2013 Excellence in Support Services Award
Mary Kennery, Library Technician, Technical Services is the recipient of the 2013 Excellence in Support Services Award. Due to a vacant position at the Orange County Campus, Mary has been working both on Main Campus and at OCC for 4.5 years – two to three days per week at each place. She takes books and DVDs back and forth from Main to OCC for cataloging. In the 2011 fiscal year, she cataloged 2,862 books and DVDs. In the 2012 fiscal year, she catalogued and processed, 4,894 books and DVDs. She also orders all library materials and supplies for three campus libraries, maintains accurate records of funds, and processes all invoices. In addition to this, this year’s recipient is proactive about personally carrying materials between the two campuses, allowing students and staff to get needed items more quickly.
Many classes at OCC are held at night, after the library has closed at 6 p.m. Mary frequently arranges instruction classes after hours, so students can learn to take advantage of the library’s resources.
Two years ago, Mary volunteered to serve as an advisor for Business Administration even though she was already working two jobs at two different campuses. She now has 77 assigned advisees.
Mary has contributed to the community by volunteering to staff the Durham Tech table for Hillsborough Hog Day and Chapel Hill’s Festifall as well as participating on the Durham Tech team for the American Center Society’s Relay for Life in Orange County. She crocheted 20 blankets for Project Linus and donated new items for the OCC clothing drive. She has volunteered with projects for Martin Luther King celebrations. She was part of the Big Read planning committee and organized the Big Read event at the Orange County Campus in 2008.