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Deborah “Debbie” Lawhon has over 35 years of experience in library technical services and this month she is retiring. Debbie collaborates with department colleagues to manage serials subscriptions at the USF Libraries, and as a Library Specialist, her contributions include monitoring journal print costs (using the EBSCONET Subscription Management Tool), serial record maintenance in the library catalog, physical handling of print journals and serials in microfilm format, and compiling statistics. Debbie troubleshoots daily workflow issues with print journal processing and provides customer service to library patrons with journal access problems in the Ask-A-Librarian system.
Debbie was active in the Staff Senate and was awarded the Staff Senate Quiet Quality award in March 2009. Colleagues fondly recalled working on the Periodical Information Desk, and how they “always found it less stressful when working with Debbie. She just seemed to know the correct answer to different situations on the periodicals reading room floor and we learned a lot from her experience.”
Away from work, Debbie enjoys arts & crafts, such as coloring, and outdoor activities like finding new walking opportunities. Being an experienced traveler, she has visited destinations ranging from Paris, France to various ports of call in the Caribbean. She also likes to explore new recipes with healthy eating options.
Debbie shared what she’ll miss most about working at the USF Libraries: “I will miss seeing everyone at the library, my library family. I’ll miss the library being packed and fighting for room in the elevator to get to the top floor. I’ll miss our parties and the great food everyone fixed. I’ll miss the collaborations we had in resolving issues with electronic resources. I’ll miss seeing Bonita’s purple office; it always made me smile. I’ll miss that nothing ever stays the same, and we were always learning something new. I’ll miss going to the VIP Conference—thanks Todd for always supporting it! I’ll miss my daily walks around our beautiful campus. I’ll miss Ginny taking pictures of all the events. What I won’t miss? Starbucks, I won’t miss you! I gained many pounds from my visits, and I’ve given you up! That’s right—no caffeine, dairy, or sugar for me. Just go in the corner and pout Starbucks, I’m not coming back!”
Debbie is most looking forward to spending her time in retirement with her fiancé, family, and friends, and “eventually as more people get shots and normalcy returns,” she shared, “I’ll be ready for venturing out beyond just the grocery store. My big outing for the summer will be IKEA. Next year, my fiancé and I will be visiting Disney Springs, Epcot, and Magic Kingdom. We dream of going back to Europe too: London, Spain, and Germany; and get up to Tennessee, Carolinas, and other parts of the U.S. that we haven’t seen.” Debbie said she’s always wanted to go to a painting art retreat, “and there’s one in Pennsylvania by the Art Sherpa. I’m also interested in Urban Sketching with the group here—there’s not a shortage of things for me to do.”
Debbie shared thanks to Associate Dean Carol Ann Davis, “for teaching me about electronic resources and full text finders.” And thanks to her supervisors, John Abresch, Laura Pascal, Carol Ann, and Dean Todd Chavez, “for being great supervisors, directors, and deans.” She had a most special thanks for her Tampa Library team too: “Thanks for your friendship and support throughout the years. I’m sad I was not able to see everyone in person, but happy we are all safe and healthy.”
We’ll miss you dearly Debbie, and wish you much joy, health, and fun in your retirement. Thank you for 37 years of dedicated service. GO BULLS!
