Who’s Awesome!

Debbie McClanahan,  lead circ associate at the Corydon Branch, is HCPL’s  September  winner for Who’s Awesome! There were seven nominations for the  honor this month.

Jessica Stroud, assistant director,  nominated McClanahan  writing, “Debbie ensures awesomeness in the circulation department daily, and most  recently she is to be commended for her suggestions and contributions to the hotspot policy and procedure committee. Not only is she key in shaping the policy, she also articulates and updates the policy in existing documents, then distributes the changes to  circulation staff at all branches. She additionally created a how-to slideshow about circulating hotspots for the benefit of all circulation staff, and prior to that created two Niche Academy tutorials for HCPL staff. Kudos to Debbie for her hard work and dedication! “

McClanahan has worked at the library for nearly 19  years, joining HCPL’s staff  in November of 2005 as a circulation assistant. She was promoted to front desk  supervisor in August of 2006 and now is the Corydon lead circ associate.

In July, Director Alisa Burch nominated  McClanahan stating, “Debbie has been working hard to create tutorials on circulation skills for staff that can be uploaded to the Niche staff academy. This month she spent hours working on hotspot circulation and inspection. Tutorials are a great tool for staff who have questions about specific tasks and make a super training tool. Debbie is awesome!”

“Debbie is a very nice lady who helps me out a lot. :)“, wrote Youth Services Manager Eden Ransdell last November.

Tiffany Thieneman, public services manager, nominated McClanahan in September of 2023 writing, “Debbie is my Scooby-Doo! She always helps me solve the random mysteries that pop up. Whether it is one of our items or a SRCS material, Debbie is willing to help figure out what the issue is and how to solve it. It is awesome to have Debbie as a resource to help when something happens that I can’t figure out. I appreciate her willingness to help me and the Reference staff! “

In August of 2023, patron services co-worker Amanda Applegate nominated McClanahan stating, “ I appreciate Debbie helping me out last week with cross-referencing. She is always willing to help out when needed. “

Each month a winner is selected by random drawing. Other staff members nominated in September include:  Sarah Dorton, Amanda Embrey, Seren Lindsey, Steven Schifcar, Jon Schraffenberger, Pat Schwartz,  and Tiffany Thieneman.

Article by Alisa Burch, Director

Leo Stiner,  genealogy clerk, is HCPL’s  August winner for Who’s Awesome! There were 12 nominations for the  honor this month.

Kathy Fisher, genealogy head, nominated Leo writing, “With a looming deadline and uncooperative home equipment, a patron came to us in a panic. Leo didn’t blink an eye to help create, format, and print nearly 150 labels faster than anyone else. Way to go above and beyond!“

Co-worker Teresa Douglass nominated Leo in July stating, “I nominate Leo Stiner for the July Who’s Awesome award. Leo has been a huge help to me recently by assisting with background research on photographs we included on our digital archives. We had over 170 images of people about whom we had very little information, other than their names, and sometimes not even that. Leo did a great job finding information and writing up summaries of many individuals. Leo also provides excellent customer service to patrons, and is always willing to go that extra step. He has been especially helpful to patrons researching their property by providing them with images and information that they are always thrilled to have. Leo has also been very  flexible and agreeable with last minute changes to his schedule in order to accommodate unexpected staff needs. Leo is a great team player and an awesome co-worker!”

Leo joined the HCPL staff as a genealogy intern as part of a LSTA Digitization Grant through the Indiana State Library funded by the IMLS in January of 2021 and is now a valued member of the genealogy staff. He is courteous and helpful with patrons and has been described as “creative, artistic, and computer savvy.” In an April nomination Douglass wrote, He can “quickly come up with ideas and solutions for images, displays, etc.”

Each month a winner is selected by random drawing. Other staff members nominated in August include:  Amanda Applegate, Teresa Douglass, Nikki Esarey, Megan Grindle, Sandy Harbeson, Eve Kopsolias, JoBeth Mathes, Julie Phipps,  Eden Ransdell, and Trevor Smith.

