At Staff Appreciation Day on June 22, Young Adult Services Librarian Dania Souid, was honored as the winner of this year’s Ruth M. Connell Award.
Nominated by co-workers, the Ruth M.Connell Award, named after BPL’s first librarian, is given to the staff member who exemplifies teamwork, creativity, and initiative.
Nominated by colleagues Jacquie Owens, Corrinne Kushner, Sharon Burton, and Ginny Stady, Souid was described as enthusiastic, supportive, and innovative, while giving exemplary service to the public.
In her nomination, Jacquie Owens wrote “Dania provides supportive, nonthreatening help to those who need assistance with computers. Our older patrons often feel intimidated when their phone/tablet/computer doesn’t work right, and she empowers them.”
Kushner wrote “Dania shows a lot of grace under pressure. When the children’s librarian position became unexpectedly vacant, Dania stepped up and effortlessly added kid’s programming and issues to her regular YA duties. Never heard her complain once!”
As for innovation and creativity, Burton and Stady said, “Dania has expanded our collection adding many items to our Library of Things. She also started our vinyl collection.”
Owens said “Dania is always on top of the latest developments in not just what libraries offer, but what teens are interested in, an ever-changing target. She created a video game collection, a pop-up book collection, music albums (with a record player available to borrow), and the Teen Trends bi-monthly take homecraft.”