Virginia Tech has named Tyler Walters as its Dean of University Libraries.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

Tyler Walters, associate dean for technology and resource services at the Library and Information Center at Georgia Tech, has been named dean of University Libraries at Virginia Tech. . . .

"Tyler Walters brings an outstanding vision to the university and will be an engaging and effective advocate for the libraries within the university and larger community," said Virginia Tech Senior Vice President and Provost Mark McNamee. "His view of librarians as authoritative guides and stewards of the intellectual record, coupled with his commitment to position the libraries as a strong partner in all of the academic endeavors of the university, fit exceptionally well with the needs articulated by faculty and staff when we initiated the search." . . .

Walters began his career in 1987 as an assistant in the photographic archives unit of the North Carolina Division of Archives and History in Raleigh, N.C. From 1988 to 1992, he served as the assistant university archivist at the Northwestern University Library. In 1992, he went to the Iowa State University Library as assistant professor in the special collections department. He was promoted to associate professor and served as head of the special collections department from 1996 to 1998.

In 1998, he was appointed director of the William R. Haselton Library and Knowledge Center at the Institute of Paper Science and Technology in Atlanta, now a unit of Georgia Tech. In 2002, he began as the associate director of digital and technical services at Georgia Tech, later as associate director for technology and resource services, and most recently as associate dean. . . .

Walters has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, the Library of Congress, the National Archives and Records Administration, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. He has raised $3.3 million in grants and gifts while at Georgia Tech.

Walters has co-founded new inter-institutional organizations such as the MetaArchive Cooperative (digital preservation services) and the GALILEO Knowledge Repository (Georgia’s statewide repository service).

| Digital Scholarship |

James K. Bracken has been named Dean of the Kent State University Libraries effective 8/1/10.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Bracken currently serves as the assistant director for Collections, Instruction, and Public Services at The Ohio State University Libraries, a position he has held since 2005. At Ohio State, he also has served in the positions of assistant director for Collections, Instruction, and Main Library Research and Reference Services; head of Second Floor Main Library Information Services; professor in the University Libraries; and adjunct professor in the English department.

Bracken is active with many professional organizations. He serves as reviewer-consultant for Choice and reviewer and assistant editor for CBQ: Communication Booknotes Quarterly. He also is a member of the American Library Association.

Bracken holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toledo, master’s degrees from both the University of Toledo and the University of South Carolina, and a doctorate in English literature from the University of South Carolina.

Linda Phillips, Head of Scholarly Communication at the University of Tennessee Libraries, has been named the Interim Dean of that library effective 7/1/10.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

"Linda has given exemplary service to the University Libraries in a variety of roles including, most recently, as a leader in the Libraries initiatives on open access and other developing trends in scholarly communications," said UT Knoxville Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Susan Martin. "She brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to this critical position. I am grateful for her willingness to serve."

Phillips, an Alumni Distinguished Service Professor, is currently head of scholarly communication for the libraries. She came to UT from Ohio State University's Agricultural Technical Institute Library in 1977. Her work encompasses the creation of local digital collections, including digitization of library holdings; the launch of Newfound Press, the libraries' peer-reviewed digital imprint; and leading community outreach efforts about the libraries' scholarly and economic impact on society.

Phillips succeeds Barbara Dewey, who is leaving to become the dean of university libraries and scholarly communications at Penn State.

The search for a permanent dean will be under way shortly. Douglas Blaze, dean of the College of Law, will lead the effort.

Astrid van Wesenbeeck has been named the Director of SPARC Europe.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Astrid van Wesenbeeck has been appointed and will initially start working with SPARC Europe part-time from 15th June and full-time from 12 July 2010. Astrid will take over from Dr David Prosser who was recently appointed Director of Research Libraries UK (RLUK).

The chair of SPARC Europe, Bas Savenije, says "It is with great pleasure that we announce the appointment of our new Director. We believe that Astrid has the necessary skills and background to continue SPARC Europe’s significant work for European research libraries, library organisations and research institutions. The SPARC Europe Board of Directors and I very much look forward to working with Astrid."

