Two Nicholls State librarians were recognized at the Louis Users Conference on Oct. 9 in Baton Rouge.  

Nicholls State Library Director Brandy Burbante received the Leader in Librarianship award and  Andrew Barbier, access services librarian, received the Outstanding Early Career Librarian award at the annual conference for Louisiana libraries.  

Burbante did not expect to receive the award after only being the director for one year.

“I was very shocked when I got the email saying I was chosen for the award, and it’s funny because we nominated each other for the awards,” Burbante said.

Burbante began working at Nicholls as a staff member in 2012 after receiving her English education degree and was promoted to library director in 2023. 

Barbier received his degree in English with a concentration in film studies and started at Nicholls in 2022. 

Barbier gave a presentation on live streaming at the conference, with Nicholls being one of the only schools in Louisiana to incorporate it.  

“We started live streaming games as part of the library’s outreach on Give-N-Day, and the views reached 8,000,” Barbier said. “It gives us a different avenue for outreach to reach a broader audience.” 

Burbante and Barbier expressed their gratitude for being recognized in two of the seven categories of the Louis Users Conference.  

“They don’t necessarily pick a school to give the awards to, so it’s a big honor,” Burbante said.