Jones Recipient of University Libraries Staff Excellence Award

Mon, 02/14/2022 - 04:43pm | By: David Tisdale

A veteran member of The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) University Libraries team is recipient of one of its top honors.

Lisa Jones, Head of Library Technology, was presented the University Libraries Staff Excellence Award in December. The recognition, begun in 2015, recognizes the hard work, dedication, and excellence of a University Libraries staff member. Nominations are reviewed and voted on by a committee of fellow staff members.

A native of Union, Mississippi, Jones holds an associate degree from East Central Community College and bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice and accounting from USM. She has served University Libraries for 24 years in a variety of other roles, including as library budget specialist and assistant to the dean for finance and technology. She has also served as director of the Mississippi Digital Library since 2010.

“I’m surprised, and truly honored, to be recognized by my colleagues in this way,” Jones said. “I just show up and try to do my best.”

As Head of Technology for University Libraries, Jones’ duties include oversight of University Libraries’ Technology Department, including its Institutional Repository, Aquila, Digital Collections, Mississippi Digital Library, the Library Services Platform, the Libraries’ websites, desktop support, and general technology needs for all units in the libraries.

Jones enjoys her work and says every day is different and brings different challenges. “Technology touches every department and practically every job in University Libraries,” she noted. “There’s always something new to learn or investigate, always something to improve or fix. You learn a lot, even about the small roles and how impactful the seemingly insignificant can be.  It’s never boring, that’s for sure.”

For information about University Libraries at USM, visit www.lib.usm.edu.