaxy Scholar, a new article-on-demand service, and the Circulating Print Collections Assessment (CPCA) project. Last year, Gao was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from CALA, the Chinese American Library Association, an organization for which she is currently serving on the Board of Directors.

Warren became interim head of Teaching and Learning in 2024. She was elected to the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) University Libraries Section Executive Board and appointed to its nominating committee. She was also appointed to the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Information Literacy Module Review Task Force. At UH, she is a faculty senator and member of the Graduate & Professional Studies Committee of the Faculty Senate. She chaired the Libraries’ Promotion Committee during a busy year and served on the inaugural Librarian Annual Performance Review Peer Review Committee.

Madelyn Washington is the McGovern Outstanding Librarian, with impressive 2024 accomplishments. She demonstrated dependability, priority-setting, and leadership in managing operations of the Music Library while taking on a new leadership role as the head of Information and Access Services. She was also promoted to the rank of associate librarian, having achieved excellence in scholarship and service to the profession.

This year’s Outstanding Group is the Resource Management Unit, Tim McGittigan and Jennifer Unruh. A nominator stated this unit “worked magic this year” as new employees in resource management, where they created a triage system for handling a significant backlog of unprocessed gift books, unbound serials, and uncatalogued unique items. Their efforts nearly eliminated the entire backlog in just a year, resulting in making materials discoverable and available for students and scholars.

The Trailblazer Award for Leading Organizational Change went to collaborators Maurine Nichols and Devianee Vasanjee, who led the development of new licensing and procurement workflows within a tight timeframe. While one surfaced opportunities for drastic improvement of workflows to align with UH administrative priorities, the other demonstrated diligence and creativity in understanding and interpreting university policies and finding solutions reflecting the unique needs of acquiring library materials. Both developed new relationships on campus, leveraged the strengths of their talented teams to accomplish this work, and built a positive reputation for Libraries compliance and collaboration.

Members of the Library Excellence Awards Committee are Jamie Duke, Julie Grob (chair), Jennifer Holland, Susan Hoover, Natalia Kapacinskas, Eric Larsen, Yesenia Umana, and Santi Thompson, (ex officio).

University of Houston Libraries welcomes new and returning Coogs for the start of a spirited fall 2024 semester. This academic year, effective Monday, August 19, MD Anderson Library will offer new Service Desk hours. The new schedule is:

Monday – Thursday: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Saturday: Closed
Sunday: 12:00 noon to 8:00 p.m.

The new hours pertain only to the Service Desk on MD Anderson Library floor 1. Building hours will remain the same as in previous semesters.

During times when MD Anderson Library is open and the Service Desk is closed, Coogs have the following self-service options:

• Self-checkout machines on MD Anderson Library floor 1, located across from the Service Desk, enable users to check out books. The self-checkout machines require an active Cougar Card to borrow books.
• Group study rooms in the Red and Brown wings on floors 3, 4, and 5 are open on a first-come-first-served basis. No reservation or room keys are required to use these rooms during hours when the Service Desk is closed.
• Individual study carrels in the Blue wing on floors 3, 5, and 6 and in the Brown wing on floors 2 – 5 are open on a first-come-first-served basis. No reservation or carrel keys are required to use these carrels during hours when the Service Desk is closed.
• Printing, scanning, and copying options are available for those with active Cougar Cards.

Hours of operation for special libraries and service points are as follows:

Special Collections
Monday – Friday: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Digital Research Commons
Monday: 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Tuesday: 12:00 noon to 2:00 p.m.
Wednesday: 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Thursday: 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Architecture, Design, and Art Library
*Re-opening on Monday, August 26* Monday – Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Health Sciences Library
Monday – Thursday: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Saturday – Sunday: 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m.

Medical Library
Monday – Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (staffed); the space is open 24 hours for medical students

Music Library
Monday – Thursday: 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Friday: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Questions? Contact us.