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DSU’s Quinn named New Librarian of the Year

            Dakota State University Librarian, Todd Quinn has been selected as the South Dakota Library Association’s New Librarian of the Year

            On Friday, October 4, at the SDLA annual Conference, Quinn was presented with the award, which is designed to recognize a beginning librarian who is making an impact upon the quality and role of library service who has five years or less of service with the state or elsewhere.

            “One of the chief reasons I believe Todd received this award is because of his efforts to bring virtual reference to South Dakota,” Ethelle Bean, DSU Director of the Library said. “He has a passion for reference and public service and very much wanted to implement virtual reference at DSU . Todd’s creative solution was to involve his colleagues from other institutions and then write a successful collaborative LSTA grant application so that the virtual reference could get off the ground.

Quinn’s ultimate goal is to see the DSU/NSU/SDSU partnership expand to a statewide virtual reference service.

“With this project he has demonstrated real leadership,” Bean added.

            Other criteria for receiving the award include:

1. transforming a routine task or an untried idea into imaginative, creative service.
2. projected a dynamic image of the professional librarian in the community.
3. offered the community something which it did not have before. 

Quinn is employed in the newly created position of Instruction/Reference Librarian at Dakota State University in the Public Services Department of the Karl E. Mundt Library.  It is a three-person department consisting of two full-time librarians and one Library Associate, all supported by a number of student library assistants.

Quinn’s primary professional responsibilities are reference and instruction. He is also active in campus committee work, most notably on the Task Force to develop the campus Diversity Plan. He was recently elected Vice President of the General Faculty at DSU.

“Since he has been on staff, in addition to his regular duties, Quinn has done a review of our preservation and disaster planning needs that has resulted in a grant from the Upper Midwest Conservation Association to conduct a building assessment that, in turn, will lead to a preservation plan for DSU,” Bean said.