{"id":14065,"date":"2026-08-26T13:55:51","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T19:55:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.library.depaul.press\/full-text\/?p=14065"},"modified":"2026-08-26T13:55:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T19:55:51","slug":"librarian-kelly-hallisy-honored-with-staff-excellence-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.library.depaul.press\/full-text\/2026\/08\/26\/librarian-kelly-hallisy-honored-with-staff-excellence-award\/","title":{"rendered":"Librarian Kelly Hallisy Honored with Staff Excellence Award"},"content":{"rendered":"

At this year’s Academic Convocation, DePaul librarian Kelly Hallisy<\/a> will be honored with a Staff Excellence Award. This award recognizes staff members whose service represents the highest standards of quality and effectiveness and is presented to individuals who demonstrate innovation, initiative and collaboration in their efforts to support DePaul’s mission and student success.<\/p>\n

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In her role as Scholarly Communications and Social Sciences Librarian, Kelly successfully applied for a two-year $150,000 Illinois Secretary of State\/Illinois State Library Open Education Resources (OER) Grant<\/a>, which facilitated the creation of three open educational textbooks for undergraduate courses in the Theatre School, the College of Communication, and the department of History. Eliminating textbook costs for students in these courses has a direct impact on college affordability and engagement, and students who have access to affordable course materials are more likely to read the material they need for classes and remain enrolled.<\/p>\n

Kelly’s work on this project brought together collaborators from across the university to elevate open access course materials and promote student success. In her nomination letter, Kelly was praised for her leadership every step of the way from recruiting faculty textbook authors to bringing in key partners from the Writing Center and the Center for Teaching and Learning, as well as for coordinating all aspects of the project including accessibility, copyright, design, proofreading, and more.<\/p>\n

At the Textbook Launch Party in April, Kelly invited attendees to collaborate with the library on affordable course materials and highlighted the impacts of OER on student learning and retention. She joined faculty authors, library staff, and university contributors in celebrating the completion of three new open access textbooks, which are estimated to save approximately 2,715 DePaul students a total of $234,480 over the next three years:<\/p>\n