Library Staff Recognized for Outstanding Service

INDIANAPOLIS — Joan Harvey, a 39-year Indy Library staff member who currently serves as a Public Services Associate and member of the Community Engagement Team at Central Library downtown, received the 2015 Helen L. Norris Distinguished Service Award at the Library’s annual Staff In-Service Day on November 11. The award is named for the Library employee who worked to improve staff working conditions and pay from the 1940’s through the 1960’s.
In addition to her vast knowledge of Library and community resources to assist all patrons, Harvey was cited for her work as the Library liaison with the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention and her “unwavering compassion, patience and sincerity that has pulled together an ever-growing support network to help the city’s homeless.”
In another presentation, The Indianapolis Public Library Foundation named Southside resident Tom Probasco the recipient of its 2015 Beth Tindel Award for outstanding library staff support and advocacy of Foundation initiatives.
Probasco, a 23-year IndyPL staff member who currently serves as Public Services Librarian at Central Library downtown, was cited for his resourcefulness in providing elusive reference information, diligence in recognizing Foundation donors, and ongoing financial support for Foundation initiatives.