Honoring excellence: Linda Shallcross Soukup Library Staff Awards

Established in 2025, the Linda Shallcross Soukup Library Staff Awards recognize outstanding University Library employees whose innovation, leadership, service, and community impact help advance the library’s mission and enrich campus life at Iowa State University. The awards recognize accomplishments from the prior fiscal year (July–June) or long-term excellence. 

Funded through the generosity of Rich and Linda Soukup, the annual awards reflect the couple’s deep appreciation for the library. Linda’s experience as a student worker in the 1960s, where the library provided both financial support and a nurturing environment for learning, inspired this meaningful investment in the dedicated staff who keep the University Library vibrant and essential. The awards are presented each February during the Heart of the Library Awards and Recognition Ceremony.  

Nominees are honored for a significant one-time achievement or sustained contribution to the Library or Iowa State University. This includes demonstrated innovation, leadership, or service excellence; having a positive impact on operations, workplace culture, the broader community, or the library profession; and advancement of the University Library’s strategic mission. 

Any member of the Iowa State University community, students, faculty, staff, colleagues from other departments, supervisors, or the employees themselves, may submit a nomination. For additional information on the awards and the nomination process, visit the Linda Shallcross Soukup Library Staff Awards page. 

The inaugural honorees are Yen Vo, Eliza Sibley, Hema Thulsidhos, Erin Ridnour, and Rebecca Wells. 

Merit Category  
Yen Vo, account specialist, business services, has delivered over 40 years of outstanding service to the University Library in her roles as Account Specialist and treasurer for the Library Staff Association. She is recognized for her exceptional dedication, deep knowledge of policies, meticulous accuracy in managing payroll and timecards, and her willingness to embrace new challenges. Y consistently exceeds expectations by maintaining staff spaces, volunteering at events, and supporting her colleagues with a consistently cheerful and helpful attitude. Her essential behind-the-scenes contributions have been vital to the library’s success, making her highly deserving of this recognition. 

P&S Non-Librarian Category 
Eliza Sibley, executive administrative assistant, administration, has shown sustained excellence as Executive Administrative Assistant to the Dean and Administrative Cabinet. She provides exceptional organizational leadership, strategic support, and warm hospitality. Known for skillfully managing complex priorities, synthesizing information, and promoting inclusive decision-making, Eliza has created a welcoming and collaborative environment. She played a key role in major initiatives, including co-chairing the library’s Centennial Celebration and implementing project management tools to advance strategic goals. Her professionalism, empathy, and proactive approach make her indispensable to the University Library and highly deserving of recognition. 

Librarian (P&S or Faculty) Category  
Hema Thulsidhos, metadata projects librarian, metadata services, made an extraordinary contribution to the library’s digital collections migration project. She transformed metadata for 91 collections—nearly 25,000 objects and 189,000 rows—using OpenRefine and complex crosswalks between Islandora and CollectionBuilder. She developed new workflows, maintained metadata integrity, redirected persistent identifiers, and collaborated across departments to establish configuration and display standards. Her technical expertise, precision, and dedication were essential to the project’s success, making her highly deserving of this recognition. 

Librarian (P&S or Faculty) Category  
Erin Ridnour, digital scholarship librarian, Digital Scholarship and Initiatives, has been a driving force in the success of The Catalyst, transforming it into a vibrant hub for digital scholarship and interdisciplinary collaboration. She has led and co-developed numerous high-impact initiatives, including Love Data Week, the Digital Scholarship Symposium, and the first Summer Institute for Digital Inquiry. These innovative programs have advanced data and digital literacy across campus. Erin’s creativity, leadership, and commitment have greatly strengthened the library’s role in building research partnerships and increasing student engagement, making her highly deserving of recognition. 

Any Classification Category
Rebecca Wells, student life archivist, Special Collections and University Archives, demonstrated exceptional leadership as Chair and Co-Chair of the Library Awards and Recognition Committee. She transformed the committee into a sustainable, collaborative group that promotes a strong culture of appreciation across the library. Rebecca introduced a shared leadership model, developed detailed documentation and workflows, and strengthened recognition programs such as the Heart of the Library Awards. Most significantly, she led the creation of the Linda Shallcross Soukup Library Staff Awards program, developing a comprehensive proposal with clear criteria, timelines, and processes that received strong support from leadership and secured donor funding. Her innovation, organization, and dedication have created a lasting positive impact on library culture and recognition efforts.