Community Updates

image © TAMUToday the Texas A&M University (TAMU) and University of Texas (UT) systems are opening a Joint Library Facility at TAMU’s Riverside Campus. The $6.3 million, 18,000-square-foot facility will house more than 1 million books from the collections of the two universities and make them available for use by other academic or medical institutions.

Library and Archives Canada, image © LACOn May 21, the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) sent an open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper asking him to consult with the library and archival community during the selection process for the next Librarian and Archivist of Canada. Daniel Caron resigned as Librarian and Archivist of Canada on May 15.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has updated its Public Libraries in the United States Survey (PLS) search and compare tools with FY 2011 unimputed data. The survey collects descriptive statistics annually from more than 9,000 public libraries in the US.

Sarah Thomas, image © Bodleian LibrariesSarah Thomas, Bodley's librarian and director of the Bodleian Libraries at University of Oxford, has been appointed vice president for the Harvard Library, effective August 2013. In this role, Thomas will have overall responsibility for the Harvard Library, and will collaborate closely with the Harvard Library Board, the Faculty Advisory Council, and the Library Leadership Team. For details, see the May 20 Harvard news release, "Sarah Thomas of University of Oxford Appointed Vice President for the Harvard Library."

James Hilton, image © University of VirginiaJames L. Hilton, vice president and CIO at University of Virginia, has been appointed dean of libraries and university librarian at the University of Michigan (U-M), effective September 1, 2013. He has also been appointed as a tenured professor in the U-M School of Information. Hilton's appointments are for a five-year term. He will succeed Paul N. Courant, who is stepping down after serving as dean of libraries and university librarian since 2007. For details, see the May 16 U-M news release, "James L. Hilton Will Return to U-M as Dean of Libraries."

Skip Prichard, image © Skip PrichardSkip Prichard, consultant and former president and CEO of Ingram Content Group, has been appointed president and CEO of OCLC, effective July 1, 2013. Prichard will succeed Jay Jordan, who will retire June 30 after 15 years as OCLC president and CEO. For details, see the May 16 news release from OCLC, "Skip Prichard Named OCLC President and CEO," and Prichard's May 16 blog entry, "An Exciting Leadership Challenge."

Center for Research LibrariesThree new members were elected to the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) Board of Directors for a three-year term at the CRL Annual Council Meeting on April 19, 2013: Lars Schoultz, the William Rand Kenan Jr. professor of political science at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Virginia Steel, University Librarian at University of California, Santa Cruz; and Xuemao Wang, dean and university librarian at University of Cincinnati.

image © Tom LohdanToday President Obama signed an Executive Order directing federal agencies to make government data more accessible to the public. Under the terms of the Executive Order, "Making Open and Machine Readable the New Default for Government Information," a new Open Data Policy (PDF) released today establishes a framework to help agencies implement the principles of effective information management throughout the data life cycle to promote interoperability and openness. Whether or not particular information can be made public, agencies can apply this framework to all information resources to promote efficiency and produce value.

Fragment from Duke's papyrus collection, image © DukeDuke University Libraries is establishing a new unit, Duke Collaboratory for Classics Computing (DC3), that will use digital technologies to analyze some of the world's oldest documents and artifacts. Funded by a $500,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the DC3 will be led by Joshua D. Sosin, associate professor of classical studies and history at Duke, who will also assume a joint appointment within the libraries.

Gerald Beasley, image © U AlbertaGerald Beasley, university librarian at Concordia University in Montreal and former ARL RLLF fellow, has been appointed vice-provost and chief librarian at the University of Alberta, effective July 1, 2013, for a five-year term. For details, see the May 1, 2013, news releases from Alberta, "New Chief Librarian Drawn by UAlberta's Leadership Profile," and Concordia, "Concordia University Librarian Heads to UAlberta."