People in the News

David Free

Kayla Siddell has been named associate library director for the Atlanta University Center (AUC) Woodruff Library. Siddell will lead public services, encompassing research support, access and user engagement, as well as collection management and digital scholarship. She will develop and sustain a dynamic public service model that prioritizes student engagement within the library, champion inclusive programming to support the diverse needs of the academic community, and integrate the use of digital collections, services, and innovative spaces to enhance access and learning experiences.

Rachael Stoeltje was appointed chief of the Library of Congress’ National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, which includes the Library’s Packard Campus in Culpeper, Virginia, in January 2025. Stoeltje will oversee the state-of-the-art facility where the Library of Congress acquires, preserves, and provides access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of films, television programs, radio broadcasts, and sound recordings.

Kendall Barksdale is now digitization project manager for the HBCU Digital Library Trust at the Atlanta University Center (AUC) Woodruff Library.

Kelsa Bartley has been appointed assistant director and head of research and education at the Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries.

Lynn Davies is now digital initiatives librarian at the AUC Woodruff Library.

Valdoshia Hunt has been named content strategist librarian at the AUC Woodruff Library.

Sasha Jelan is now traveling archivist for the HBCU Digital Library Trust at the AUC Woodruff Library.

Terrence Martin is now the assistant director for Research Learning and Technology Services at AUC Woodruff Library.

Leah Micken recently joined the AUC Woodruff Center Library as processing archivist for the Morehouse College Archive.

Summer Redding is now senior digitization librarian for the HBCU Digital Library Trust at the AUC Woodruff Library.

Sarah Tanner has been promoted to director of Archives and Special Collections at the Atlanta University Center (AUC) Woodruff Library.

Shannon Tharp is now resource sharing and collection strategy librarian at the University of Washington Libraries.

Lark Wilson joined Binghamton University as the special collections librarian for instruction, reference, and engagement in October 2024.

Deaths

Michael Van Fossen, who retired in 2012 as international and state documents librarian at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill, recently passed away in Durham, North Carolina. For 23 years, Van Fossen managed the state and international documents collection at the university libraries and served as the subject librarian for international studies; the curriculum in peace, war, and defense; and political science. He also regularly taught a course on government documents and mentored students at the UNC School of Information and Library Science.

Van Fossen provided leadership in the North Carolina Library Association, where he served on the executive board of its Government Resources Section, as an associate editor and indexer for North Carolina Libraries, and as chair of the journal’s 2007 Style Manual Revision Committee.