Good afternoon. Today is my official last day in the office although I will still be working remotely on some projects for a few weeks, and be back for my farewell on August 8.  Over the last months I have been reflecting quite a bit about my 50+ year journey through libraries and would like to share a few parting thoughts.

I have been a librarian in an administrative role for over 30 of those years, working with hundreds of staff in several regions of the country. What I learned about leadership in those years I shared with you when I arrived in October, 2013 and I have done what I can to weave these into our environment – encouraging you to demonstrate initiative, promote a positive work environment, contribute to solutions, and do what needs to be done for the good of the whole.

By showing this kind of leadership throughout all levels of the organization, we have made amazing strides over the last four years. I am most proud of the work we did collectively on our Purposeful Path Forward. This is a solid document that resonates as an innovative path to follow, created through initiative, problem solving, and a roll-up your sleeves attitude.

I am also encouraged by the work we did together which led up to the Master Plan in Babbidge. As I write this with drilling above my head, I know that the countless meetings, focus groups, proposals, and number crunching were all worth what will come out of that Plan for our users. I look forward to coming back and seeing the progress over the next few years.

I am also pleased by the work of the One UConn Library. What started as a directive from the Provost’s Office became a true collaboration between organizations and a genuine desire from staff to find solutions to some challenging issues enabling us to help each other out and share resources.

The road to tackle these goals I laid out early in my tenure was not a straight or smooth path. I had to make tough decisions along the way and always had the best for the organization in mind when making those choices. In the end, we tackled them together and I believe have become a stronger organization.  As you continue down the path to success under new leadership, I encourage you to keep in mind a message I sent nearly a year ago – no matter what decisions are made, it is important to practice civility and whether or not you agree with or look like each other, please make the extra effort to show true respect and kindness.  It is the best foundation to build success.

All my best,

Martha