Appointments

Carole Ann Fabian is now director of Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library at Columbia University.

Paula Ganyard is now director of the David A. Cofrin Library at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Martin Halbert has been named dean of the University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries. In his previous position as director of digital innovations for the Emory University Libraries, Halbert served as the principal investigator for digital library services and research projects totaling $6.1 million. Halbert is also president of MetaArchive Cooperative, an international consortium of research libraries and institutes that preserve digital archives in partnership with the Library of Congress, as part of the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program. At Emory, Halbert developed a doctoral certificate in digital scholarship and new media, an interdisciplinary credential that provides graduate students with expertise in new forms of research and publication using digital media. Before being named to the position with Emory University Libraries in February 2007, Halbert was the libraries’ director for digital programs and systems for 11 years. He was also head of networked systems for libraries and head of the Computing Resources Library at Rice University, taking a semester off from Rice in 1994 to work for the U.S. Information Agency in Tartu, Estonia as an ALA fellow, advising the national university library in automation planning.

Martin Halbert

Marika Pineda is now interim director of Lane Community College Library.

Scott Silverman has been named library director and coordinator of information services at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. Silverman was most recently director of the nodes/licensing and budget coordinator for Bryn Mawr College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. During his 25 years of service to Bryn Mawr, Silverman moved from technical services to positions of responsibility within the Tri-College Library Consortium that serves library and information needs for Bryn Mawr, Haverford, and Swarthmore Colleges. Silverman was the 2004 Library Journal nonfiction book reviewer of the year and served on the ALA’s Notable Council from 2004 to 2006. In 2008 he completed the Frye Leadership Institute, a program designed to develop the next generation of higher education leaders emerging from IT and library backgrounds.

Ray Barker is now processor of the Robert Altman Collection at the University of Michigan.

Bernd Becker is now senior assistant librarian at San Jose State University’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Library.

Cathy Blake has joined the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Jennifer Bowen has been appointed assistant dean for information management services at the University of Rochester-River Campus Libraries.

Peter Coco is now liberal arts librarian at Grand Valley State University Libraries.

Miles Efron has joined the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Joshua Finnell is now humanities liaison librarian at Denison University’s William Howard Doane Library.

Crystal Goldman is now senior assistant librarian at San Jose State University’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Library.

Eric Hartnett joined the Texas A&M University Libraries as electronic resources librarian.

Brent Husher is the new library instruction coordinator at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Miller Nichols Library.

Pamela Mann is now reference, instruction, and outreach librarian at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Hazel McClure is now professional programs librarian at Grand Valley State University Libraries.

Aaron McCollough is now text creation partnership librarian at the University of Michigan.

Holly Mercer joined the Texas A&M University Libraries as head of digital services and scholarly communications.

Irene Munster has been appointed associate director/head of the library at the Universities at Shady Grove, University of Maryland.

Rodney Obien has joined Keene State College’s Mason Library as archivist.

Marcus Richter is now technical services librarian at Alma College in Alma, Michigan.

Margie Rupple has joined Boise State University’s Albertsons Library as reference librarian.

Nancy Schafer is now head of reference and research services at Old Dominion University Libraries.

Amauri Serano is now humanities collection librarian at Appalachian State University’s Belk Library and Information Commons.

Cynthia Snyder is now public services librarian at Rollins College’s Olin Library.

Amy Thompson joined Miami University of Ohio as education librarian.

Maura Valentino has been appointed coordinator of digital initiatives at the University of Oklahoma Libraries.

Amy Vecchione has been named reference librarian at Boise State University’s Albertsons Library.

Norah Xiao is now science and engineering librarian at the University of Southern California.

Retirements

Faye Backie has retired from Michigan State University (MSU) Libraries. Backie began her career in 1975 at the University of Southwestern Louisiana-Lafayette (now the University of Louisiana-Lafayette) as reference and interlibrary loan librarian. She left to pursue an MBA at MSU in 1983. After acquiring her degree and working for the Chrysler Corporation, she returned to MSU and became the head of the Business Library in 1985. In 1995, she moved to the Main Library to serve as assistant director for public services. Backie was active in professional associations; SLA, ALA, and, most notably, the Michigan Library Association, where she served in a variety of positions, including treasurer and secretary.

B. Donald Grose has retired as dean of the University of North Texas (UNT) Libraries. As director, then dean, of the UNT Libraries, Grose oversaw the creation of the nation’s only CyberCemetery in 1997 to preserve accumulated information from defunct government agency Web sites. Under Grose’s tenure as dean, the UNT Libraries also created its Digital Projects Unit, which supports the libraries with digital imaging, archival storage of electronic files, metadata development ,and other activities. Grose is a member of the governing board of the Texas Digital Library and was on the Council of Library Directors for the Alliance for Higher Education, the executive committee of the Theatre Library Association, and the boards of directors for the Boston Library Consortium and the Fenway Library Consortium. He is the author of A Mirror to Life: A History of Western Theatre, which is used by theater departments throughout the United States.

Thomas G. Kirk Jr. retired as library director and coordinator of information services at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. After graduating from Earlham, Kirk was appointed science librarian. After serving an interim year as acting director of library and media resources at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Kirk was appointed library director at Berea College, in Berea, Kentucky. He served in that capacity for 14 years before returning to Earlham College as library director, and later also as coordinator of information services. Kirk received the Miriam Dudley Bibliographic Instruction Librarian Award in 1984 and the ACRL Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award in 2004. He has been involved in the development of cooperative projects among private college libraries of Kentucky and Indiana and served on the boards of SOLINET (Southeast Library Network) and the OCLC Members Council representing SOLINET and INCOLSA (Indiana Cooperative Library Services Authority). Kirk’s active involvement at the national level is exemplified by his service as ACRL president and his continued participation in the ACRL Library Director Mentors Program. During retirement, Kirk expects to remain active in college librarianship.

Deaths

E. J. Josey, 85, professor emeritus at the University of Pittsburgh, has died. At the 1964 ALA Annual Conference, Josey wrote a resolution prohibiting association officers and staff from participating in state associations that refused to admit black librarians, which resulted in the integration of library associations of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Josey was the first black librarian to be accepted into the Georgia Library Association. In 1984, 20 years after the resolution, Josey was elected ALA president and emphasized in his inaugural address that only the library, with its community service goal and trained experts, “can provide the full scope of information for the total population in a fair and objective manner.” His career included leadership positions in New York, Delaware, and Georgia, including chief of the bureau of specialist library services for the New York State Library.

Lothar Spang, 66, who served as a librarian at Wayne State since 1970, has died. Beginning his career at Wayne State in the early 1960s as a student assistant, Spang was tenured in 1974. He taught classes in the School of Library and Information Science and served as a grievance coordinator and executive board member of the Wayne State University American Association of University Professors union. In recent years Spang focused his efforts on outreach, by improving literacy in Detroit area schools through the chapbook program, where Wayne State librarians worked with K–12 students in the classroom to create artwork and poetry that was compiled and published. Spang served as a member of numerous professional associations, including ACRL; Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters; and the Michigan Library Association, as well as serving as a member of the Wayne State Academic Senate and AAUP. Coauthor of several works on outreach and partnerships, he received the Outstanding Faculty Award from Educational Accessibility Services in 2006.