Nancy E. Gwinn | |
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| Born | August 19, 1945 Sheridan, Wyoming, U.S. |
| Died | 29 April 2024 Washington, DC, U.S |
| Nationality | American |
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| Occupation(s) | Director of the Smithsonian Libraries (1997-2020) |
Nancy E. Gwinn (August 19, 1945 - April 29, 2024 [1] ) was an American librarian and administrator. She was the director of the Smithsonian Libraries, the world's largest museum library system, from 1997 until her retirement in 2020. [2] [3]
Nancy Gwinn was born in Sheridan, Wyoming on August 19, 1945. [4] She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967 from the University of Wyoming; after graduating, she attended the University of Oxford on a Fulbright scholarship. [5] She went on to earn a Master of Library Science at the University of Michigan School of Library Science in 1969, and a Ph.D. in American civilization from George Washington University in 1996. [5] [4]
Gwinn started her library career in 1969 working as a reference librarian at the Library of Congress. [4] From 1975 to 1980, she worked at the Council on Library and Information Resources, and in 1980 she became the associate director and program coordinator at the Research Library Group, [4] where she was instrumental in founding the RLG Preservation Program, developing a model for libraries to collaborate on preservation microfilming. [6]
Gwinn joined the Smithsonian Institution Libraries as the assistant director for library collections management in 1984. [6] In 1997 she became director of the Smithsonian Libraries, where she led 130 research and curatorial staff in preserving cultural history. [5] During her tenure, Gwinn expanded outreach, bolstered the Libraries' rare book and electronic collections, and created the first Libraries Advisory Board to assist with fundraising. [7] [8] Under her leadership, the Smithsonian Libraries initiated and became the lead partner in establishing the Biodiversity Heritage Library, an international consortium of natural history and botanical libraries dedicated to digitizing and providing open access to works from their collections. [7] Gwinn served as chair of the Biodiversity Heritage Library Members Council from 2011 to 2017. [7]
Gwinn has held a number of leadership roles in library organizations, including serving as president of the District of Columbia Library Association from 1979 to 1980, [4] chairing the Association of Research Libraries Committee on Preservation of Library Material, and serving as secretary of the Standing Committee on Preservation and Conservation of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA). [6] She has also served as a member of the IFLA Governing Board from 2004 to 2009 and as chair of its Professional Committee from 2007 to 2009. [7]
Gwinn was the author of several books on library and historical subjects, including Preservation Microfilming: A Guide for Librarians and Archivists; the Society of American Archivists awarded her the 1988 Waldo Gifford Leland Award for that book. [8] [6]
In 2012 Gwinn was awarded the Ainsworth Rand Spofford President's Award by the District of Columbia Library Association, in recognition of "outstanding contributions to the development or improvement of library and information services". [9]
The University of Wyoming awarded her an honorary doctorate degree in 2013. [10]
Since 2003 Gwinn and her husband, Library of Congress Historian John Y. Cole, have maintained endowments to support the internships of library and information science students at the Smithsonian Libraries and at the University of Michigan School of Information. [11] [5] They also fund an endowment for supporting the operations of the technical services of the University of Wyoming Libraries. [12]
Ainsworth Rand Spofford was an American journalist, prolific writer and the sixth Librarian of Congress. He served as librarian from 1864 to 1897 under the administration of ten presidents. A great admirer of Benjamin Franklin, he wrote a twenty-one page introduction in Franklin's autobiography, which he edited and published.
Peter Force was an American politician, newspaper editor, printer, archivist, and early American historian. He was twice elected the twelfth Mayor of Washington D.C. During his lifetime he amassed an invaluable and vast collection of books, manuscripts, original maps and other archival material from statesmen, and American and British military officers of the American Revolution. Force's collection is considered to be among the most extensive. Force served in the Washington militia as a lieutenant during the War of 1812. Politically, he was a member of the Whig Party, and supporter of John Quincy Adams. He is mostly noted for editing and publishing a massive collection of historical documents, books and maps in several volumes involving the American colonies and the American Revolution which was ultimately purchased by the Library of Congress for a large sum. Force founded a political journal and other publications and was president of a premier national science society, and the Typographical Society which was largely charged with the task of communicating political affairs to the general public. Force served on the committee that approved the Geographical Department for the Library of Congress. During the international political unrest caused by the American Civil War, Force was sent to Europe by the Lincoln Administration to stabilize diplomatic relations with France and England.
The Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS), also referred to as the Master of Library and Information Studies, is the master's degree that is required for most professional librarian positions in the United States. The MLIS is a relatively recent degree; an older and still common degree designation for librarians to acquire is the Master of Library Science (MLS), or Master of Science in Library Science (MSLS) degree. According to the American Library Association (ALA), "The master’s degree in library and information studies is frequently referred to as the MLS; however, ALA-accredited degrees have various names such as Master of Information Studies, Master of Arts, Master of Librarianship, Master of Library and Information Studies, or Master of Science. The degree name is determined by the program. The [ALA] Committee for Accreditation evaluates programs based on their adherence to the Standards for Accreditation of Master's Programs in Library and Information Studies, not based on the name of the degree."
