Every year, FSU Libraries acknowledges and awards the hard work of its faculty and staff. These awards celebrate career milestones, promotions, and years spent at the Libraries. Chiefly among these are the Julia Zimmerman Award, given to a staff member who exemplifies the values of collegiality, trust, teamwork, inclusion, innovation and service and the Fred L. Standley Award, given to a faculty librarian in honor of their outstanding accomplishments and contributions to the Libraries.
FSU Libraries congratulates all of its award recipients this year and thanks them all for their excellent work!
New Libraries Employees
Sinbad Adjuik
Jaleen Bedminster
Jacquelyn Clements
Carrie Cooper
Julie McCoy
Jessica Noblitt
Promotions & Title Changes
Sinbad Adjuik, Library Assessment Specialist
Julie McCoy, Course Reserves & Scholar Support Desk Supervisor
Faculty Promotions
Associate University Librarian
Jules Bailey
Taylor Henning
Crystal Mathews
University Librarian
Mallary Rawls
Nick Ruhs
Keila Zayas Ruiz
Years of Service Recognition
5 Years
Mina Akbari
Emily Bowlin
Chelsea Mobley
Kerry Pond
Megan Simon
Kyle Wilson
Stephen Ziegler
10 Years
Mimi Bilodeau
Christopher Erikson
Kelly Grove
Cadeshia Jones
Elissa Reiskind
20 Years
Darrell Collier
Jacques Harris
30 Years
Nakia Davis
Robert Evans
Zimmerman Award Winner: Nakia Davis
Over the course of her 30-year career, Nakia Davis has proven herself to be a vital pillar of FSU Libraries, serving as not just a supremely diligent employee, but as a mentor and trusted authority. As the Metadata Specialist and head of the Metadata Remediation Unit, Nakia regularly interacts with the materials housed within FSU Libraries; a conservative estimate is that she has edited half of all total volumes across all Libraries locations. This means that Nakia has played a role, however small it may be, in the accessibility of library materials for all patrons of FSU Libraries.
Nakia’s team regularly relies on her expertise and abilities. She is known for being a phenomenal “detective,” able to not only locate lost or misplaced materials, but identify the root cause of their misplacement. This is a sign of Nakia’s efficiency and knowledge in the fields of acquisitions, processing, cataloging, accessioning, and more. Furthermore, she is a known trusted authority on local practices, procedures, past projects, and quirks of the system, which serves her well in her position at FSU, bringing invaluable perspective to her work.
While at FSU Libraries, Nakia has also taken on a mentorship role. Nearly every employee that works with her turns to her for guidance at least once. She has successfully trained and supervised a plethora of FSU Libraries staff members over the years, staff members that would go on to accomplish great things thanks in part to her direction.
Nakia’s work is invaluable. On top of having a hand in nearly every volume in FSU Libraries’ catalogue, she has also helped move records from Aleph to Alma, a laborious task, but one that proves her dedication to the success of the FSU community. It is worth remembering that the reason FSU Libraries’ catalogue is accurate or even works half as well as it does, is because of Nakia’s efforts and commitment. It is for all of this and more that Nakia Davis was awarded with the 2026 Zimmerman award. Julia Zimmerman valued collegiality, inclusion, and empowerment, which are demonstrated daily by Nakia.
Standley Award Winner: Leah Sherman
Described by her colleagues as passionate and driven, Dr. Leah Sherman has proven herself to be just this and far more. Leah is a proactive force at FSU Libraries, anticipating the needs and wants of those who turn to her and acting on them with unparalleled professionalism and efficiency. Per her colleague’s testimony: “With Leah, things are never done by half measure… she wants it to be thoughtful, meaningful, and done with quality… I can say without hesitation that I am a better faculty librarian because of her influence.” Speaking to this impact are the multitude of initiatives and leadership positions she has undertaken during her tenure as Visual & Performing Arts Librarian.
As the subject librarian for FSU’s College of Fine Arts, Leah supports teaching and research across the visual and performing arts while stewarding FSU Libraries’ legacy fine arts collections. She also engages in a number of interdisciplinary outreach initiatives beyond the arts, including annual collaborations with Social Sciences and STEM colleagues such as the annual Art + Entrepreneurship Expo and GIS Day programming, respectively.
Through her leadership of the Art in the Library program, Leah has further helped transform FSU Libraries into a creative community hub, notably elevating student art by bringing both exhibitions and performing arts into library spaces while also establishing a multitude of strong partnerships across campus. Thanks to her efforts and vision, the Art in the Library program has successfully partnered with the FSU Museum of Fine Arts to create hands-on art-making programming which has expanded access to the arts and creative process for the broader FSU community.
As a sought-after expert in her field of arts librarianship, Leah has the credentials and accolades befitting her position of senior faculty at FSU Libraries. This year, in 2026, Leah was elected to the prestigious role of Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect of the Arts Section of the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL). She is also the Affiliate Liaison between the ACRL/Arts Section and the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) and has previously served as the President of the ARLIS/NA Southeast Chapter. Leah’s scholarship similarly extends well beyond FSU Libraries, bridging arts librarianship and art history through her study and praxis of cultural heritage in GLAM institutions. Drawing on her PhD in Art History, her research contributes to broader conversations across arts librarianship, art history, and cultural heritage through frequent national and international conference presentations and scholarly publications.
Reflecting upon her work, Leah shares, “When I think about my own legacy as an arts librarian, I also think about the larger legacy of librarianship. One of the greatest privileges of this profession is that we get to help people and communities create things and create knowledge that wasn’t there before.”
Dr. Leah Sherman has defined her career not just as a diligent arts librarian, but as a serious scholar who is motivated by her own desire to learn as well as her desire to help others. For all of her hard work and dedication, she is recognized this year with the Fred L. Standley Award, of which she is more than deserving of.
