Pictured with McDonald are members of the LOUIS Executive Board, from left to right: Tim Stamm (Delgado Community College), Ebony McDonald (LSU), Teri Oaks Gallaway (LOUIS), Megan Lowe (University of Louisiana at Monroe), and Debbie Johnston-Houston (McNeese State University).
On October 16, Ebony McDonald, African and African-American Studies (AAAS) Diversity Librarian, was awarded the Outstanding Early Career Librarian Award at the 2019 LOUIS Users Conference (LUC). This award recognizes a librarian who has worked for a LOUIS member library for three (3) years or less and has less than five (5) years total professional librarian experience. McDonald met the requirements of the award through her work as the inaugural participant in LSU Libraries new Diversity Residency Program.
"I am very surprised to receive this award within my first year of work here at LSU and in Louisiana in general. I understand that someone had to nominate me so I am proud and grateful that my work thus far has been seen as worthy of this kind of recognition. I will continue to contribute to the Libraries, University, and librarianship in a way that reflects the merits of this award," says McDonald.
As part of the two-year program, McDonald rotates throughout different departments in the Libraries and serves as a liaison to the AAAS Program in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. In addition to these duties, she also has chosen to serve on the LSU Libraries' Programming Committee, Programming Subcommittee of the LSU Libraries Diversity Committee, LSU Office of Diversity's Chat & Chew Committee, and LSU Office of Student Advocacy & Accountability's University Hearing Panel (UHP) for the 2019-2020 academic year.
Prior to joining the LSU faculty, she was the Research & Learning Librarian at Salem Academy & College in North Carolina. In that role, she lead the library on reference, instruction, and outreach initiatives. Her outreach efforts there also garnered her recognition by the Student Government Association who gave her a Most Outstanding Faculty & Staff Award in 2018.
Sigrid Kelsey, Director of Communications and Publications and Coordinator of the Diversity Residency Program, notes that "Ebony is an exemplary and productive professional who, in a short amount of time, has made a remarkable positive impact within the Libraries and LSU as the Libraries’ first Diversity Resident. She is truly deserving of this recognition. "
The LSU Libraries includes the LSU Library and the adjacent Hill Memorial Library. Together, the libraries contain more than 4 million volumes and provide additional resources such as expert staff, technology, services, electronic resources, and facilities that advance research, teaching, and learning across every discipline.