People in the News

Ann-Christe Galloway

Ed. note: To ensure that your personnel news is considered for publication, write to Ann-Christe Galloway, production editor, C&RL News, at email: agalloway@ala.org.

Lynne M. Thomas, head of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been nominated for the Hugo Award—a set of literary awards—for science fiction. Thomas, already a five-time Hugo Award winner, joined the University Library in July 2017. Thomas is nominated for Best Editor, Short Form; Best Semiprozine (a nonprofessional periodical publication) for Uncanny Magazine; and Best Fancast for the Verity! Podcast. Thomas is the coeditor-in-chief and publisher of Uncanny Magazine with her husband Michael Damian Thomas. Six of the 18 short fiction finalists on the Hugo Award nomination ballot are from Uncanny, one nomination for Best Novella, two nominations for Best Novelette, and three nominations for Best Short Story.

Appointments

John P. Culshaw has been appointed the first Jack B. King University Librarian Chair at the University of Iowa (UI) Libraries. The Jack B. King University Librarian Chair was established and endowed in 2017 through gifts from two generations of the King family, who were long-time advocates of libraries. Culshaw has served as the university librarian since 2013. In addition to his campus duties, he is a member and chair of the Board of Governors of the HathiTrust Digital Library and member of the Executive Committee of the Rosemont Shared Print Alliance. Culshaw will complete a term as director-at-large on the ACRL Board of the Directors in 2018.

Mark E. de Jong has joined the U.S. Naval Academy’s Nimitz Library as associate library director for collections and resource management.

Erin Ellis is now associate dean for research and learning services the Indiana University Libraries. Ellis had worked for the University of Kansas (KU) Libraries since 2005 and previously held the positions of associate dean of the research and learning division; head of libraries instructional services; liaison to Applied Behavioral Sciences, Psychology and Sociology; and social sciences librarian. Preceding her work at KU, Ellis served as the information services librarian; interim instruction coordinator; and liaison for English, Music, Health, Exercise, and Sports Science, and Classical and Modern Languages and Literature at Texas Tech University Libraries.

Susan Breakenridge Fink has been appointed assistant dean of library resource management at the University of Oregon Libraries.

Alison S. Gregory has been named university librarian at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. Previously, Gregory was the associate dean and director of library services at Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Rachael Acheson has been appointed assistant university archivist at the Iowa State University Library.

Elvia Arroyo-Ramirez has been named assistant university archivist at the University of California-Irvine Libraries.

Lauren Bellard has been appointed North Carolina Historic Newspapers Project librarian at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Libraries.

Katherine Brown is now collections analyst at the University of Colorado-Denver’s Auraria Library.

Danielle Mericle has been named curator of visual materials in special collections and university archives at the University of Oregon Libraries.

Rachel Sanders is the new first-year instruction and social sciences librarian in research, outreach, and instruction at University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

Sarah Seymore has been appointed digital collections and metadata librarian at the University of Oregon Libraries.

Loren Valterza has been named instruction and reference librarian at the University of California-Irvine Libraries.

Retirements

Sara Brownmiller, director of library systems, has retired from her position after 31 years of service at the University of Oregon Libraries.

Joan Roca, dean of library services at Minnesota State University-Mankato (MSU), will retire in July 2018. Roca has served a total of 35 years at the institution, leading the Library Services team for the past 18 years. He began his career on campus as a software developer for the Project for Automated Library Systems and later became systems librarian for the MSU Library. Roca was instrumental in streamlining library collections and services and updating the physical space for 21st-century users. A highlight was the 2013 construction of a underground connection to other campus buildings, providing natural light along with protection from other elements of Minnesota weather. Roca’s professional service includes his election to represent Minitex at the OCLC Members’ Council and president of the Academic Libraries Division of the Minnesota Library Association, his selection as a peer reviewer for the Higher Learning Commission, and two different terms on the ACRL Budget and Finance Committee.

Deaths

Jennifer Charmaine Thompson, retired librarian, has died. Thompson worked for many years as a librarian at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) in Old Westbury, New York, until her retirement. At NYIT, she was known as a stickler for detail and for her dedication to assisting the research efforts of faculty and students. She previously worked for the Queens, New York, Library System, and for libraries at Albany, New York, State University; University of Michigan; New York University; and the U.S. Department of Energy.