University of Utah: Alberta Comer Named New Dean of Marriott Library
From the University of Utah:
The University of Utah has named Alberta Davis Comer as dean and director of the
J. Willard Marriott Library and University Librarian effective August 19, 2013.
Comer holds a master of library science degree from Indiana University-Bloomington and has served as dean and associate dean of library services at Cunningham Memorial Library, Indiana State University since 2004.
“Alberta Comer has a national reputation as an inspiring and thoughtful leader,” says Michael Hardman, interim senior vice president of academic affairs at the U. “She brings to the U an expansive knowledge of libraries, as well as a strong focus on students, faculty collaboration, and the cultivation of positive community and donor relations. We welcome her to Utah and the university.”
Under her leadership, Indiana State University developed a number of innovations, including an academic library consortium across three universities (Indiana State University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College) in partnership with a county public library to establish an integrated online library catalog system. She has served as editor of Indiana Libraries, published by the Indiana Library Federation, as well as editor of Cognotes, the daily paper of the American Library Association Conference. She is a member of the American Library Association, the American Indian Library Association, the Association of College and Research Libraries and the Indiana Library Federation.
“I am thrilled to be joining the University of Utah at such an exciting time,” says Comer. “The Marriott Library is one of the nation’s premier academic libraries, and I am looking forward to leading its impressive team.”
Comer replaces Joyce Ogburn, who served as dean until 2012 and recently accepted a position with the Appalachian State University libraries.
Filed under: Academic Libraries, Journal Articles, Libraries, Management and Leadership, News, Public Libraries
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.