People in the News

David Free

Joshua Finnell has been appointed to serve a three-year term on the Depository Library Council (DLC). DLC members advise the US Government Publishing Office (GPO) director on policy matters relating to the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) and access to US Government information. Council members also help position the DLC and the FDLP for the GPO’s vision of an America Informed.

Appointments

Jess Aylor has been appointed executive director of library development at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Aylor joined the University Libraries in April 2022 as director of library development and soon became interim executive director. As interim, Aylor guided the University Libraries to the successful conclusion of the Campaign for Carolina, with a record-setting $48.9 million raised. Aylor came to the University Libraries with more than two decades of successful fundraising experience in higher education and the nonprofit sector. Her background includes appointments at the Triangle Community Foundation, North Carolina State University, the Wolf Trap Foundation for Performing Arts, and the Richmond Symphony.

Lindsay Cronk is now dean of the Tulane University Libraries. Cronk joined Tulane from the University of Rochester, where she worked for the past six years, including the last two as the assistant dean for scholarly resources and curation. She also held the positions of director for collection strategies and head of collection strategies. While at Rochester, Cronk oversaw seven departments, including digital initiatives, scholarly communication, metadata and rare books, special collections, and preservation. Cronk established the Open Educational Resource Grant Program, a course material program for instructors and students, and sponsored library support for the Rochester Education Justice Initiative prison education program.

Eric Dorfman was recently appointed president of the Linda Hall Library in Kansas City, Missouri. Dorfman joined Linda Hall Library after a career in higher education, conservation, research, and natural history museum leadership. Most recently, he served as the director and chief executive officer of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and as a research professor in the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences at North Carolina State University. As president, Dorfman succeeds Lisa Browar, who led the Linda Hall Library for 15 years.

Bella Karr Gerlich has been named dean of libraries at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Formerly the grants and special projects librarian at Texas Tech University, Gerlich took over the position from Roger Weaver, who served as interim library dean since 2021. Gerlich was dean of libraries for Texas Tech University Libraries from 2015 to 2020. During her time as dean, she was responsible for the operation of one of Texas’s largest libraries with more than 2.7 million items, electronic publications, and databases. From 2020 to 2022, Gerlich served as a consultant and the interim associate vice president for the library and learning commons at Goucher College.

Rachel Blume is now medicine and research services librarian at the University of Washington Libraries.

Amanda Pirog has been appointed business and user experience librarian at the University of Washington Libraries.