Our Spotlight Award winner for July 2012 is Stara Herron!

Stara is Electronic Resources Assistant and LIS Level 2 in the Acquisitions Department of Ellis Library.  She is a graduate of Hannibal LaGrange College, which is now known as Hannibal LaGrange University, and has been with the MU Libraries for five years.

As pets, Stara says that she has “two cats who have me very well trained.  It took them a couple of years but they seem mostly satisfied with my progress.  Grimm is a sassy black cat and Joss (yes, as in the writer/director Joss Whedon) is a crafty gray tabby.”  We hope you never have to curse their sudden but inevitable betrayals!

M&Ms are her favorite candy, and her hobbies include reading, going to movies and concerts, visiting used bookstores, and getting together with friends for game nights.  “I also adore documentaries and make a point to get a pass for the True/False Film Festival.  It’s something I always look forward to every year.”

Stara took part in a study abroad program to the UK, at the end of which she was able to travel to Italy, which she considers the coolest place she’s ever visited.  She was able to take a tour through Rome, Florence, and Venice.  She says that it was an amazing experience.

In a movie of her life, the music on the soundtrack would include Adele, Mumford & Sons, David Bowie, Queen, Ludo, Darren Hayes, Regina Spektor, Annie Lennox, The Beatles, Amanda Palmer, Florence & the Machine, The National, Muse, The Killers, Modest Mouse, and many others.  “Actually, it’s probably safe to say that if BXR has played it, then I would want it on my soundtrack.”  Very nice, Stara!

If picking a fictional or real person to have a drink with, she would have banana daiquiris with The Doctor (of Doctor Who).  “Bananas are good,” she says.  We know the Doctor would agree!

Congratulations, Stara!

Our Spotlight Award winner for June is Jack Alan Batterson!

Jack Batterson works in the Catalog Department at Ellis Library, and he has been with MU Libraries for almost 22 years.  He enjoys participating as Treasurer in MULSA; in Library Assembly; and the Retirement, Health, and Other Benefits Advisory Committee.

As author of the book Blind Boone: Missouri’s Ragtime Pioneer, Jack is a member of the J.W. Blind Boone Heritage Foundation.

Jack was a full tuition-paid music scholarship student at the University of Missouri- Columbia, graduating with a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in music history.  His library science degree is from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, and he also holds a financial planning certificate from the University of Missouri- Columbia.

Mary Batterson, Jack’s wife of 14 years, is Access Services Librarian at Columbia College.  They consider Jack’s mother’s cats (Hedda and Sally) to be their own cats, too.

In his leisure time, Jack is an MU basketball fan, loves movies, and reads newspapers, magazines, and books on financial planning.  He would be thrilled to be featured in the New York Times Magazine, and he prefers Hershey Milk Chocolate candy bars.

Jack counts his 10-day trip to Washington, DC as the coolest place he’s ever visited.  He joined his mother and her group of Columbia College students.  Among the highlights were a visit with the Director of the FBI, a private conference with a Supreme Court Justice, and a visit to the Chinese embassy.

Congratulations, Jack!