While it may not always be literally said, “Jessica to the rescue!” isn’t an uncommon sentiment at the Ellender Memorial Library.
Library Director Brandy Burbante said this sentiment put Government Information Librarian Jessica Hawkes immediately to mind when the theme for Timely Librarian was named “Unsung Hero.” The LUC Awards Committee agreed with Burbante, ultimately naming her the recipient of the award at the 2025 LOUIS Users Conference.
“I was excited because I was chosen from a wide pool of qualified candidates, and it is nice to get that recognition for all of the hard work I put in every day,” Hawkes said. “I think it is my investment in our students and their success. I have been trying really hard to improve services, to get my department together, so that we can open more study spaces and provide access to resources.”
Upon arrival at Nicholls, Hawkes inherited a Government Information department that needed to be put back together. The area was still recovering from Hurricane Ida, in which many documents were exposed to weather from the roof leaking. The leaks also meant the carpet needed to be changed, leading to a process in which all of the materials ended up being stored in other areas and in thousands of boxes.
Though the Government Information department is not open for the fall semester, it is a goal to get it open as soon as possible and this was a task Hawkes was aware of and wanted the challenge when accepting the job. Hawkes has thus far pulled off evaluating and unpacking 229 boxes of Louisiana documents before meeting with the State Recorder of Documents last December. Now, she is working through sometimes moldy and often out of order federal documents packed in thousands of boxes.
The work reorganizing the department could be a full-time job. But Hawkes has also been performing her additional librarian job duties including assisting students with government research, helping students who have greater accessibility needs, constructing exhibits, doing outreach, implementing library instruction, and continuing to work on state-wide OER projects.
“Her addition to our Nicholls Library family was not only timely, but it seems as though it was fate giving me the exact person I needed on my crew at the exact time that I needed,” Burbante said.
This is the second time Hawkes has won the Timely Librarian award, having won it two years ago under the theme of Anti-Censorship Hero for work at LSU-Shreveport.
10/20/25