UT Libraries Celebrates Staff During 2026 Spirit Awards Ceremony

UT Libraries held its annual Spirit Awards ceremony on May 20. The yearly event recognizes and honors the outstanding achievements of faculty and staff who embody the spirit of excellence, innovation, and service within the UT Libraries.

For most awards, a committee of library staff members selects the winners from among those individuals nominated by their library colleagues.

The Rookie of the Year Award celebrates the remarkable achievements of a faculty or staff member who has been with UT Libraries for less than three years but has already demonstrated impressive drive, creativity, and initiative. In her short time at UT, Emily Homolka, winner of the Rookie of the Year Award for Faculty, has modernized operations in Special Collections, mentored students, contributed to national professional conversations, and served her campus community, all while mastering a demanding new role. Angelica Nepomuceno, winner of the Rookie of the Year Award for Staff, has single-handedly expanded the department of Community Learning and Engagement's instructional offerings to include new learning options, such as a specialized curriculum for Oak Ridge Schools featuring modules on digital citizenship, online safety and privacy, and artificial intelligence, and a yearlong program to introduce middle school students to career opportunities in healthcare.

The Library Unsung Hero Award goes to someone who works quietly behind the scenes to assure the success and smooth functioning of their unit. During the recent migration of our TRACE institutional repository to a new platform, Unsung Hero Ashley Cate worked tirelessly to ensure the integrity, accessibility, and quality of repository content.

The Outstanding Faculty Member Award honors a tenured faculty member who exemplifies excellence in librarianship. Award winner Alesha Shumar has taken the lead to promote our collections and the university's history, routinely answering historical reference questions for the Board of Trustees, the president of the University of Tennessee System, and the UT Knoxville chancellor. Furthermore, without her anticipating problems ahead of time, meeting with stakeholders, and reaching out to other academic archives, UT Libraries would be far less prepared to move our special collections into the new Library Storage Annex.

The Outstanding Staff Member Award recognizes a colleague who consistently exceeds expectations and demonstrates exemplary service. As a Public Services and Engagement Librarian, Kelseigh Bien develops every event or program with professionalism. The hullabaloo and excitement around her Bookbinding Workshops prompted the Makerspace to add bookbinding kits to their supplies.

The Paul E. Trentham Sr. Belonging Award recognizes a team member who consistently goes beyond their position description to ensure colleagues feel welcomed, supported, and included. When new employees arrive, award winner Rachel Hall helps them find their way — literally and figuratively. She ensures that new employees can truly hit the ground running and feel that they belong from day one.

Each year, the Red and Theresa Howse and Jim and Betty Papageorge Library Scholarship provides tuition assistance to a student library worker. Through processing fragile materials in Special Collections, apprenticing with UT Press, and serving as a student tutor in the Writing Center, this year’s winner, Helen Wyatt, has cultivated a skillset that will be invaluable when she eventually embarks on an editing career in the publishing industry. 

The following award winners were chosen by Dean of Libraries Steve Smith.

The Library Society Award for Extraordinary Customer Service is presented to a member of the UT Libraries faculty or staff who is consistently optimistic and shows extraordinary initiative in customer service. Bokeuim Yeom delivered an exceptional level of outreach and engagement, contributing to 56 events in one year, visiting classrooms to introduce students to library services, providing tours of Pendergrass Library for incoming faculty and staff, and stepping in when needed to cover desk shifts. Susan Pritchard, the Libraries’ human resources manager, listens intentionally to employees’ concerns and offers a safe place for discussions of sensitive matters. When staff members need special accommodations, she provides library employees every possible resource the campus has to offer.

The Paul E. Trentham Sr. Teamwork Award is granted to a team that has successfully implemented a significant project. Over the past year, the Special Collections team has undertaken the monumental task of preparing more than 14,000 linear feet of rare, historical, and often fragile primary source materials for relocation to the new Library Storage Annex. Through in-depth research and creating detailed descriptions, materials that were once effectively hidden are now discoverable and meaningful, opening new paths for research and scholarship. Congratulations to Special Collections team members Jennifer Beals, Kris Bronstad, Meredith Hale, Alexandra Sabau Holmes, Courtney Holmes, Emily Homolka, Kyle Hovious, Dennis Koch, David Ratledge, Amanda Richards, Laura Romans, and Alesha Shumar.

The Paul E. Trentham Sr. Dean’s Award for Excellence in Professional Performance is given to a UT Libraries faculty or staff member who has made significant contributions to the Libraries over a period of years or has recently contributed to a special effort or project on the Libraries’ behalf. Anna Sandelli undertook a comprehensive refresh of the Student Library Advisory Committee, elevating the group to a level of involvement that will serve as a model for library–student collaboration moving forward. Joe Ferguson designed and implemented several library systems that have automated workflows and improved the accuracy and efficiency of daily operations — from a Help Center that has facilitated over 5,000 internal requests since its launch two years ago to a home-grown workflow platform that has reduced manual effort and improved data accuracy.

Congratulations to all Library Spirit Award winners!