John Mark Bojanski wins University Research Day Award!

John Mark Bojanski, former Graduate Research Assistant at HSL, won two prestigious awards at UNC’s 2014 University Research Day on March 4.

John Mark won third place in the Humanities and Social Science juried category, and third place (out of 79) overall in the popular vote. Congratulations, John Mark!

John Mark Bojanski is a Master of Library Science candidate at the UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS).

John Mark Bojanski

John Mark Bojanski with his poster

Canines Rank HSL #1 “Fur Real”

On December 11, two therapy dogs, Seamus and Othello, along with their owners (Laura Pavlech and Aly Curtis) visited with delighted staff and students in the HSL collaboration center.

Two Paws Up!

HSL patrons commented that it was “a great idea! Please do it again!” and mentioned the “very nice display about the dogs as helpers.” The exhibit is at the HSL entrance on the first floor.  Therapy dog photographs are exhibited on the second floor.

Exhibit Unleashed

The exhibit and event were the brainstorm of HSL staff member Lynn Gunter. Lynn thought that such an event would be fun and also help bring about greater awareness of the important contributions of dogs and animals to our lives.

Wag More

Lynn stresses that working with therapy dogs is a win-win for both people and the animals.  The dogs bring calmness and joy to people, and provide the unconditional love that is so important to a person who is going through a difficult illness or emotional trauma.

Lynn has worked with therapy dogs in nursing homes and other settings. Many of the people helped by therapy dogs have few opportunities for interactions with others. “It is so heartwarming to see the brightness in the eyes of people” served by the dogs, she said.

Top Dogs

Therapy Dogs go through a training program in preparation for serving. After completing obedience training, candidate dogs undergo Canine Good Citizens training, followed by a Therapy Dog certification test.

Lynn Gunter has served on the Board of Directors of the Humane Society of Alamance County and worked for the No Kill Coalition of Alamance County. She continues to work as an advocate for animals in various ways, including serving as a foster parent and working with stray animals.

If you would like to see HSL do more to highlight the  therapeutic contributions of animals, give us a bark!

You can see more pictures of Othello and Seamus on the HSL Flickr site.

Julia Shaw-Kokot and Barbara Tysinger are 2013 HSL Award recipients!

From HSL News:  Every year the Health Sciences Library (HSL) recognizes two employees for their amazing work. In 2013, HSL honors Julia Shaw Kokot with the HSL Award of Excellence and Barbara Tysinger with the Award of Distinguished Service.

Julia Shaw-Kokot

HSL Award Recipients

Barbara Tysinger

In addition, HSL Director Carol Jenkins was given a special award honoring her outstanding leadership of HSL over the past 26 years. Carol is retiring at the end of June 2013.

Additional photos of the Awards event are on our Flickr site at http://www.flickr.com/photos/hslunc/

HSL’s Barbara Renner wins Bryan Public Service Award!

HSL librarian Barbara Renner recently won the prestigious Robert E. Bryan Public Service Award for her work leading HSL’s YOUR HEALTH Radio project. Barbara was one of only five individuals to win the award this  year. For more information, see https://ccps.unc.edu/awards-fellowships/robert-e-bryan-public-service-award/

Congratulations, Barbara!

From an online chat

(12:05:25 PM) Patron:  Can I just say that this chat thing is such an amazing service
(12:05:33 PM) KT Vaughan, Librarian: Glad you like it!
(12:05:57 PM) PatronReally, its so amazing, I’m in Baltimore and I can ask you a question! I really appreciate you all taking the time to do it