Eamon Duffy winner of 2016 McGill Librarian Excellence Award

Every year, the McGill Library has the privilege of honouring the impact of one of its own with the annual Librarian Excellence Award. Presented during the spring convocation ceremonies, the award recognizes the extraordinary achievements and efforts of a McGill librarians who has gone above and beyond in their service to students, faculty and staff.

No recipient has been more deserving than this year’s winner, Eamon Duffy. Eamon has been an integral part of the Library since returning to McGill–his alma mater–in 2007, combining excellence and empathy to benefit the entire campus. His contributions have been and continue to be essential to the Library as it continually evolves to meet the needs of modern academia.

Here is the speech delivered by Trenholme Dean of Libraries Colleen Cook at the award ceremony:

Madame Vice Chancellor,

The McGill Librarian Excellence Award is bestowed on a talented and driven individual who embodies the spirit of the modern library through an innovative dedication to sustaining and improving research, teaching and learning services.

McGill University has been Eamon Duffy’s home away from home for over 15 years, first as a student and then as a librarian. Eamon graduated from McGill in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in History before following it with a Master of Library and Information Studies in 2005.

With enthusiasm and commitment, innovation and resourcefulness, Eamon has risen steadily in the Library since his return to McGill in 2007. He is currently the Liaison Librarian for History and Classical Studies and the Government Information Librarian and plays an instrumental role in reshaping and reimagining the Library services as the coordinator of the Humanities and Social Science Library, the Library’s most heavily-used branch.

Eamon has also demonstrated admirable dedication above and beyond the basic job description, helping to create and improve services benefiting both the Library and librarianship as a whole. Last year, he was named co-recipient of the 2015 CLA/OCLC Award for Innovative Technology for his work with the Canadian Government Information Digital Preservation Network.

Throughout his various responsibilities and commitments, Eamon has approached each challenge with excellence, empathy and selflessness, truly embodying the spirit of the modern library.

Madame Vice Chancellor, I present to you Eamon Duffy, the 2016 recipient of the McGill Librarian Excellence Award.

Eamon Duffy and Colleen Cook, Trenholme Dean of Libraries (credit Lauren Goldman)