IRIS Photos

New Library Calendar Puts Fun Back in “Dating”

 

The Weill Cornell Medical Library began a thirty-six-month public relations campaign in October 2005 called “Who We Are… What We Do.”  The campaign features a different Library staff member each month on a calendar of Library events that is posted on the main-floor kiosk near the Computer Commons.

The campaign was the “brainchild” of Loretta Merlo, the manager of Circulation Services and a twenty-five-year veteran of the Medical Library.  She serves on the Library’s Celebration Committee, which provided initial feedback about the calendar and organized the event to draw staff names for the various months. 

Loretta’s original idea was to accomplish three things: “To publicize the Library’s classes and events, to highlight the diverse talents of our staff, and to better familiarize our patrons with our employees, thereby humanizing them and, hopefully, promoting positive relationships within the institution.”  The concept has endured, much to Loretta’s satisfaction, but the format has undergone several mutations along the way.  Originally, she thought we’d print up a calendar for the year and hand it out.  But there were a few objections to that idea.  Reduced flexibility in scheduling classes was one big drawback to publishing a calendar so far in advance.  So she came up with an alternative plan to design a calendar that could be printed from our Web site every month.  However, Library director Carolyn Reid, an environmentalist at heart, was against distributing a printed calendar at all.  The compromise was to print one copy of a large-format version each month and post it in the Library.

But please don’t call this an “employee of the month” campaign.  It’s not an individual recognition award—it’s an acknowledgement.  Lorette explains: “We have a wonderful staff with such a variety of interests and skills: two fine artists, a law student, several people getting their undergraduate and graduate degrees, an orchestra conductor, and a cartoonist—and that’s just for starters.  They range in years of service from a few months to thirty years and in life experience from new dad to grandmother.  And that doesn’t even begin to cover the skills and dedication of the professional librarians on staff.  I so enjoy the opportunity to feature each one of them, and I try to capture their essence both as an employee and as a person.” 

Besides listing vital stats, like job title and years of service, each staff member is asked to pick a favorite book for his or her “candid” photo.  Loretta has taken most of the photos so far and has tried to inject humor into the campaign.  For example, circulation supervisor Danita Norville was featured on the cover of a James Bond novel, scanner pointed at the camera.  Librarian Rich McGowan appeared on the cover of The Dubliners, posed and dressed like James Joyce.  Says Rich, who was working at Weill Cornell only a few weeks when he volunteered for a “wildcard” spot on the schedule: “Being featured on the monthly calendar was a great way to start my employment at the Library.  I was recognized and approached by patrons and faculty in the library, at group meetings, and even on the street.  I feel it facilitated talks with many people and made me feel very comfortable at the information desk and in the Library in general. Also, the picture created was fun and well done.  I enjoyed being involved in something so creative.”

Weill Cornell’s Department of Medical Art and Photography, specifically Aaron Cormier, handles the final layout and printing.  This isn’t the usual fare for them, so we have a lot of fun every month putting the calendar together.  They’re never quite sure what to expect from us next. Want to see for yourself?  All calendars are archived in the New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center Archives and are linked from the Staff Directory on the Library Web site.

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Bernardo Santiago, an employee of Weill Cornell Medical Library for twenty-eight years, is depicted in the February calendar as “The Flash”—a nod to his boundless energy behind the circulation desk.

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