UPDATED: Feb. 8, 2015 at 8:59 p.m.

Syracuse University’s search committee for the dean of libraries and university librarian sought input from participants at an open forum Friday afternoon at Bird Library.

Seven members from the committee and 12 others participated in the forum.

Jeffery Stanton, School of Information Studies interim dean and search committee chair, provided a brief overview of the search process to the participants, which included faculty members and students. The participants then engaged in extensive discussions on leadership skills and desired qualifications needed for candidates as well as the future of academic libraries at research universities.

Stanton said he is impressed by the discussions that took place during the forum.

“My big takeaway is how deeply the campus community cares about the libraries,” Stanton said. “Students, faculty and staff all have a very important stake in how well the library works on the campus.”

Stanton added that the forum was an important step in the selection process.

“It is very beneficial to our process of creating a position profile that will attract the right kind of candidate to come to Syracuse University.”

Patricia Giles, a Ph.D. student and a library technician at Bird Library, said she is satisfied with the committee’s effort to reach faculty and students for their feedback.

“I would say the committee has done an excellent job in inviting people to take part in having some input,” Giles said.

Giles said she wants a dean who is committed to making the library central to the mission of the university, specifically one who has different management skills and more “open and transparent communication style” among staff members and faculty in departments.

The search committee, which included SU faculty, staff and students, was formed at the end of last semester at the request of Eric Spina, SU’s former vice chancellor and provost. Liz Liddy, SU’s current provost, has been involved in the committee since early January to oversee the processes for the selection.

The committee is expecting to screen candidates and publish the process description in various online and print venues, such as The Chronicle of Higher Education. After the committee picks the three finalists, they will visit the SU campus and talk with faculty members and students by April. Following the committee’s recommendation, Liddy will announce the new dean around July.

David Lankes, a professor who teaches library and information science and library technology at the iSchool, said he attended the forum to observe the selection procedure.

“Libraries are going to be very important to the university moving forward,” Lankes said.

Lankes said he hopes the new dean will be willing to work with staff members and faculty members across campus. He said the dean’s job is one that doesn’t just buy books, but rather looks at the resources available and re-envisions how an academic library should be moving forward. The library should be more flexible in its role under the new dean, Lankes said.

“The old metaphor for a library was that it was ‘the heart of the campus,’ and I don’t think it is true anymore because campus is much more distributed and the services that library can provide is also much more distributed,” Lankes said.

Said Lankes: “I hope that the future of this library is that sort of connective tissue, that circulatory system that can get good ideas around to all faculty and all the different department and staff.”

Published on February 6, 2015 at 7:04 pm

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