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Last modified: Tuesday, December 12, 2006

IU Provost McRobbie names search committee for dean of IU Libraries

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dec. 12, 2006

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael A. McRobbie today (Dec. 12) announced the appointment of a 14-member committee to begin the search to fill the position of Ruth Lilly University Dean of University Libraries at IU.

David Zaret, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of sociology, will chair the panel, which includes several representatives from various IU libraries, including one on a regional campus, a number of faculty and a student.

Zaret emphasized the importance of finding the right person to lead IU Libraries, widely recognized as one of the finest research libraries in the nation. Its holdings include a rich array of materials ranging from books and journals to archives and manuscripts, and from sound recordings and historical films to digital images and online databases.

"IU Libraries are one of the nation's leading research libraries," Zaret said. "The search committee will recruit candidates with records of distinguished accomplishments in leadership positions in research university libraries.

"The goal is to provide the provost with our recommendations by the end of the spring semester," Zaret said.

Suzanne Thorin, was named Ruth Lilly University Dean of University Libraries at IU in 1996 and in January 2003 assumed additional responsibilities as associate vice president for digital library development. She left in the fall of 2005 to become university librarian and dean of the library at Syracuse University. Patricia Steele currently is Ruth Lilly Interim Dean of University Libraries.

Search committee members:

  • David Zaret -- Committee Chair; Interim Dean, College of Arts and Sciences; Professor of sociology
  • Julie Bobay -- Librarian, Interim Director of Scholarly Communication Initiatives
  • Diane Dallis -- Head, Information Commons Undergraduate Library Services
  • Deloice Holliday -- Multicultural Outreach Librarian, Information Commons Undergraduate Library Services
  • Jian Liu -- Librarian, HPER (School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation) Library
  • Breon Mitchell -- Director, The Lilly Library; Professor of Germanic studies and comparative Lliterature
  • Bill Newman -- Ruth Halls Professor of History and Philosophy of Science, College of Arts and Sciences
  • Harold Ogren -- Professor of physics
  • Pam Owens -- Head, Serials Acquisitions Unit, Technical Services Department, Herman B Wells Library
  • Beth Plale -- Associate Professor of informatics, School of Informatics
  • Phil Ponella -- Director, William and Gayle Cook Music Library
  • Michelle Russo -- Director of Library Services, Indiana University South Bend
  • Daniel Sanford -- Student, School of Library and Information Sciences
  • Debora Shaw -- Professor and Associate Dean, School of Library and Information Science

About IU Libraries:

Indiana University Libraries consist of 18 libraries on the Bloomington campus. IU Libraries is known as one of the finest research libraries in the nation. Its collection of bound volumes numbers 6,770,498, making it the largest in the state of Indiana. The collection is ranked 13th in size among North American research libraries.

In addition to its impressive bound volumes and other items, the IU Libraries collection includes 7.4 million manuscripts, 665,883 maps, 253,835 sound recordings and 3,000 historical films.

Among IU Libraries' notable collections are the African Studies Collection, which ranks in the top tier of research library collections worldwide, and its Folklore Collection, the largest, most comprehensive working collection of its kind in the world. A U.S. Federal Depository since 1878, IU Libraries receive nearly 85 percent of the items printed by the federal government and made available to depository libraries. IU Libraries also are a United Nations depository and a European Union depository.

The IUB Libraries also house the Lilly Library for rare books and manuscripts. Its collection includes a copy of the New Testament of the Gutenberg Bible, Audubon's Birds of America and George Washington's letter accepting the presidency of the United States.

A national leader in digital library development, IUB Libraries, with other campus partners, created the William and Gayle Cook Music Library, the first music library in the country to deliver high-quality digitized music distributed over a computer network It is a national model which provides access to over 7,000 near-CD quality digital audio titles.

For more information on IU Libraries, go to https://www.libraries.iub.edu/