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June
9, 1997
Media
only: Public Information Officer (202)786-2875
Dr.
Nancy E. Gwinn Named Director of Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Nancy
E. Gwinn has been appointed Director of the Smithsonian Institution
Libraries, a
17-branch system with more than one million volumes and facilities
in the Republic of
Panama, New York City and Washington.
Prior
to her appointment, Gwinn served as the Libraries' assistant director
for
collections management. On July 20, 1997, she will succeed Barbara
J. Smith, who is
retiring. Gwinn was selected by Smithsonian Provost J. Dennis O'Connor,
following a
six-month search.
"The
management experience Nancy Gwinn has gained at the Smithsonian
Libraries,
along with her leadership and contributions to the national library
community, will serve
the Smithsonian community at large and its libraries in particular
very well in the coming
years," O'Connor said. "She will be building on the strong
foundation and achievements
that marked Barbara Smith's term as director."
Gwinn
is the author of the widely quoted history, "The Smithsonian
Institution Libraries: A Foot in Three Camps."
She is recognized for her leadership in film-based preservation
of library resources, the application of electronic
information technologies and building collaborations and partnerships
in collections development and preservation. At
the Smithsonian, Gwinn's achievements include development of the
Libraries' digital products, building collections,
fundraising, preservation efforts and renovation of the Dibner Library
of the History of Science and Technology.
She
was named assistant director for collections management in 1984.
Before joining the Smithsonian, she worked at
the Library of Congress, the Council on Library Resources and the
Research Libraries Group. A Fulbright scholar,
she holds a doctorate in American Civilization from George Washington
University, and AMLS degree in Library
Science from the University of Michigan, and an undergraduate degree
from the university of Wyoming.
Gwinn
served on advisory committees of the Association of Research Libraries
and the American Library Association
and as president of the District of Columbia Library Association
and the Library of Congress' Professional
Association.
The
Smithsonian Institution Libraries is a member of the Association
of Research Libraries, the Chesapeake
Information and Research Alliance, and is a special member of the
Research Libraries Group.
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