Sarah M. Pritchard

Last updated
Sarah M. Pritchard
Sarah M. Pritchard 2001.jpg
Education University of Maryland
University of Wisconsin-Madison MA French Literature); MA Library and Information Science
Occupation(s)
  • Librarian, scholar, educator

Sarah M. Pritchard is an American academic librarian known for her contributions to research library governance, women's studies and the future of digital libraries. [1]

Contents

Education and career

Pritchard has held leadership positions in academic institutions, influencing library administration, digital initiatives, and scholarly research. Her expertise encompasses diverse areas, including women studies, feminism, collection development, technology integration, scholarly communication, and international library partnerships. She has made significant contributions to diversity and inclusion within the academic and research library field. [2]

In 1988 she was selected for the Council on Library Resources’ Academic Library Management Intern program and then served as Associate Executive Director (1990–1992) of the Association of Research Libraries. [3]

In 1992 she was appointed Director of Libraries at Smith College where she served until 1999. [4]

From 1999 to 2006 Pritchard was University Librarian at the University of California-Santa Barbara, overseeing library services, collections, digital resources, capital projects, fundraising and consortial initiatives.

In 2006 Pritchard was appointed Charles Deering McCormick University Librarian and Dean of Libraries at Northwestern University [5] [6] She retired in 2023. Accomplishments over her tenure included expanding the collections to over 7 million items, developing a 20-year strategic space plan, construction of a high-density climate controlled shelving facility, transformation of the Mudd Library building, establishing positions for digital humanities and data management, new collaborations with other campus entities such as the Block Museum of Art, overseeing an improved business model for the University Press, and formally confirming the faculty status of librarians. [7] [8]

Professional associations and editing

She also served on the ALA Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship, and was chair, Women's Studies Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries. [9] She served on the Task Force that produced A Women’s Thesaurus [10]

In 2003, the Governor of California, Gray Davis, appointed Pritchard as a member of the Library of California Board. [11]

Pritchard was the compiler of the Association of Research Libraries publications, ARL Statistics (1989–91) and the ARL Salary Survey (1990–91). [12]

Pritchard was founding board member of portal – Libraries and the Academy published by the Johns Hopkins University Press and editor from 2009-2014. [13]

She served on the Board of the Center for Research Libraries from 2017-2020. [14]

Pritchard has been invited to present her research at professional conferences in Europe, Asia and South America, [15] [16] [17] and presented the program, “Libraries and the Persistence of Knowledge,” as the George Carlington Simmons Lecture at the University of the Southern Caribbean in 2018.

She served on the Association of Research Libraries Board of Directors from 2019-2022. [18]

She was a founding director of the Chicago Collections Consortium an organization of libraries, museums, historical societies, and other cultural heritage organizations collaborating to preserve and promote the history of the Chicago region. and served on its Board for over 10 years, including three as the chair. [19]

Honors and awards

Selected publications

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References

  1. Library leaders on digital libraries and the future of the research library. ACM/IEEE Joint Conference on Digital Libraries. June 2004.
  2. Sarah Pritchard. Senior Librarian. Educause
  3. "Sarah Pritchard Chosen for CLR Intern Program." Library of Congress Information Bulletin 47 (May 1988):221.
  4. In August, ALA Council Member Sarah M. Pritchard Becomes Director of Libraries at Smith College, Northampton, Mass.” 1992. American Libraries 23 (July): 584.
  5. Galloway, Ann-Christe. People in the News. College & Research Libraries News, [S.l.], v. 67, n. 5, p. 326-327, May 2006.Date accessed: 08 apr. 2024. doi:https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.67.5.7630.
  6. Poynder, Richard. The Changing Face of Academic Presses: interview with Sarah Pritchard by Richard Poynder". Information Today 27:6 (June 2010), p. 44, 48, 50
  7. “Sarah Pritchard: “Dean’s accomplishments forge the world-class research hub this University deserves.” Footnotes: Northwestern University Library. Spring, 2022:2-7
  8. Dean of Libraries Sarah Pritchard plans to retire in 2022 Longtime dean led transformation of library services Northwestern Now, October 13, 2021.
  9. Pritchard, S. M. (1989). "The impact of feminism on women in the profession." Library Journal, 114(13), 76–77.
  10. Capek, Mary Ellen, ed. A Women’s Thesaurus: An Index of Language Used to Describe and Locate Information By and About Women. NY: Harper and Row, 1987.
  11. Governor Gray Davis Digital Library. Governor Davis names members to the Library of California Board (January 14, 2003).
  12. Pritchard, Sarah M. “New Directions for ARL Statistics,” ARL Newsletter 161 (March, 1992): 1-5.
  13. Lowry, Charles. “Passing the Baton,” portal: Libraries and the Academy, v. 4, no. 1 (January 2004), p. vii – viii. Project MUSE, https://doi.org/10.1353/pla.2004.0014.
  14. Center for Research Libraries. New 2017 CRL Board Members and Officers (April 27, 2017).
  15. “The Alexandria Digital Library: Research to Production and Beyond.” With Larry Carver and David Valentine. Proceedings, Digital Library: Advance the Efficiency of Knowledge Utilization. Beijing, China, Scientific and Technical Documents Publishing House, September 2004.
  16. “Models for Program Development in Regional Library Systems.” In Perspectives in Higher Education Reform; based on the Second Annual Conference of the Alliance of Universities for Democracy, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, November 3–6, 1991, pp. 55-70. Knoxville: East European Center, University of Tennessee, 1992.
  17. “Planning Digital Libraries: Definitions and Decisions.” [conference on] The Challenges of Digital Libraries, Getulio Vargas Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, August 21, 2014. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10438/18131 (accessed April 10, 2024).
  18. Price, Gary. Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Board of Directors 2019–2020 Elected by ARL Membership. Infodocket (September 26, 2019).
  19. Free, David (December 2015). "Chicago Collections launches ExploreChicago Collections digital portal". College & Research Libraries News. 76 (11): 574–577. doi: 10.5860/crln.76.11.9410 . Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  20. They won! And did it ALA's way" American Libraries (Vol. 28, Issue 8)
  21. Outstanding Alumna, 1997.Alumna/Alumnus Award Winners. University of Wisconsin School of Library and Information Studies,
  22. "ACRL honors the 2001 award winners" ACRL College & Research Libraries News April, 2001.
  23. Pritchard Honored with 2022 Deering Family Award. Footnotes: Northwestern University Library. Spring, 2022:6.