Astrid is currently Project manager and publishing consultant at IGITUR, Utrecht Publishing & Archiving Services at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. She has broad experience in the publishing of Open Access journals, as well as in project management. Astrid will be based at the SPARC Europe Secretariat, which is kindly hosted by the National Library of the Netherlands (Koninklijke Bibliotheek) in The Hague.

Fred von Lohmann has won ALA's L. Ray Patterson Copyright Award.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP) and its Copyright Advisory Subcommittee have named Fred von Lohmann, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) specializing in intellectual property matters, this year’s winner of the L. Ray Patterson Copyright Award.

The annual award recognizes contributions of an individual or group that pursues and supports the Constitutional purpose of the U.S. Copyright Law, fair use and the public domain. The award is named after L. Ray Patterson, a key legal figure who explained and justified the importance of the public domain and fair use. Fair use is a key exception of the copyright law that allows for the use of a copyright without prior authorization and helps to promote learning, new creativity, scholarship and criticism.

In his role at EFF, von Lohmann has represented programmers, technology innovators, and individuals in a variety of copyright and trademark litigation, including MGM v. Grokster, decided by the Supreme Court in 2005. He is also involved in EFF’s efforts to educate policy-makers regarding the proper balance between intellectual property protection and the public interest in fair use, free expression, and innovation. . . .

An overview of von Lohmann’s work is available on EFF's Web site.

Contingent on approval by the University Board of Trustees, Barbara I. Dewey has been named Dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications at the Pennsylvania State University.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

She [Dewey] will succeed Nancy Eaton, who has held the position since 1997 and will continue her ties with the University in retirement as dean emerita.

"The remarkable expansion of digital content and patrons' growing expectation of online access to scholarly publications have made university libraries an exceptionally complex and integral part of today's intellectual endeavors," said Penn State President Graham Spanier. "I welcome Barbara's leadership as the Penn State University Libraries continues to evolve to serve the academic and research pursuits of our students, faculty and staff."

"I am honored to lead Penn State's library enterprise, building on the tremendous success of its expert faculty and staff in this exciting period of change and transformation," said Dewey. "I look forward to working with Penn State's outstanding academic and alumni communities bringing Penn State scholarship to the world and the world's scholarship to Penn State."

As the leader of Penn State's information resources enterprise, Dewey will serve as the official representative and advocate for the University Libraries and Penn State Press and oversee approximately 1,150 full- and part-time faculty and staff. The University Libraries comprise 14 libraries at the University Park campus and libraries at 22 other campuses, Media Technology Support Services and the University Records Management Program. Collections include more than 5.2 million volumes, 69,000 serial titles, 517 databases and more than 50,000 e-books, as well as extensive holdings of maps, microforms, government publications, archives and audio-visual materials. The University Libraries and the Penn State Press jointly operate the Office of Digital Scholarly Publishing and collaborate on the development of new modes of disseminating research and scholarship. . . .

Dean of Libraries at the University of Tennessee since 2000, Dewey garnered significant experience at several Big Ten universities. Previously, she served at the University of Iowa from 1987 to 2000 as assistant to the dean of libraries, director of administrative and access services, director of information and research services and interim university librarian, respectively. Prior to that she also was Indiana University's director of admissions and placement in the School of Library and Information Science from 1980 to 1987, and assistant interlibrary loan and reference librarian at Northwestern University from 1978 to 1980. She began her library science career with the Minnesota Valley Regional Library System.

Dewey received her master's degree in library science and her undergraduate degree in anthropology/sociology, both from the University of Minnesota. She also received a Graduate Public Management Certificate from Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

A member of the Association of Research Libraries board of directors from 2006 to 2009, Dewey continues service as chair of its Transforming Research Libraries Steering Committee and the Association of College and Research Libraries Publications Committee. She is in her final year of a six-year term on the Online Computer Library Center Global Council and is a member of the International Federation of Library Associations Standing Committee on Education and Training. She has published and presented on a wide range of research library topics including digital libraries, diversity, technology, user education, fundraising, organizational development and human resources.

