Folster and Lundquist selected Librarians of the Year

Mary Folster and Mitch Lundquist have been named the 1997 Librarians of the Year by their peers in the University of Wisconsin–Madison Librarians’ Assembly.

The annual awards recognize outstanding contributions to campus library services by two unclassified staff members of the General Library System — one who has worked for the system more than 10 years and another who has been on the staff less than 10 years. The assembly created the awards in 1989.

Folster is a senior academic librarian who heads the Social Science Reference Library and also coordinates collection development for the Business Library. She joined the library staff in 1982, after earning a master’s degree in library science from Long Island University. She also has completed work toward a doctorate in library science at UW–Madison.

Folster is recognized as an early pioneer in using computer technology for information management. In the early ’90s, she worked with the social sciences bibliographer in Memorial Library to pilot a document-delivery program that later became the standard for document delivery systemwide.

She has also done extensive committee and professional-development work in campus libraries, serving on the Librarians’ Assembly, New Colleague Committee, Standing Review Committees and Professional Concerns Committee, as well as on CD-ROM, MadCat, Internet and library instruction groups.

Folster’s nomination letter cites her for “quietly, resolutely . . . [taking on] difficult library positions, committee and task force assignments, and teaching opportunities with her usual matter-of- fact, unassuming ways.” She “clearly sees this library as a new model of service, not as a collection that must be maintained at all costs,” the letter states.

Mitch Lundquist, an automation librarian, joined the staff in 1989. He coordinates the library automation help desk, provides training and support for GLS staff in the use of both general and library-specific microcomputer applications, and acts as a librarian liaison and coordinator between library staff and campus computing center technical staff. He earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and a master’s degree in library science from UW–Madison.

In nomination materials, Lundquist is recognized for coordinating the installation and support of a staff computer network, coordinating the installation of software on 500 library workstations to accommodate a new Web-based front end system, and researching and coordinating the creation of adaptive technology workstations for users with disabilities in Memorial and College libraries.

Lundquist is admired, according to his nomination letter, for “remaining cheerful and calm . . . when handling emergencies such as a major library system crash [and for providing] an outstanding model of professional librarianship in helping staff solve computer-related problems.”