From left to right: Leah Jewett, Christina Riquelmy, and Leah Duncan
LSU Libraries recognized three outstanding faculty and staff members – Christina Riquelmy, Leah Duncan, and Leah Wood Jewett – at the 2023 LSU Libraries Faculty and Staff Awards in April. Each winner was nominated by their colleagues and will receive $1,000 to recognize their accomplishments. Riquelmy, Duncan, and Jewett received the Carolyn H. Hargrave Faculty Leadership Award, the Early Career Librarian Award, and the Library Staff Award, respectively.
Carolyn H. Hargrave Faculty Leadership Award: Christina Riquelmy
The Carolyn H. Hargrave Faculty Leadership Award recognizes an LSU Libraries faculty member who has demonstrated exceptional leadership through job responsibilities, research, and service. The award is named in honor of Dr. Carolyn H. Hargrave, whose outstanding academic leadership in higher education provided a statewide network cooperative for resource sharing among Louisiana academic libraries.
Christina Riquelmy, the 2023 Carolyn H. Hargrave Faculty Leadership Award recipient, is the Rare Book Cataloger at Hill Memorial Library. She has been a cataloger at LSU Libraries since 1989 and a rare book cataloger since 1994. In that time, she has been the primary cataloger for the E.A. McIlhenny Natural History Collection and the Rare Book Collection, and pre-1865 books in the Louisiana & Lower Mississippi Valley Collection. She has curated, co-curated, and contributed to several exhibitions in Special Collections on subjects ranging from the history of sugar production in Louisiana to the life and work of botanical artist Margaret Stones. In 2021, she compiled a comprehensive research guide on John James Audubon, available on the Libraries’ website, and has served at the Libraries’ annual Audubon Day since its inception. She has a triple-major BA in French, German, and Spanish from Rice University and an MLS from the University of Pittsburgh.
Early Career Librarian Award: Leah Duncan
The Early Career Librarian Award recognizes an LSU Libraries faculty member who has demonstrated exceptional accomplishment in the LSU Libraries through initiative, creativity, and the ability to make a significant contribution to the Libraries within the first six years of their career.
This year’s recipient is Leah Duncan, the Digital Engagement & Education Services Librarian in Special Collections. Duncan is a primary member of the Special Collections’ Teaching Team and develops and supports digital scholarship and pedagogy efforts across the university. She promotes and supports the use of the Louisiana Digital Library (LDL) and co-founded and manages the Y’ALL Award, which shares equipment and expertise with small, community-oriented libraries, archives, and museums across Louisiana. Duncan’s accomplishments also include developing the LSU Libraries Special Collections Faculty Fellowship and co-planning and facilitating the first LDL Fest. She also serves as co-editor of the Journal of Critical Digital Librarianship. Duncan received her PhD in English from LSU, her MA in English from Boston College, and her BA in English from Samford University.
Library Staff Award: Leah Wood Jewett
The Library Staff Award recognizes an LSU Libraries non-classified professional staff member who has demonstrated exceptional accomplishment in the LSU Libraries through job responsibilities, service to the Libraries, and service to LSU. The recipient must have demonstrated outstanding achievement and maintained excellent relations with library employees and library users in their service to the LSU community.
This year’s recipient of the Library Staff Award is Leah Wood Jewett, the Exhibitions Manager at Hill Memorial Library. Jewett assists patrons with their research and contributes to a variety of projects for students, scholars, and the public that promote the use of LSU Libraries’ rare and historical materials. As exhibitions manager, Jewett has curated or designed more than 70 exhibitions in collaboration with LSU faculty, staff, and external partners. Among the many highlights of Leah’s exhibition work are “Through the Valley of Death: A Special Collections Perspective on the First World War,” “Louisiana’s Natural Treasure: Botanical Artist Margaret Stones,” and “Water, Water Everywhere: Control and Consequence in Louisiana’s Coastal Wetlands.” Jewett is a native of Baton Rouge and holds a BA and MA in Anthropology from LSU.
Riquelmy, Duncan, and Jewett were chosen via a selection committee composed of the following library employees.
- Jacob Fontenot, Chair and Resource Sharing Librarian
- Germain Bienvenu, Public Services Librarian, Special Collections
- John Miles, Curator of Books & Head of Instruction Services, Special Collections
- Elissa Plank, Head of Circulation
- Hans Rassmussen, Head, Technical Services, Special Collections