Patricia Meyer Battin was one of the first librarians in the United States to combine the responsibilities of library administrator and technology director. Her focus shifted toward preservation when she became the first president of the Commission on Preservation and Access. She later became a pioneer in the digital library movement and began to work in the area of digital preservation.
Smithsonian Libraries and Archives is an institutional archives and library system comprising 21 branch libraries serving the various Smithsonian Institution museums and research centers. The Libraries and Archives serve Smithsonian Institution staff as well as the scholarly community and general public with information and reference support. Its collections number nearly 3 million volumes including 50,000 rare books and manuscripts.
Guy Berthiaume is Librarian and Archivist of Canada Emeritus. A Canadian historian specialized in the study of Classical Antiquity, he served as chair and chief executive officer of Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec from June 22, 2009, to June 21, 2014, and, from June 23, 2014, to August 29, 2019, he served as Librarian and Archivist of Canada.
The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) is an American independent, nonprofit organization. It works with libraries, cultural institutions, and higher learning communities on developing strategies to improve research, teaching, and learning environments. It is based in Alexandria, VA, United States. CLIR is supported primarily by annual dues from its over 180 sponsoring institutions and 190 DLF members, and by foundation grants and individual donations.
Jean Blackwell Hutson was an American librarian, archivist, writer, curator, educator, and later chief of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The Schomburg Center dedicated their Research and Reference Division in honor of Hutson.
Glòria Pérez-Salmerón is the Stichting IFLA Global Libraries Chair from August 30, 2019 and was Director of the National Library of Spain (BNE). She was President of the Spanish Federation of Societies of Archivists, Librarians, Documentalists and Museology (FESABID) from 2014 to 2018 and from 2017 to 2019 President of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA).
Elizabeth W. Stone was an American librarian and educator and president of the American Library Association from 1981 to 1982. In 1988 she was awarded Honorary Membership in the American Library Association. In 1998 she was honored with the Beta Phi Mu Award for distinguished service to education for librarianship.
Elizabeth Yakel is an archivist, researcher, and educator in information science. Yakel is known for work advancing archival practice, the use of primary sources in archives education, studies of data reuse practices, and digital curation. Yakel is the senior associate dean for academic affairs and a professor at the University of Michigan School of Information, where she has been on the faculty since 2000. She is the former coordinator of the Preservation of Information specialization in the Master of Science in Information program and teaches in the Archives and Record Management area. She specializes in digital archives and digital preservation and has developed five such graduate level courses at UM, including "Economics of Sustainable Digital Information" and "Practical Engagement Workshop in Digital Preservation."
Dr. Nancy Y. McGovern is a digital preservation pioneer. She is the 2023 recipient of the Emmet Leahy Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Information and Records Management professions. Dr. McGovern has devoted her career to developing digital records and preservation programs for a series of prominent institutions, translating those experiences into widely-used curriculum and continuing education programs to help organizations and individuals build their capacity to develop sustainable programs to preserve digital content, defining and promulgating standards-based good practice for digital archives and preservation, and engaging in research-based practice to fill gaps in good practice for digital archives and the preservation of them. She has focused on building an international community of practice for digital archives and preservation most recently with the development and promulgation of the Radical Collaboration model for working within and across domains.
Anne R. Kenney was an American librarian and archivist known for her work in digital preservation.
Barbara Spofford Morgan was an American educator, essayist on religion and a specialist in mental testing.
John Y. Cole is an American librarian, historian, and author. He was the founding director of the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress and in 2016 became the first official historian of the Library of Congress.
Julius C. Jefferson Jr. is an American librarian who was president of the American Library Association for the 2020-2021 term. In 2022 President Joe Biden appointed him to the National Museum and Library Services Board which advises the agency on general policies with respect to the duties, powers, and authority of the Institute of Museum and Library Services relating to museum, library, and information services, as well as the annual selection of the recipients of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. Jefferson is additionally a section head of the Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress, and served as the president of the Freedom to Read Foundation from 2013 to 2016.
Tamar Evangelestia-Dougherty is an American librarian and administrator. An archives and special collections expert, Evangelestia-Dougherty was the executive director of the Chicago-based Black Metropolis Research Consortium from 2011 to 2013 and the director of collections and services at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture from 2013 to 2015. She became the first director of the combined Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, the world's largest museum library system, December 6, 2021.
Camille Callison is an Indigenous librarian, archivist, academic, and cultural activist who is a member of the Tsesk iye (Crow) Clan of the Tahltan Nation in what is now known as British Columbia, Canada. She is the University Librarian at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford. Callison is an advocate for the rights of Indigenous peoples and knowledge, particularly as these rights intersect with GLAM institutions. Callison is actively involved across local, national, and international professional associations related to the library and informational needs of Indigenous peoples, including in her role as co-lead of the National Indigenous Knowledge and Language Alliance (NIKLA).
Helen Shenton is Librarian and College Archivist at Trinity College Dublin. She has held that role at the Library of Trinity College Dublin since June 2014, the first woman to do so since the University was founded in 1592. Prior to this she was Executive Director of Harvard Library, a role that saw the amalgamation of services across 73 libraries. Previously, she had 25 years’ experience in the care of renowned collections through positions at the British Library and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
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