LAUC-LA 2015 Librarian of the Year Award

Kelli Ham

Librarian of the Year Award Presentation

UCLA Young Research Library Conference Center

March 30, 2015

Remarks by Nora Avetyan

Hello. I am Nora Avetyan and I am speaking to you on behalf of the 2015 LAUC-LA Librarian of the Year Award Committee, which is affectionately known as "LOTY." I would like to acknowledge and thank the other members of this year's committee, Michael Oppenheim from Management library, Allison Benedetti from YRL, and Dr. Janice Reiff, Professor of History from Department of History, and immediate past chair of the UCLA Academic Senate.

The LOTY Committee is charged to solicit, receive, and review nominations for the LAUC-LA Librarian of the Year Award. The Award was established in 1993 to recognize excellence in librarianship at UCLA, particularly as it enhances library service and furthers the teaching and research mission of the University. Award recipients must also embody one or more of the following traits, as exemplified in their achievements within the last 12 to 18 months: creativity, innovation, intellectual or moral courage, leadership, and scholarship.

This year, not different from previous years we received many excellent nominations and it was very difficult to choose just one librarian for the award. It was clear: librarians at UCLA excel in a wide-range of tasks, and record achievements in many areas, which engrave long lasting effect on UCLA and beyond. There are many wonderful librarians at UCLA who are doing excellent work. But it was our challenge to select a librarian whose achievements over the last 12-18 months stood out among the rest. After some deliberation we selected a librarian for the Award whose outstanding accomplishments best illustrate the ways that librarians can have a lasting impact on the Library, on students, on faculty, on the University, and on the general community nationally. I am very happy to reiterate the announcement on BruinPost last week that the librarian who best exemplified these qualities, is Kelli Ham from Biomed Library as our 2015 LOTY awardee.

Kelli was and is influential with her dedication to educate the public about the Affordable Care Act (ACA). We honor her today for her efforts to build tools and blogs to help patrons to discover and learn about the Affordable Care Act. Kelli has gone beyond call of duty to organize webinars to prepare California State Librarians and librarians in Arizona (Arizona Health Sciences Library in University of Arizona and public libraries). She had great impact on informing people about the Affordable Care Act and to increase the number of people with health insurance. She co-presented in a webinar called Get Covered in a Library: Affordable Care Act Resources for the Libraries. Kelli is a contributing author to a book published by Medical Library titled Affordable Care Act: A Librarian's Guide, as one of the leading experts on this subject. Kelli's work is greatly appreciated for training the NN/LM network institutions in the Pacific Southwest Region for implementation of the Affordable Care Act initial open enrollment period, and she has continued her diligent support for the second enrollment period which concluded in February 15, 2015. Kelli crated Libguides for the members of Pacific Southwest Region network to easily access information on ACA. The LibGuide includes updated news and resources for librarians and information providers on ACA. Kelli has substantially contributed to an article titled LibGuides as platform for Dissemination of Information About the Affordable Care Act. Kelli has been identified as a vital asset for the region, and with exceptional professional excellence she has achieved high status for her accomplishments in Consumer Health outreach.

LAUC-LA is delighted to present Kelli with an Award certificate outlining these accomplishments. LAUC-LA is also pleased to present Kelli with this engraved clock, and an additional $500 in professional development funds, and a sustainable gift, a plant.

Congratulations, Kelli!

Nora Avetyan

Chair, 2015 LAUC-LA Librarian of the Year Award Committee