Each year, LSU Libraries honors faculty and staff members who exemplify the Libraries’ commitment to service, innovation, and excellence. The 2025 award recipients—Nicollette M. Davis, Sarah Simms, and Carlos M. Carrasco—demonstrate exceptional dedication to the Libraries, the university, and the broader field of librarianship.

Early Career Librarian Award: Nicollette M. Davis

The Early Career Librarian Award recognizes an LSU Libraries faculty member who has demonstrated exceptional accomplishment in the LSU Libraries through initiative, creativity, and the ability to make a significant contribution to the Libraries within the first six years of their career.

Since joining LSU Libraries in 2022 as the Assistant Librarian for Kinesiology, Social Work, and Health Sciences, Nicollette Davis has quickly established herself as a leader in academic librarianship. Nationally recognized as a 2023 American Library Association Emerging Leader and a 2024 Library Journal Mover & Shaker, Davis is an active researcher and speaker on critical issues in librarianship. Currently, she serves on the executive board of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, is a community administrator for We Here, and is president of LSU’s LGBTQ+ Faculty & Staff Caucus. At LSU, she teaches as an adjunct for LSU’s School of Information Studies. Her nominators describe her as a generous colleague, an inspiring professional, and a reliable campus leader who consistently goes above and beyond to support students, faculty, and peers.

Excellence in Innovation Award: Sarah Simms

The Excellence in Innovation Award recognizes an exceptional achievement by an individual or a group of faculty or staff employees. It rewards an innovation, defined as a new or improved service, process, or program at LSU Libraries.

Sarah Simms, Undergraduate & Student Success Librarian, is the inaugural recipient of this newly established award. In 2023, Simms launched the LSU Libraries Instruction Community of Practice (I-CoP), a collaborative space for instruction librarians, staff, and graduate students to share ideas, refine their pedagogical strategies, and support one another in their teaching. More than a typical professional development program, the I-CoP emphasizes peer learning, continuous reflection, and community building across departments. The initiative’s success led to a statewide expansion in partnership with LOUIS in 2024, providing a model for other academic libraries and strengthening librarian networks across Louisiana. Through her leadership, Simms has created an inclusive and dynamic environment for instructional growth, one that has been described as “a great community builder” with a “judgment-free” spirit that encourages creativity and collaboration.

Library Staff Award: Carlos M. Carrasco

The Library Staff Award recognizes an LSU Libraries non-classified professional staff member who has demonstrated exceptional accomplishment in the LSU Libraries through job responsibilities, service to the Libraries, and service to LSU. 

Carlos Carrasco, Library Systems Manager and Administrator, is known across the Libraries for his responsiveness, problem-solving skills, and unfailingly positive attitude. Whether restoring lost data, supporting remote operations during campus closures, or helping research technology solutions, Carrasco is the go-to person for his patience and technical expertise. As one nominator put it, “‘Call Carlos’ has been my go-to mantra for as long as I can remember.” In addition to his deep knowledge and dependability, Carrasco has cultivated a strong sense of teamwork within his department, helping ensure the Libraries’ operations run smoothly behind the scenes. He lists his greatest achievement as “being able to serve employees and patrons of the LSU Libraries”—a sentiment clearly shared by the many colleagues who rely on him daily.