After nearly three decades of dedicated service to the University at Buffalo, Janiece Jankowski has officially retired from the University Libraries — but anyone who knows her well knows she’s not slowing down.
Janiece’s last day on campus was Friday, May 23, with her official retirement date on May 30. Her influence, however, continues to be felt across campus.
“I can’t go from being involved to being retired,” Janiece said with a smile. “It was always more than the Libraries for me. I was always involved outside of the unit.”
Janiece joined UB Libraries in 1998 as a senior staff assistant in Access Services. Over the years, she became a constant presence at Lockwood, the Cybraries and beyond — managing service desks, overseeing billing operations, supervising overnight hours, and mentoring hundreds of student workers and staff. Her colleagues describe her as someone who brought warmth, dedication and a high level of professionalism to every task she tackled.
Western New York has always been home to Janiece, who now lives in Tonawanda and has never strayed far from her hometown of North Tonawanda. She holds a Master of Business Administration from Niagara University, a Master of Library and Information Science from UB and a management certificate from the College of Business Management Institute.
She’s also an award-winning contributor to library operations and scholarship. In 2011, she completed Six Sigma training and used it to streamline student worker scheduling during a period of budget cuts — a project she later detailed in a published article, “Successful Implementation of Six Sigma to Schedule Student Staffing for Circulation Service Desks.” She credits Chris Hollister for his mentorship and guidance through that process.
Among her most valued achievements: the time she spent working with students. “I really enjoyed working with the students — watching them grow and change over time. That was rewarding,” she said.
Even during the most challenging times, including the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Janiece’s dedication never wavered. “I would come in and do the book drops on North and South Campus,” she said. She quickly adapted to new tasks like interlibrary loan, learning procedures over Zoom, and helping establish what would become new operational norms.
Janiece’s contributions extended far beyond the Libraries. She served multiple terms as secretary on the UUP Buffalo Center Chapter Executive Board and will now take on the role of UUP’s university wide officer for retirees, “I’ll still be involved on a university-wide basis and continue with my connection to UB,” she said.
And while she’s enjoying the freedom to ignore her alarm clock, she has no shortage of plans: from gardening and counted cross-stitch to Silver Sneakers workouts and spending more time as a docent at the Buffalo Zoo. One quirky hobby? Restoring old lawn ornaments. “I clean them up and repaint them,” she said. “If anyone has any they want to get rid of, I’ll take them!”
After 28 years of meaningful work and community advocacy, Janiece may have officially retired — but, true to form, she’s not really going anywhere.