Community Updates

Edward R. Johnson, image © Oklahoma StateEdward R. Johnson, dean of the Oklahoma State University Library from 1987 to his retirement in 2003, passed away on April 25, 2013, at the age of 72. Johnson was an instrumental voice in defeating the passage of UCITA in Oklahoma. His efforts in this endeavor as well as his alliance with the Oklahoma attorney general had implications in the nationwide defeat of UCITA.

Geneva Henry, image © GWUGeneva Henry, executive director of digital scholarship services at Rice University and former ARL RLLF fellow, has been named the George Washington University (GWU) university librarian and vice provost for libraries, effective July 1, 2013. For details, see the April 29, 2013, GWU press release, "Geneva Henry Appointed University Librarian, Vice Provost for Libraries at the George Washington University."

BPL, image © Xavier de JuaréguiberryDear Friend of the Library,

On April 15, the Boston Marathon and the Commonwealth’s celebration of Patriots’ Day were suddenly and sadly overtaken by tragic events. In the days that followed, the people of Boston and beyond have responded with enormous courage, support, and resilience. These individuals make us proud to have “Boston” in our name and are an inspiration as our community begins to recover and heal.

Virginia Steel, image © University of CaliforniaVirginia "Ginny" Steel, university librarian at University of California (UC) Santa Cruz, has been appointed university librarian at UC Los Angeles, effective July 15, 2013. For details, see the April 19, 2013, UCLA news release, "UC Santa Cruz's Virginia Steel Named UCLA University Librarian."

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) has announced the appointment of four new members to its Board of Directors: Robert Darnton, the Carl H. Pforzheimer university professor and university librarian at Harvard and former DPLA Steering Committee member; Jamie Hollier, president of Anneal and partner in Commerce Kitchen; Amy Ryan, president of the Boston Public Library and former DPLA Steering Committee member; and Siva Vaidhyanathan, the Robertson professor in media studies and chair of the Department of Media Studies, University of Virginia.

Joseph Lucia, image © Temple University Joseph P. Lucia, university librarian and director of Falvey Memorial Library at Villanova University, has been named Temple University's dean of university libraries, effective July 1, 2013. For details, see the April 10, 2013, Temple news release, "Joseph P. Lucia Appointed Dean of Temple University Libraries."

Tom Leonard, university librarian at University of California (UC), Berkeley, submitted a winning entry to the New Yorker’s weekly cartoon caption contest. The cartoon, by artist Joe Dator, shows a cat and a mouse sitting outside a mouse hole. The mouse is pointing a gun at the cat, who has his front left paw raised and his mouth slightly open. Leonard’s caption reads, “Six rounds. Nine lives. You do the math.” Leonard wins a signed copy of the cartoon with the caption. For more on this story, see the UC Berkeley news release, "One librarian. Eight words. One big win in New Yorker cartoon caption contest."

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has awarded the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) $1.3 million to expand CLIR's efforts to develop leaders in the profession of data curation in higher education, and to develop new models of institutional support for data curation. CLIR president Charles Henry, Digital Library Federation program director Rachel Frick, and ARL executive director Elliott Shore, will serve as the project's principal investigators. Shore is also lead instructor for the CLIR Postdoctoral Fellowship program and a CLIR presidential fellow.

Joyce Garnett, image © Western UniversityJoyce Garnett, university librarian at Western University, has announced that she will retire after 15 years at Western. Her official retirement date is March 31, 2014, but she will step down from her role as university librarian on June 30, 2013, at which time she will begin an administrative leave. Robin Keirstead, university archivist, has been appointed acting university librarian effective July 1, 2013, for up to a one-year term.

Joel Silver, image © Indiana URuth Lilly Dean of University Libraries at Indiana University Brenda L. Johnson has announced the appointment of Joel Silver as the director of the Lilly Library, effective April 1, 2013. For the past ten years, Silver has served as the library's associate director and most recently as interim director. The Lilly Library contains more than 400,000 rare books, more than 150,000 pieces of sheet music, and more than 7.5 million manuscripts.