By Christine Wendling and Brooke Bell

After more than 30 years of continuous achievement and success, Dana Taylor, LSU Libraries Director of Collection Services, has been awarded the Career Achievement Award at this year’s LOUIS Users Conference (LUC). This award recognizes an individual who has made a lasting and meaningful impact on libraries and librarianship in Louisiana through a career marked by leadership, service, and excellence.

Within the LSU Libraries, Taylor has been invaluable, expertly guiding countless staff through her vast knowledge and reliable leadership. “Dana’s ability to lead, influence, mentor, and advise all of us is even more important than her many responsibilities at our library. We count on her advice, wisdom, and experience every day as we navigate our increasingly complex future,” said Lois Kuyper-Rushing, Associate Dean of Public & Collection Services.

Taylor’s career at LSU began nearly 40 years ago when she worked at the Libraries as an undergraduate student from 1985 to 1988. After graduation, she joined the Libraries full time in 1989 as a Library Associate 1 and steadily advanced through increasingly complex roles. Over the decades, she became a trusted advisor, problem solver, and mentor to colleagues across LSU Libraries and the LOUIS consortium. In 2017, she was promoted to her current position, Director of Collection Services, in which she oversees a large team and guides the Libraries’ collection strategies.

Taylor’s impact has been felt not only within LSU Libraries but also statewide. LOUIS is a consortium of public and private college and university libraries in Louisiana that collaborates on library technology, resources, and services to promote student research and lower institutional costs. For the past three years, Taylor has served on LOUIS’ E-Resources Working Group and worked closely with vendors and colleagues throughout the consortium, earning a reputation for her knowledge and collaborative spirit.

Taylor will retire in January 2026, leaving behind an extraordinary legacy. Please join us in congratulating her on this well-deserved recognition and in celebrating her remarkable career.