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Announcing the Recipients of the 2023 OCUL Award

The Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) is proud to announce the recipients of the 2023 OCUL Outstanding Contribution Award.

Two Collaborative Futures project teams are being recognized for their achievements that helped enable the successful implementation of the Omni academic search tool and shared network in partner libraries across Ontario.

The Automated Fulfillment Network Pilot Team led initial shared network operations within the TriUniversity Group of Libraries (TUG). This intensive work set the stage for the network to expand to Omni partners beyond the original three university libraries. The TUG Steering Committee nominated the Automated Fulfillment Network Pilot Team for the OCUL Award, explaining that, “This team of dedicated and innovative individuals worked tirelessly, during a global pandemic, to test, trouble-shoot, solve problems, share information, and make recommendations that eased the [expansion] transition for all of OCUL.” The pilot team comprised:
  • Adam Taves, York University
  • Brandon Uhlman, University of Waterloo
  • Dillon Moore, Wilfrid Laurier University
  • Doug Horne, University of Guelph
  • Juliene McLaughlin, University of Guelph
  • Matt Van Ast, University of Guelph
  • Randy Oldham, University of Guelph
  • Robin Sakowski, University of Guelph
  • Samantha Gibbon, University of Waterloo
  • Vera Fesnak, Wilfrid Laurier University (retired)
The Automated Fulfillment Network Expansion Working Group extended the shared network from the three initial universities to (the then) 16 Omni partner schools and continued forward to support Alma-to-Alma borrowing and lending. Trent University Library’s Coralee Leroux and Kristy McKeown nominated the Automated Fulfillment Network Expansion Working Group for the OCUL Award, noting that the working group laid the groundwork for future expansion of resource sharing between schools and helped give “new life to underused collections.” The network expansion working group comprised:
  • Brandon Uhlman, University of Waterloo
  • Dan Scott, Laurentian University
  • Joanne Rumig, Carleton University
  • Lisl Schoner-Saunders, Algoma University
  • Mandy Deans Kassies, Brock University
  • Matt Van Ast, University of Guelph
  • Monica Rettig, Brock University
  • Randy Oldham, University of Guelph
This year marked the return of the OCUL Award, after being on hiatus since 2017. Nominations were open to consortial contributions from between 2019 and 2023. “The breadth of work accomplished by each nominee is truly remarkable,” said OCUL Executive Director Amy Greenberg. “All the nominations embodied the value OCUL places on networking, collaboration, and community. We thank every team and individual for their initiative and ingenuity.” Scholars Portal and OCUL staff supported the work of the two award recipients and extend congratulations to the Automated Fulfillment Network Pilot Team and Automated Fulfillment Network Expansion Working Group for their outstanding achievements.

Learn more about the OCUL Outstanding Contribution Award