Category: Feature

Stephanie Bartz, Government Resources and Information Services Librarian at Rutgers University–New Brunswick Libraries, retired after more than 30 years of service to the university.

Stephanie started at Alexander Library as a Reference Assistant in 1983 while a student at the School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies (SCILS) and continued in various capacities until 1989 (when she resigned). Her responsibilities included working at the reference desk and helping to maintain the print reference collection (much larger and more heavily used in those days).

Stephanie was asked to return in a part-time capacity in 1994 and began working full-time in 1996 to assume responsibility for government resources while another librarian was on leave. When that same librarian retired in June 2015, Stephanie took over the bulk of the government documents duties for Alexander Library. In January 2016, she also assumed responsibilities for the government documents and maps collections at the Library of Science and Medicine and began splitting her time between the two locations.

Stephanie quickly became an indispensable member of the reference department at Alexander and then of the larger New Brunswick Libraries (NBL). She often helped to preserve the sanity of more technologically challenged colleagues by fixing minor and not-so-minor computer problems. While Stephanie frequently disclaimed being a tech person, she provided a high level of computer support for Alexander Library colleagues and served as an informal interpreter between librarians and staff in the Systems Office. Her willingness to take on additional responsibilities during leaves or job vacancies played a key role in sustaining the library’s support for faculty and students. One measure of her readiness to pitch in was her participation in LibGuides. She created and/or maintained more than 30 reference, government publications, and general interest guides. Moreover, she became the local LibGuides expert providing assistance and training, coordinating the transfer of guides caused by personnel changes, and updating/babysitting orphaned guides. Beyond that, she was a silent partner on other guides, helping librarians design and maintain their subject guides.

Stephanie also contributed enormously to a dizzying array of committees, task forces, working groups, and councils. She served on the Rutgers University Libraries (RUL) PC Working Group from 1997 until 2016 and as the NBL PC Coordination Team leader from 2001 until 2014. She provided tech support, allocated computers, coordinated computer and related equipment purchases, and maintained the NBL website, among other tasks.

She served on the Library Catalog Committee from 1999 to 2018 and chaired the group from 2005 until 2018. From 2016 to 2019, she was a member of the Discovery Working Group, which essentially replaced the Library Catalog Committee.

Stephanie served multiple terms on the Rules of Procedure Committee, co-chairing the group for several years. She created the first RUL electronic ballot, became the local expert on bylaws, and maintained an archive of bylaws editions and drafts.

She assumed responsibility for NBL chat coordination in 2020 and handled the complicated process of scheduling as many as 34 librarian and graduate student chatters.

Stephanie joined the NBL Web Content Team when preparations for the new RUL website were being finalized in 2021 and assumed responsibility for creating and maintaining NBL’s content. She also managed NBL’s pages on the staff website.

She maintained many mailing lists/groups, including the retirees list that we hope will be continued after her retirement.

Stephanie helped coordinate the Digital Learning Commons, Hatchery, Google Books, and Alexander bound periodicals weeding projects for NBL. Simply listing this coordinator role can give no sense of the tireless and scrupulously careful detail work involved, one of Stephanie’s many strengths, and her remarkable ability to work collaboratively across departmental and unit boundaries.

Stephanie’s life outside the libraries manifests a similarly high level of participation and willingness to take on both leadership roles and the often unsung, behind-the-scenes work that sustains organizations. For example, she served more than 40 years as a volunteer for the Middlesex County Fair.

For more than 20 years, Stephanie has been deeply involved in the South River Historical & Preservation Society in capacities ranging from secretary, newsletter editor, webmaster, and archivist. One result of that work was the Images of America book on South River.

No listing of tasks and accomplishments can adequately capture Stephanie’s contributions to NBL and RUL as a whole. She has been an invaluable librarian and a highly respected colleague. Judit Ward captures many of our sentiments: “Stephanie Bartz is an exceptional colleague. Stephanie is my friend. How many of us think of her just like that? Always there for us with answers and solutions, the much-needed gentle reminders—that’s the Stephanie I know. She has always held herself to the highest professional standards at RUL. Because she cares. Competent and fair, authentic and trustworthy—these are precious and rare qualities. That’s Stephanie. I am honored to call her my friend. Hope I can still call her my friend in the future.”

For many of us, it is hard to imagine the Libraries without her. I have turned to Stephanie for guidance, wisdom, and help across a range of initiatives and projects. I appreciate her sense of humor and her dedication to the community. Whether the community is our own faculty and staff, our retirees and alumni, the larger Rutgers landscape, the citizens of NJ, or other states who could benefit from our government documents, Stephanie is there.

Stephanie, you have brought humanity and dedication to your role. Thank you for your service, and may your next chapter be fulfilling with just the right amount of peace. You will be deeply missed.