Article by Alisa Burch, Director

Kathy Fisher, Head of Genealogy, is HCPL’s  June winner for Who’s Awesome! There were 11 nominations for the honor this month.

Library Director Alisa Burch, nominated Kathy stating, “Kathy worked HCPL’s pop-up library at the Corydon Pride Fest June 21. She braved the heat to share information on library’s services and programs. Kathy is awesome! ”

Teresa Douglass, genealogy specialist, had this to say about Kathy last July, “Kathy is an awesome person to work with. She is incredibly knowledgeable in her field, and I have learned a tremendous amount about genealogy from her. She is my “go to” person when I just can’t seem to find a solution. Even if I think I’ve tried every possible angle, she never fails to come up with an additional resource to try or a different research route to consider. Kathy knows her stuff! Also, Kathy has always been very understanding and accommodating with my schedule.  She’s always willing to work work around appointments, or needing time to take care of mom, or working around (often short-notice) visits with my son, etc., which is VERY MUCH appreciated. Lastly, but certainly not least, Kathy has been an amazing trooper during her own personal battles over the past year. She never once brought her troubles or issues into work with her, but remained unbelievably positive and professional throughout. Can’t get more awesome than that!“

Kathy joined HCPL’s staff 20 years ago splitting her work week between the reference department and genealogy. She went full-time as head of the genealogy department when Jim Burnside retired in 2005.  Kathy oversees the center and staff. She answers patron requests, handles monetary and artifact donations and conducts  programming. She was nominated by Burch several times for her programming ideas including this nomination from September of 2023. “Kathy plans fun activities to “spotlight” the offerings of the Frederick Porter Griffin Center several times during the year. This September she has focused the Saturday Spotlights on Indiana Archaeology Month. Kathy uses humor to make the activities more appealing and bring awareness to the physical and digital records the FPGC offers including photos, files, newspapers, yearbooks, donated materials, artifacts, Ancestry.com and Fold3. For September she has planned a scavenger hunt to “Find Indiana” where she has hidden images of Indiana Jones throughout the collection and a “Not My Job!” quiz to test knowledge of antiquated occupations. Kathy is awesome!”

Each month a winner is selected by random drawing. Other staff members nominated in June include: Amanda Applegate, Amanda Embrey, Connie Gresham, Megan Grindle, JoBeth Mathes, Trevor Smith, Jessica Stroud, Tiffany Thieneman, Savannah Wallace, and Heather Wyss.

Article by Alisa Burch, Director

Shawnda Mosson, Palmyra Library Assistant, is HCPL’s May winner for Who’s Awesome! There were eight nominations for the honor this month.

Megan Grindle, also a member of the Palmyra Branch staff, nominated Shawnda stating, “Shawnda is so polite and nice to staff and patrons, always going above and beyond to be helpful. I always appreciate working with her as she finds solutions to any inquiry or issue. You can’t help but smile when around her because she is usually laughing about something and her happy demeanor is contagious.”

Library Director Alisa Burch had this to say about Shawnda, “Shawnda offers great readers’ advisory at the Palmyra Branch. I have witnessed her helping patrons find books that they will enjoy. She has broad knowledge of the collection and shares that daily. Shawnda also created fun decorations for the summer reading challenge Adventure Begins at Your Library. She is a practical joker and full of fun. Shawnda is awesome!”

Shawnda interned with HCPL before joining the staff in March of 2010. She has worked at the Palmyra Branch for more than 14 years. In addition to providing great readers’ advisory and customer service, she does youth storytime, hosts the monthly “Not Your Mother’s Book Club,” and leads teen and family painting classes.

Nikki Esarey, the Palmyra lead circ associate and Shawnda’s immediate supervisor, nominated Shawnda in March of 2024 writing, “Shawnda has been so much help with the escape room. Escape room week can be crazy, but she has been amazing at multitasking—along with circulation, shelving, weeding and customer service, she has been making reminder calls, resetting the escape room, repairing props, hosting programs, and handing out eclipse glasses. She is so awesome!” Nikki also nominated Shawnda a year ago saying, “I really appreciate that Shawnda takes time every work day to shelf read and straighten. Her self-motivated efforts create a more welcoming environment for our patrons. She is awesome!”

