Ellen Darabaner Is Honored

Ellen Darabaner is the recipient of the 2004 Annual Award for Excellence.
She is pictured with NNYLN Board President Natalia Stahl
and NNYLN Director John Hammond.

"Thoughtful, generous and extremely selfless" best describes this year’s winner of the 14th Annual Award for Excellence in Library Service.

Ellen Darabaner of Samaritan Medical Center received the award during the Northern New York Library Network’s Annual Meeting held May 27, 2004 in Lake Placid.

The letter of nomination for Ms. Darabaner stated, "When it comes to library service, Ellen Darabaner is famous!

"Besides being proficient as a medical librarian, Ellen has a personality that everyone raves about! She is just naturally a thoughtful, generous, and extremely selfless person. Combine these traits with an uncanny ability to seek out and find information, and library excellence is personified," the letter continued.

"More often than not, Ellen is being pulled in many directions at once. But when a patron comes in or calls with a request, she automatically sets everything else aside and treats that person like he or she has the most important need in the world. This is how Ellen treats every person she comes in contact with, personally and professionally. It is really amazing to witness. Her consistent enactment of the Golden Rule benefits her clients, her coworkers, and the library as a whole," the nomination letter stated.

Congratulations Ellen!