Harvard University: “Libraries Coming Together”, New Responsibility For Sarah Thomas

From the Harvard Gazette:

In a move that brings together the leadership of the libraries of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) and the Harvard Library under a single individual, Sarah Thomas, vice president for the Harvard Library, has been named to carry forward plans for increased cooperation and communication as the Roy E. Larsen Librarian of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
In that role, Thomas will oversee all FAS libraries, according to an announcement today by Dean Michael D. Smith.
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Her dual leadership roles will be independent from each other. She will report to Smith on FAS matters, working toward better coordinating operations in the FAS system while still preserving the individual identities of each library, Smith said in an email to the faculty.
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Asked how she intends to meet the needs of faculty, Thomas said, “The short answer to that is: People want more books. And I need to get them more books because that’s what they want. But the more nuanced answer might be: Which of these books do we need to own and store here centrally, or are there other ways to meet people’s needs and not spend as much on purchasing, ordering, cataloging, and storing material?”

Read the Full Text of the Harvard Gazette Article
See Also: Last Week We Shared a Link to a New Q&A Interview With Sarah Thomas

Filed under: Interviews, Libraries, Management and Leadership, News, Profiles