Kevin Ashley has been named as the Director of the Digital Curation Centre.

Here's an excerpt from the announcement:

As the DCC begins its third phase today, I [Chris Rusbridge] am delighted to announce the appointment of our new Director, Kevin Ashley, who will succeed me upon my retirement in April 2010.

Kevin Ashley has been Head of Digital Archives at the University of London Computer Centre (ULCC) since 1997, during which time his multi-disciplinary group has provided services related to the preservation and reusability of digital resources on behalf of other organisations, as well as conducting research, development and training. The group has operated the National Digital Archive of Datasets for The National Archives of the UK for over twelve years, delivering customised digital repository services to a range of organisations. As a member of the JISC's Infrastructure and Resources Committee, the Advisory Council for ERPANET, plus several advisory boards for data and archives projects and services, Kevin has contributed widely to the research information community. As a firm and trusted proponent of the DCC we look forward to his energetic leadership in this new phase of our evolution.

Read more about it at "New Director of Digital Curation Centre Appointed."

Paula T. Kaufman, Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Dean of Libraries and University Librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has won the 2010 Hugh C. Atkinson Memorial Award, which is sponsored by ACRL, ALCTS, LLAMA, and LITA.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Named in honor of one of the pioneers of library automation, the Atkinson Award recognizes an academic librarian who has made significant contributions in the area of library automation or management and has made notable improvements in library services or research. . . .

Kaufman has held a variety of positions over the course of her career. In addition to serving as head of the Business and Economics Library and director of the Library Services group at Columbia University, she was acting head of the East Asian Library in 1982 and acting vice-president for information technology and university librarian from 1987-88. During her tenure at Columbia, Kaufman was involved in the development of the university's Scholarly Information Center, a merger of the library and academic information technology. In 1987, Kaufman resisted the FBI's request to report on the reading habits of Columbia library patrons with last names or accents from "hostile countries." Her actions were instrumental in making the FBI's Library Awareness Program public. Kaufman additionally served as dean of libraries at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville from 1988-99.

In her current position at UIUC, Kaufman has worked with the library faculty and staff to re-envision the future, form new alliances and cultivate an environment of creative problem solving. Under her direction, the library launched a highly successful capital campaign, established a formal preservation and conservation program, led the state of Illinois in digitizing collections, celebrated the library's 11 millionth volume and addressed the issues of how to support scholarship and teaching in the digital age through developing new models to deliver 21st-century services. In 2006, the provost of the University of Illinois tapped Kaufman to serve as the university's interim chief information officer. In this assignment, she increased communication among technology staff and reconnected the information technology department with the rest of the campus through focusing on its service mission.

She has additionally played key roles in governance and policymaking at a number of organizations, including serving on or leading the boards of directors of the Center for Research Libraries, the Association of Research Libraries, the Council of Library and Information Resources, the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, the Digital Library Federation and the Society for Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition.

Kaufman received her AB in Economics from Smith College, MBA from the University of New Haven and MS in Library Service from the School of Library Service at Columbia University.

Dr. Gary Marchionini, Cary C. Boshamer Professor at the School of Information and Library Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has been appointed Dean of that school effective April 1, 2010.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

"Gary Marchionini is a distinguished faculty member whose extraordinary academic background is internationally renowned," said Chancellor Holden Thorp. "He is the ideal person to lead our School of Information and Library Science into this new decade when information and technology have never been more important in our society."

Added Bruce Carney, interim executive vice chancellor and provost, "Gary Marchionini knows the School of Information and Library Science and our University exceedingly well. He has the support from within the school to keep it a national leader."

A Carolina faculty member since 1998, Marchionini heads the school's Interaction Design Laboratory and chairs its personnel committee. He serves on the Campus Research Computing Committee and has helped lead numerous campus initiatives since arriving at Carolina. Last spring, he was nominated by his students and selected as the school's Outstanding Teacher of the Year.