Each month a winner is selected by random drawing. Other staff members nominated in May include: Amanda Applegate, Sandy Harbeson, Eden Randsell, Steven Schifcar, Jennifer Schroering, Debi Strubler and Heather Wyss.

Article by Alisa Burch, Director

Bethany Banet, head of technical services/cataloging, is HCPL’s April winner for Who’s Awesome! There were 18 nominations for the honor this month.

Diana Lasky, administrative assistant, nominated Bethany stating, “Bethany was extremely helpful to collaborate with Debbie (McClanahan) and me to help sort out cataloging options for the new Leadership Harrison County PICKS. We were able to present what we hoped to accomplish and she was able to implement the cataloging required to make it easy for customers to find the books in the catalog as well as a solution for the circulation staff. In addition, when carpooling was arranged for the regional conference, Bethany was flexible to make multiple changes, and did so with an upbeat attitude. Bethany, you’re awesome! ”

Bethany began volunteering for the library in 2002 and joined the staff in December of that year as HCPL’s cataloger. As the library grew she became head of the technical services department.

In February, Alisa Burch, library director, nominated Bethany writing, “Bethany very quickly supplied the numbers I needed for the State Board of Accounts Annual Financial Report to record the costs of weeded books in the capital assets section as soon as I requested them. Later when I discovered I needed information from previous years as well she was able to get what I needed in a very short amount of time. I appreciate her thoroughness and quick response time. Bethany is awesome!”

Last summer Bethany was nominated by Eden Ransdell, youth services manager, and again by Diana Lasky.  Eden wrote, “Bethany is very thoughtful and a great person to brainstorm with!” And Diana said, “As Lanesville is weeding heavily in anticipation of construction, the weeded materials have been piling up. When new space was needed for more, Bethany not only offered to store the books until the Friends could look through them, but helped move 30 boxes and offered to prep the boxes with the labels for shipment. It cut my work load in half.“

Each month a winner is selected by random drawing. Other staff members nominated in April include, Corinne Burton, Amanda Embrey, Nikki Esarey, Megan Grindle, John Kunsman, Diana Lasky, Debbie McClanahan, Pam Nemeth, Steven Schifcar, Trevor Smith, Leo Stiner, Jessica Stroud, Debi Strubler, Kaitlyn Taylor and Tiffany Thieneman.

Article by Alisa Burch, Director

Teresa Douglass, genealogy specialist at the library’s Frederick Porter Griffin Center for Local History and Genealogy, is HCPL’s  March winner for Who’s Awesome! There were 19 nominations for the honor this month.

Kathy Fisher, genealogy head, nominated Teresa stating, “This month, Teresa was “accidentally awesome” in addition to her being overall awesome. She directly influenced two of the March Mania programs. I had forgotten that Roots Tech was going on until I noticed Teresa watching it. Boom! The Livestream Spotlight event was tacked on to the Mania last minute. She also thought ahead and had created a Women’s History Month document about some of the county’s influential ladies who had not previously been profiled. I used her work to create a PowerPoint presentation for that Spotlight. And both of those great ideas can be reused for future programming!”

Teresa joined HCPL’s staff in June of 2010 as a part-time assistant in the youth services department at Corydon. She transitioned to full-time genealogy specialist in June of 2016 where she can utilize her Masters in History to help visitors find information on their ancestors, share historical facts about early Harrison County and digitize important historical artifacts.

Teresa received two nominations this month. The second nomination read, “Teresa is a great asset to the FPGC. She is knowledgeable and has a great interest in the history of Harrison County. She has taken on the responsibility of digitizing the library’s historical records. In addition, Teresa is a caring individual volunteering with the community’s Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. She is attentive and professional. Visitors to the genealogy center have reached out to say Teresa has offered them excellent service. Teresa is awesome!”

