Library leadership update

The retirement of Brenda Johnson, Library Director and University Librarian, was announced earlier this year. The University is in the advanced stages of an international search to identify her successor. Elisabeth Long, Associate University Librarian for Information Technology and Digital Scholarship, has agreed to serve as Interim Library Director and University Librarian until a permanent appointment is in place.

Long began her career at the Library in 1998 and has served as Associate University Librarian for Information Technology and Digital Scholarship since 2016. In this role Long is part of the Library’s senior leadership team, providing Library-wide budget planning, assessment, and creative management, promoting strategic directions that ensure the Library is a center of innovation, and supporting the University’s strategic focus of fostering inquiry and impact. In 2018, Long was accepted into the highly competitive Association of Research Libraries Leadership Fellows Program, which develops the next generation of senior library and archival leaders. Within the University, Long has served on faculty-chaired committees, including the Digital Humanities Oversight Committee and Digital Media Archive Committee, and is a board member of the IT Leadership Council.

Johnson will remain in her current position until November 30, and Long will assume her interim role on December 1. Johnson will serve as Senior Advisor to the Provost for the Library through the transition to a new permanent Library leader.