He is president of the American Society of Information Science and Technology, an international organization of professionals who focus on improving access to information. Marchionini is the chair of the National Institutes of Health/National Library of Medicine's Biomedical Library and Informatics Review Committee. He previously was editor-in-chief of the Association for Computing Machinery's (ACM) "Transactions on Information Systems" from 2002 to 2008, has served on more than a dozen editorial boards and is editor of the Morgan-Claypool book series, "Information Concepts, Retrieval and Services."

Marchionini has published more than 200 articles, book chapters and technical reports on topics related to digital libraries, information seeking, usability of personal health records, multimedia browsing strategies and personal identity in cyberspace. He has been awarded numerous grants from the National Science Foundation and other foundations, as well as research awards from companies including Microsoft, IBM and Google. He is the author of "Information Seeking in Electronic Environments," part of a Cambridge University Press series.

Marchionini earned a doctorate in curriculum development, focusing on mathematics education in 1981, and a master's degree in secondary mathematics education from Wayne State University in 1974. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and English from Western Michigan University in 1971.

Before arriving at UNC, he was a faculty member at the University of Maryland for 15 years. He served on the faculty and as a researcher at Wayne State from 1978 to 1983 and taught mathematics at the East Detroit Public Schools for seven years.

M. Sue Baughman has been named Association of Research Libraries Associate Deputy Executive Director.

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

Baughman is currently Assistant Dean for Organizational Development at the University of Maryland, College Park. She will assume her role at ARL on March 29.

The primary role of the Associate Deputy Executive Director is to promote and facilitate the strategic development of ARL policies and programs. The position carries a mix of responsibilities revolving around issue analysis and program development, strategic positioning and message development, and practical management and coordination accomplished working closely with the ARL Executive Director and Board of Directors.

In her current position, Baughman works with over 200 library staff in every facet of the University of Maryland Libraries. Her duties focus on the development needs of individual staff, teams, and work groups, and the organization as a whole. She understands not only the work staff does and the services they provide but also the interrelationships that are in place across a large organization. This broad perspective has enabled her to be an effective change agent and leader. She has been at the University of Maryland since 1995 serving in a variety of roles including, Manager of McKeldin Library Public Services, Assistant Dean for Organizational Development, and Interim Director of Collection Development and Special Collections.

In her career, Baughman has held positions at a variety of types of libraries and library systems and has served on committees of numerous library associations. In all of these positions, she has been committed to finding innovative solutions to challenging problems. Her skills and experiences in leadership, program coordination, and project management will be valuable assets for ARL.

David Prosser has been named the Executive Director of RLUK (Research Libraries UK).

Here's an excerpt from the press release:

RLUK is very pleased to announce that David Prosser has been appointed Executive Director. David joins us from SPARC Europe, where his leadership and advocacy skills have played a critical role in the success of the European Open Access movement.

The Chair of RLUK, Dr Mark Brown of the University of Southampton said: "We are delighted that David will be joining us as our new Executive Director. David brings ten years' experience of shaping strategic thinking for an active membership organisation, and encouraging partnerships and collaborations which can bring together librarians, publishers, and funders. We look forward to David playing a key role in delivering our exciting new strategy."

David Prosser said: "It is a great honour to join RLUK as the new Executive Director. These are exciting times for research libraries in terms of new delivery of content, use of physical space and the ways in which researchers and students use our collections. They are also potentially difficult times as public spending tightens and decisions need to be made on priorities for the future. Now, more than ever, the UK community needs to speak with a strong voice to ensure that the case for research libraries is heard. We also need to look for innovative collaborative solutions for budgetary issues. I look forward to working with the Board, members, and RLUK staff to address these issues and help fulfill the RLUK vision of ensuring that the UK should have the best research library support in the world."

Candidates for the Ruth Lilly Dean of University Libraries position at Indiana University are interviewing this week. The candidates are Brenda Johnson (Dean of University Libraries at the University of California, Santa Barbara) and Diane Parr Walker (Deputy University Librarian at the University of Virginia).

Read more about it at "Library Dean Candidates Visit Today."