Hesburgh Libraries’ Tracey Morton, program coordinator of User Services and manager of Interlibrary Loan Borrowing, was honored with a University of Notre Dame Presidential Achievement Award for 2022.

The annual Presidential Awards program recognizes staff members who, in keeping with the University’s core values, have accomplished a significant achievement that advances Notre Dame’s mission. The Presidential Achievement Award recognizes breakthrough initiatives, extraordinary innovations and significant contributions to the University’s long-term success.

Morton was nominated by Cheri Smith, program director of Teaching Research and User Services, who noted several significant achievements that bettered the University.

“I am pleased that Tracey’s hard work has been recognized by the University. She has implemented permanent changes that will save the University significant financial resources going forward while providing a vital service that is necessary for research activities at Notre Dame,” said Smith.

The Interlibrary Loan Borrowing unit is responsible for fulfilling material requests made by Notre Dame students, faculty, and staff that are not owned by the Hesburgh Libraries. This is an essential service, providing our community with the necessary materials for their scholarly output. Morton’s leadership of this unit has continued to creatively connect users to resources throughout the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic.

During this past year, Morton has taken the work of her unit to new levels of service excellence with a 96% fulfillment rate for over 15,000 requests. These requests were fulfilled by either borrowing from another library or purchasing the material. Morton carefully weighs the cost of borrowing against purchasing, keeping cost-effectiveness and efficiency in mind with every transaction.

After a deep review of the lending program’s processes and workflows, Morton discovered systematic billing irregularities. The work that she did to uncover foundational issues has created significant and sustainable cost savings for the University.

Morton’s outstanding work in resource sharing is gaining national attention. In February 2022 she was elected to a two-year term on the elite OCLC SHARES Executive Group. OCLC is the world’s premier organization for resource sharing among libraries.

“At the Hesburgh Libraries, we encourage each other to be creative, collaborative and forward-thinking in all aspects of daily work. Tracey’s commitments to managing her team and developing solutions that further service excellence exemplify University values and help to set library standards for leadership and accountability within our culture,” said K. Matthew Dames, Edward H. Arnold Dean, Hesburgh Libraries and University of Notre Dame Press.

Congratulations to Tracey Morton for receiving the University of Notre Dame Presidential Achievement Award for 2022.