Services Awards

Rene Tanner

René Tanner is an Associate Librarian at Arizona State University in the STEM Division. She started her career as an academic librarian at Montana State University in 2008 and joined Arizona State University Library in 2011. She is currently serving a second term as Treasurer for the Arizona Library Association, which ends in 2021. René specializes in sustainability and life sciences. She is a co-editor of the upcoming book, Sustainability in Libraries, slated for publication in 2021 by ALA Editions. She is a frequent presenter on the topics of conflict management, empathy, and sustainability as it pertains to work in libraries.

Janene Van Leeuwen

Janene Van Leeuwen is a Library Asst. II who develops and oversees the Education & Entrepreneurship Outreach efforts for the Buckeye Public Library System. She taught K-8 music and technology for 6 years and served as the Community Outreach Coordinator for the Liberty District for four years, Director of Arts Education for the West Valley Arts Council for 3 years and most recently has overseen the Education and Entrepreneurship Outreach efforts for the Buckeye Public Library System for the past 5 years. She has used her education background, experiences and skills to develop and run the Entrepreneurship Outreach Network (EON) program, in partnership with ASU Entrepreneurship & Innovation and the City of Buckeye Economic Development. She helps link today’s innovative people (youth and adults), with today’s growing Buckeye through workshops, meet-ups, networking, mentoring and a variety of opportunities that will help them start or grow their business.

Elma Shaffer

Elma Shaffer was born in Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico and holds Bachelors’ Degrees in Business Administration and Education. Prior to joining the Pima County Public Library, she spent 10 years working as an Administrator and Specialized Job Counselor, managing financial resources for programs related to unemployment, recruitment and job training. She also has six years’ experience in early childhood and special education. She has spent the last five years as the Children’s Services Library Associate and Circulation Manager of the Santa Rosa Library. Her passion lies in creating meaningful connections with people. She enjoys teaching children and creating new and exciting ways to increase their love of learning. Her enthusiasm in developing connections with agency partners has aided in deep and meaningful collaborative projects serving the local community. Her hobbies include STEAM education, astronomy, photography, yoga and zumba fitness.

Nicole Umayam

As the Digital Inclusion Library Consultant at the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records, Nicole supports small, rural, urban, tribal, and academic libraries throughout Arizona on digital equity initiatives including wi-fi hotspot and laptop lending, tech training for librarians, community-based digital preservation, and improving library broadband networks. This work was kick started through participation in the National Digital Inclusion Alliance’s project, the Digital Inclusion Corps. She has a MA in applied linguistics and a MLIS from the University of Oklahoma.

Caitlin Burns

Caitlin has worked for Pima County Public Library since 2005. She began the PCPL Snack Program in 2013 which was awarded an honorable mention in the Wellness, Safety and Sustainability category by the Urban Libraries Council the following year. The program has since expanded to 12 libraries, serving thousands of meals to Tucson-area children and teens each school year. Until recently Caitlin was the Children’s Services Manager at Joel D Valdez Main Library in Tucson where she oversaw a renovation of the 9,000 square foot Children’s Room, funded in-part by an IMLS LSTA grant thanks to the Arizona State Library. Caitlin now manages the Nanini Library in Northwest Tucson.

Lisa Morris-Wilkey

Lisa Morris-Wilkey is currently a Teacher Librarian at Casa Grande Middle School as well as Lead Librarian for the Casa Grande Elementary School District. She has been an educator and school librarian in Casa Grande since 1991. Her passion is helping her students find the right book at just the right time. Lisa is the current co-chair of the International Literacy Association's (ILA) Young Adult Choices committee, a member of the Children's Author Committee for the Tucson Festival of Books (TFOB), and has been a member of the American Association for School Librarian's (AASL) Conference Committee: Author Program and Local Arrangements. Lisa is also a current board member for the Assembly of Literature for Adolescents for NCTE (ALAN) and a member of the Achieve Pinal committee - a regional grassroots effort dedicated to working to develop a competitive workforce for future jobs by improving educational attainment in Pinal County. Over the years, she has been a member of ALAN's Elizabeth Amelia Walden Award and National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Orbis Pictus Award for Excellence in Nonfiction. She has also moderated many authors panels at TFOB, NCTE, ILA, and was a member of YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection Committee. Lisa lives in Casa Grande with her husband Eric.

Heather Severson

Heather Severson is a Program Instructor at the Pima County Public Library, where she helps people use library resources to achieve their goals of personal development, career advancement, and life-long learning. Heather has worked to support learning in a variety of settings, including The University of Arizona, Pima Community College, and the National Math and Science Initiative. Each summer she scores Advanced Placement English Language and Composition Exams for the College Board. As a freelance education writer, Heather has written assessments, instructor manuals, and other content for many of the top education publishers. Heather started iSchool at the University of Washington in September 2018, and expects to graduate in June 2021.

Robert Marlowe

My name is Robert Marlowe. I moved across the street from the Parker Public Library in Parker, AZ in 2014. At that time I was very shy and did not like to be around many people. I went to the library to use a public computer one day and the ladies there asked me for help moving some boxes. The next day I decided to walk across the street to see if they needed more help. They were grateful for the nice gesture. I continued going to the library to help with whatever was needed. The ladies working there were friendly and it was nice to do something for others.

I have been volunteering at the library for 6 years. I go there every single day they are open. The staff and ‘friends’ of the library are my family. We all work together to make our Town a better place. I always knew God had a plan for me. I am thankful to be part of this team.

Thank you for picking me for this award. I am honored.

Sheryl Orman

I’d like to thank you for your generous contribution to my education at the University of Arizona. I grew up in Tucson, Arizona and most of my family still lives here. Over the years of my academic career I spent quite a bit of time in libraries, and I came to realize that I love the library environment- the ability to find whatever information a person needs, the fostering of the love of learning that libraries encourage, and the simple enjoyment of helping people. I obtained a position with the Pima County Public Library and have welcomed gaining experience in how a library works.

I enjoyed working as a page for the Pima County Public Library at the Murphy-Wilmot branch for more than ten years. As my knowledge of the inner workings of the library grew, so did my curiosity about why the branch was organized the way it was, as well as the library system overall, or why certain decisions were made, and how it is all connected. I gained some insight by questioning and working with the branch librarians, as well as interacting with the administrative staff, but I wanted to learn more. I recently became a Library Associate at the Wheeler Taft Abbett Sr. branch library, where I have been able to gain new skills and experience, as well as to learn from a new group of coworkers. However, I still want to improve my library competencies, and I am hopeful that obtaining my master’s degree in library and information science will allow me to do this. I also want to learn how to promote the library’s services to the community, both in my job and in my volunteer work with the Friends of the Library.

Upon graduation I plan to continue working for the Pima County Public Library for many years to come, as this is the library system I grew up in. I hope to eventually move into a librarian position within the organization, in order to have a wider range of opportunities to help my community and develop the services of the library. Obtaining a Master of Arts in Library and Information Science is an excellent way for me to improve my service to the customers of the Pima County Public Library while at the same time advancing my library career opportunities.

Thank you for helping me to make my dream possible.

Sheryl Orman