Each month a winner is selected by random drawing. Other staff members nominated in March include, Ann Allen, the Corydon Circulation Department, Amanda Embrey, Nikki Esarey, Kathy Fisher, Connie Gresham, Lisa Griffith, Eve Kopsalias, John Kunsman, Diana Lasky, Shawnda Mosson, Bob Ohlrich, Leo Stiner, Debi Strubler, Ellie Tucker-Brown and Heather Wyss.

Article by Alisa Burch, Director

Connie Gresham, youth services, is HCPL’s February winner for Who’s Awesome! There were 15 nominations for the honor this month.

Debi Strubler, circulation clerk at Corydon, nominated Connie stating, “Connie is a most appreciative employee. She loves her job, jumps in and does what needs to be done, and is so glad to be a part of our staff. I was so glad when Connie was hired.” Debi added, “She was always so kind to my boys at the dentist office… She is imparting that same kindness to all the children at our library. ”

Connie has worked in the HCPL youth services department in Corydon as a library assistant for more than a year joining the staff on January 20, 2023, after years of service to Dr. Jamie Mull’s orthodontic practice.

Another February nomination read, “Connie made a great Pete the Cat. She was also super helpful at the solar eclipse presentation. She is a big asset to the youth services department. Connie is awesome!

As a library assistant in the youth services department, Connie interacts with families helping them find materials, she shelves books, assists with youth programming, helps prepare materials for programming and crafts and generally does anything that is needed.

In November, Connie’s supervisor, Eden Ransdell, wrote, “Connie is always busy working on something and always ready to help. She is great at supporting her co-workers in every way!” In June co-worker Savannah Wallace said, “Connie did an amazing job helping at the Bubble Party! I really appreciated having her there to help. She is very hard-working and always willing to help out in any way possible!”

Each month a winner is selected by random drawing. Other staff members nominated in February include Bethany Banet, Liz Dennis, Teresa Douglass, Nikki Esarey, Kathy Fisher, Diana Lasky, Jo Beth Mathes, Kelly Powell, Eden Ransdell, Leo Stiner, and Ellie Tucker-Brown.

Article by Alisa Burch, Director

Jessica Stroud, Head of Information Technology, is HCPL’s January winner for Who’s Awesome! There were 20 nominations for the honor this month.

Kelly Powell, business manager, nominated Jessica stating, “Jessica always has a smile on her face and is always willing to help. She takes work phone calls on her time off and comes in whenever needed. She has helped me with so many little silly things, I should have been able to fix myself and never complained. She is a person you can count on 24-7. I love working with her and think she is a great asset to the library.”

Jessica first joined HCPL’s staff on July 23, 2001, as a library assistant. She quickly advanced to serve as IT support, administrative assistant to the director and assistant circulation manager. She was network and systems administrator before being named head of information technology.

Jessica has received multiple nominations over the months—too many to fit on this page. In December, Debi Strubler had this to say about Jessica, “Jessica always answers every IT question I have, so that I understand the answer. She always has compassion for me, since I did not touch a computer until I was 40. It does not matter what I ask her, she stops what she is doing and gives all of her attention to my question. I walk away not feeling stupid, and a bit more savvy about computers.”

In November, Alisa Burch, library director, wrote, “As head of IT Jessica is integral in keeping the library’s tech up and running. She leads the way in investigating new technologies and stays on top of purchases, outages, patron and staff issues, database renewals, hotspots and more. She also handles social media posts and issues, creates library marketing materials, sends out eBlasts to library users and lends help to anyone who needs it. Jessica is Awesome!“

Each month a winner is selected by random drawing. Other staff members nominated in January include Amanda Applegate, Corinne Burton, Liz Dennis, Lisa Griffith, Diana Lasky, JoBeth Mathes, Pam Nemeth, Bob Ohlrich, Eden Ransdell, Debi Strubler, Trevor Smith, Tiffany Thieneman, Ellie Tucker-Brown, and Savannah Wallace.

Article by Alisa Burch, Director