Kristin Stoklosa receives Ishimoto Award

Kristin Stoklosa, e-resources manager and e-resources coordinator for the sciences, has been named this year’s recipient of the 2010 Carol Ishimoto Award for Distinguished Service in the Harvard College Library.

Created through a 1991 endowment established by former Associate Librarian of Harvard College for Cataloging and Processing Carol Ishimoto, the award annually recognizes a member or group of the professional staff who has advanced the mission of the Library through exceptional contributions and leadership, and includes a cash award and citation for creative professional achievement of the highest order.

Stoklosa was nominated for the award in recognition of her efforts to anticipate and respond to the complex and rapidly-changing needs of scholars and faculty who rely on the library’s ability to deliver timely, accessible and reliable digital resources.

To deliver a wide range of e-resources as quickly and efficiently as possible, Stoklosa has taken on a variety of roles in her work, Alison Scott, Widener senior collection development librarian and Charles Warren Bibliographer for American History, wrote in a nomination she submitted on behalf of herself and Associate Librarian for Collection Development Dan Hazen. Stoklosa acts as a combination of negotiator, analyst, ambassador, project manager, wrangler, and even rhetorician while assisting bibliographers and libraries that are variously part of HCL, FAS and HUL to assess, purchase, license, and subscribe to e-resources ranging from massive multi-disciplinary journal packages to highly-specific primary data sources.

As an example of Stoklosa’s exemplary work, Scott pointed to her management of all subscription data during the project to migrate more than 1,000 printed journals at Widener Library into digital formats. Other projects include gathering and analyzing data for e-journal package negotiations and acquisitions, and an extensive review of tools for the evaluation of journal significance completed in support of the arduous work of pricing evaluation. Stoklosa also played a lead role in the development of a software tool/database for the efficient management of all phases of HCL acquisition of new digital resources, and continues to work on developing efficient workflows for the purchase of one-off e-books.

“These activities would not be easy tasks to accomplish even in the best of times,” Scott said. “In these days of straitened budgets and ever-increasing costs, Kristin’s ability to work with librarians, technical experts, and vendors to keep our electronic acquisitions programs on track, on schedule and within budget is nothing short of marvelous.”

Nancy Cline, Roy E. Larsen Librarian of Harvard College, presented the award to Stoklosa on Dec. 7.

“Kristin’s dedication has had a positive impact not just on Harvard College Library users, but on patrons throughout Harvard’s libraries,” Cline said. “The availability of digital resources has profoundly transformed the way our users approach the library, and Kristin has played a key role in ensuring the libraries acquire and deliver the resources patrons want. Her efforts in ensuring patrons can access the material they need for their studies and research is deserving of this award.”