2023 Nominees

Jackie Belanger

Director, Libraries Assessment and Planning
Year Nominated: 2021-2022

Jackie Belanger leads the Libraries in large scale assessment and planning projects that guide improvement and decision-making, aligning the services, programs, and resources of the UW Libraries to the ever-evolving needs of UW students, staff, and faculty. Jackie plays a leadership role in Libraries’ strategic planning process, including managing the development of the 2018-2023 Libraries strategic plan and evaluating progress towards the stated goals.

Jackie works collaboratively and in partnership across the organization, establishing and sustaining structures that are effective, open, and equitable. She has transformed the assessment program to include both large-scale surveys as well as student-centered, values-driven methods like Design Thinking and Participatory Design.

As a member of the steering committee, Jackie has co-organized the Library Assessment Conference since 2014 (co-sponsored by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and UW Libraries). Her collaborative work and co-authored article "Towards a Critical Library Assessment Program" has significantly impacted the field, bringing a critical and reflective lens to assessment methodologies and practices.

One of the most rewarding projects I’ve worked on was a Spring 2020 cross-departmental effort exploring the needs of students enrolled in UW online programs. It was a quarter-long project that involved not just understanding the challenges and needs of online students, but also co-designing solutions to these challenges in partnership with students. The project was in development before COVID-19. However, with the March 2020 shift to remote teaching and learning, the project took on a new importance, informing several changes to support students that have continued to shape our services. For me, this project was incredibly rewarding because it aligned so well with important values around collaboration, creativity, and equity and inclusion – It was incredibly meaningful to work together with colleagues and students to find creative ways to address our challenges and center student voices in our work. As a result of participating in the project, students reported increased awareness of Libraries and campus services, improved collaboration skills, and a greater sense of belonging – which was so vital for all of us during that challenging Spring of 2020.

(author Deb Raftus)

Sandra Kroupa

Book Arts and Rare Books Curator, Distinctive and Special Collections
Year Nominated: 2021-2022

Sandra Kroupa is the Book Arts and Rare Book Curator in Special Collections, where she has worked for over 53 years. A prolific writer, lecturer, and exhibit curator, Sandra is a tireless teacher of classes and workshops on modern and historical book arts and the history of the book. Sandra has wide-ranging, ongoing collaborative instructional partnerships with faculty and students in undergraduate and PhD programs, particularly in Textual Studies, the iSchool, History Department, and French and Italian Studies, among many others.

A book artist as well as a scholar, Sandra co-founded the Book Arts Guild, serving on its board and coordinating lectures and workshops of visiting artists and giving many presentations herself. During the pandemic, Sandra was able to parlay a half century of in-person teaching to online presentations for faculty at UW and other universities.

In 2002, Sandra’s excellence was acknowledged with a UW Distinguished Staff Award. She has frequently been profiled in the press, and you may read more about her work in these articles.

• UW Daily: Interview with Sandra Kroupa: “Sandra Kroupa: UW Libraries’ book arts and rare books curator — and local legend”
• The Seattle Times: “Meet the UW libraries’ keeper of rare books and artifacts”
• Crosscut: “The keeper of 155K extraordinary books”

(author Conor Casey)

Caitlin Maloy

Nursing and Research Services Librarian, Health Sciences Library
Year Nominated: 2021-2022

In her first two years at University of Washington’s Health Sciences Library, Caitlin has emerged as a collaborative and innovative colleague, teacher, leader and researcher. Her ability to define her role in an online environment has been swift and effective, benefiting School of Nursing students, staff and faculty during a time of uncertainty and ambiguity.

Caitlin has created podcasts and tutorials in addition to her guest lectures in School of Nursing to highlight the library’s role of Evidence Based Practice. The Health Sciences Library is fortunate to have Caitlin as a valuable team member. Her colleagues have an appreciation of her collegiality and willingness to support her team and the interdisciplinary research that goes beyond the health sciences.

We are all very excited about this nomination and proud of Caitlin’s dedication to students and colleagues!

What I enjoy most about being a librarian is connecting users to the information and resources that they need. I have the privilege of working with a huge variety of users with unique research projects. I don't have the skills to solve the problems they're investigating, but I can be a part of the solution by helping to point them in the right direction.

(author Electra Enslow)

Je Salvador

Computer Science / Research and Instruction Librarian, UW Bothell / Cascadia College Library
Year Nominated: 2021-2022

Throughout their career, Je has stood out as someone with a unique ability to provide outstanding and empathetic instruction to all user bases. Je has demonstrated this capacity in the role of Computer Science Research and Instruction Librarian on the UW Bothell campus since 2019 and before that, as a Student Reference Specialist in Suzzallo Library.

Je has been praised by colleagues, partner faculty and students for their dedication and care to ensure that students gain an understanding of Information Literacy and are also affirmed and encouraged on an individual level. Beyond their impactful work in Teaching and Learning, Je has been dedicated to making the Libraries and the community at large a better place and is deeply involved in issues of social justice, accessibility and inclusivity.

Je is described as a radiant presence by their colleagues, someone who is passionate about having a positive impact in everything they do, and who uplifts everyone around them.

(author Andrew Weaver)