Beverly P. Lynch

Beverly P. Lynch is an American scholar, professor, librarian, and administrator. She was president of the American Library Association from 1985 to 1986. ^[1] She is currently Professor Emerita at the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies. ^[2]

• North Dakota State University
• University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
• University of Wisconsin–Madison

Beverly P. Lynch
President of the American Library Association
In office 1985–1986
Occupation	Librarian

Education

Lynch earned a Bachelor of Science degree with majors in English and music from North Dakota State University, a Masters of Science degree in library sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. ^{[1] [3]}

Career

Lynch was executive director of the Association of College and Research Libraries from 1972 to 1977. She was the university librarian at the University of Illinois at Chicago from 1977 to 1989. ^[1]

In 1989 Lynch was appointed dean of the University of California Los Angeles UCLA School of Education and Information Studies. ^[1] She also directed the UCLA Senior Fellows program from 1991 to 2017, one of the most impactful professional development programs in academic librarianship. ^{[4] [5]}

From 2000 to 2001 she took leave from UCLA to lead the Center for Research Libraries. ^[6]

Returning to UCLA she became the first director of UCLA's California Rare Book School. ^[7]

She served as president of the American Library Association from 1985 to 1986. ^[1] Her papers are held at the American Library Association Archives. ^[8]

Awards and legacy

Lynch was known for developing and publishing long-term strategies for librarian education, ^[9] as well as writing about change management in academic libraries and libraries as organizations. ^{[10] [11] [12]}

In 1987, she was honored as a distinguished alumna by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She received a similar honor in 2009 from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. ^[3]

Lynch won the highest honors from the American Library Association. She was awarded the Joseph W. Lippincott Award in 2009, Melvil Dewey Medal in 2012 ^[3] and the Beta Phi Mu Award for distinguished service to education for librarianship education in 2015. ^[13]

Selected publications

• Galvin, Thomas J.; Lynch, Beverly P., eds. (1982). Priorities for Academic Libraries. Jossey-Bass.
• Lynch, Beverly P., ed. (1985). Management Strategies for Libraries: A Basic Reader. Neal-Schuman.
• Lynch, Beverly P. (1989). The Academic Library in Transition: Planning for the 1990s. Neal-Schuman.
• Lynch, Beverly P., ed. (1995). Information Technology and the Remaking of the University Library. Jossey-Bass.

References

1. "Lynch, Beverly P. (1936-) - The American Library Association Archives". archives.library.illinois.edu.
2. Lynch, Beverly P. "Beverly Lynch – Professor Emerita, Department of Information Studies". UCLA School of Education & Information Studies. University of California, Los Angeles. Retrieved October 27, 2025.
3. "Beverly Lynch Awarded Melvil Dewey Medal by the American Library Association - UCLA GSE&IS Ampersand". ampersand.gseis.ucla.edu.
4. Setzer, Dawn (June 21, 2017). "Library professional development program at UCLA welcomes new leader, new partners". UCLA Newsroom. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
5. Lynch, Beverly P. 1994. “Taking on the Issues in a Changing Environment: The Senior Fellows Program.” Journal of Library Administration 20 (2): 5–15.
6. Building Bridges: Annual Report 2000-2001. Center for Research Libraries. 2001.
7. Albanese, Andrew. 2006. “UCLA To Launch Rare Book School.” Library Journal 131 (3): 18–20.
8. Beverly P. Lynch Papers, 1973-2011. American Library Association Archives.
9. Lynch, Beverly P.(2008) "Library Education: Its Past, Its Present, Its Future," Library Trends 56, no. 4 : 931–53.
10. Lynch, Beverly P. (June 17, 2015). "Beverly Lynch is honored with the 2015 Beta Phi Mu Award". UCLA Newsroom. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
11. Yang, Wenxiang; Lynch, Beverly P. (June 1, 2006). "On Knowledge Management and the Role of the Library in the Process of Knowledge Management". Chinese Librarianship: an International Electronic Journal. 21. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
12. Lynch, Beverly P. (1982). "Libraries as Bureaucracies". In McClure, Charles R.; Samuels, Alan R. (eds.). Strategies for Library Administration: Concepts and Approaches. Libraries Unlimited.
13. Dr. Beverly Lynch wins Beta Phi Mu Award. American Library Association, 2015.

Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by E. J. Josey	President of the American Library Association 1985–1986	Succeeded by Regina Minudri