MEDIA RELEASE

The Hawaii State Public Library System (HSPLS) has announced Susan Nakata, Director of the Library Development Services Section (LDSS) as the 2013 Manager of the Year and the Telephone Reference & Information Unit (HSL-TRIN) at the Hawaii State Library as the Team of the Year Award winners for 2013.

Under Nakata’s exceptional leadership, the Library Development Services Section was selected as the 2012 HSPLS Team of the Year, and has earned a justifiable reputation for careful planning and organization; responding quickly to requests; providing high-quality services and products promptly; assisting branches, sections and staff with graciousness, good humor and Aloha; and continuing to heighten the public’s awareness of the wonderful services and accomplishments of Hawaii’s public libraries and our staff members.

In addition to the many and varied responsibilities of her Section, over the past three years Susan has devoted innumerable hours to coordinating the Gates Opportunity Online Grant and the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program’s (BTOP) Public Computer Center and fiber-optic connectivity grants.

Nakata has worked for the HSPLS for 29 years, including the past 14 years as the LDSS Section Head where she has successfully encouraged her team to function as a family and embrace the idea that “no task is too big when done together.”

Nakata has also served as Branch Manager of the Aina Haina Public Library, Head of the Hawaii State Library-Young Adult Section, Statewide Children’s Coordinator in the former Program Development Services Section, and in various librarian capacities in other public libraries.

In addition, Nakata has served on the national level – as the American Libraries Association’s Deputy Director of Young Adult Services Division in Chicago.

The Telephone Reference & Information Unit (HSL-TRIN), the recipient of the 2013 HSPLS Team of the Year Award includes: librarians Andrew Ah New, Mary Claire Hutchinson, Cheryl Ogasawara, and Marsha Pauline.

The hard-working Librarians in the Hawaii State Library’s Telephone Reference and Information Unit are capable, versatile and customer-focused, supporting HSPLS’ public service staff as well as library patrons throughout the state.

Each month, they respond to hundreds of patron questions received via telephone and through the mail; receive inquiries and requests sent to HSPLS’ Ask a Librarian online service; follow up with research and/or referrals to appropriate staff and promptly respond to patrons; provide e-book customer support for all HSPLS patrons; staff the statewide support line for HSPLS’ electronic resources such as OverDrive (e-book catalog), Microsoft IT Academy, Learn4Life and OneClickDigital; and teach regular computer classes for beginners such as “Internet Basics and Word Processing,” “How to Download OverDrive eBooks to a Handheld Device,” “How to Fill-Out an Online Form,” and “How to Download Music to an MP3 Player.”

In addition, these four librarians contribute to HSL and HSPLS in a number of other ways, including assisting other HSL Sections that are temporarily short-staffed, preparing for library events, helping the Library Operations manager to keep the main library running smoothly and much more.

The HSPLS Manager of the Year (Nakata) and HSPLS Team of the Year (Hawaii State Library-Telephone Reference & Information Unit) were honored along with other departmental award winners at the Governor’s Awards Ceremony in the State Capitol Auditorium on Oct. 4.