Cyrilla Face is celebrating an impressive forty years of
service to the UW-Stout University Library.
Cyrilla joined the library staff in January 1976 and has continually
served the needs of campus students, staff, and faculty.
Cyrilla started her career working in Technical Service receiving
all monographs and paying the acquisitions invoices. Other positions Cyrilla
has held include Ordering, Receiving, Film Preview, Cataloging DLC titles and
Thesis. She also served as a temporary supervisor of the classified staff in
Technical Services while the permanent supervisor took a leave of absence to
complete her Master’s Degree. Today,
Cyrilla is responsible for processing the orders for monographs and audiovisual
materials from the publishers and handling the invoices for these orders.
From manual typewriters, electric erasers, and a Xerox
machine that kept catching fire to the computers used today, the technology at
the library has changed dramatically throughout the last forty years. In 1976
the computer system consisted of five IBM cards that created a set of printouts
which allowed the library staff to track books and keep a record of
expenditures by department. Later that
year the library purchased an Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) computer
which made searching for cataloging records easier and more efficient. Cyrilla also recalls going through various
transitions of computer formats over the years which include floppy discs, hard
drives, the web, and e-mail.
One of Cyrilla’s favorite moments working at the library was
when the library was named after Robert Swanson. Cyrilla greatly admired Chancellor Swanson
for his integrity and intelligence and was glad it was acknowledged with the
dedication of the Robert S. Swanson Library. Other favorite memories include attending
planning sessions for the construction of the current library in 1978 and having
the University Library honored with the Wisconsin Library of the Year award in
1983.
Cyrilla’s favorite part of working at the University Library
is the supportive work environment created by the staff and student assistants.