The University of Maryland (UMD) will soon have a new dean of University Libraries. Effective July 1, Holly Mercer will lead the expansive UMD university library system—which stretches across seven university libraries throughout the Washington, DC-Baltimore region.
In her new role, Holly will provide a collaborative and visionary leadership to the university libraries of UMD. She will lead a team of research scholar-practioners who will continue building on the development of innovation, user-centered programs, services, and space allocation. But, her greatest area of focus will cater to ensuring the university libraries strengthen the world-class initiatives that support scholarship across the campuses.
Since 2012, Holly, has held a variety of highly visible roles at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT), which include overseeing research, collections, scholarly communications, and serving as director of UT’s digital library press. Prior to her arrival at UT, her professional experience was buttressed by stints at Texas A&M, the University of Kansas, Stanford University, and the University of South Carolina.
Holly has served as an advisory board member of the Path to Open Community, the Association of College and Research Libraries, and as board chair for HathiTrust. And, of course, she is no stranger to the Association of Research Libraries, where she is recognized as a member of the prestigious leadership fellows cohort of 2016-17.
Holly’s predecessor, Adriene Lim, stepped down at the end of the 2024 spring semester. Read the full announcement of Holly Mercer’s appointment via UMD’s website.
