Harvard appoints Martha Whitehead librarian

A new leader for the library system

Martha Whitehead

Courtesy of Harvard University

Martha Whitehead, librarian of Queen’s University in Ontario since 2011 and vice provost there since 2014, has been appointed Harvard University librarian, vice president for the Harvard Library, and Larsen librarian for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, effective in June. She succeeds Sarah Thomas, who retired at the end of 2018, concluding five years of service.

Provost Alan Garber, who made the announcement, said in the University news release, “The library is one of Harvard’s greatest jewels. Martha recognizes that it is a uniquely valuable resource to our students, researchers, other members of the Harvard community, and to the world. She is singularly qualified to take this institution to the next level.”

According to the release, Whitehead fostered digital-research infrastructure, supported new services in scholarly publishing and copyright advising, and led the planning and implementation of Portage, a shared national library-based data-management network for research. At Harvard, she will lead more than two dozen libraries, which have more than 700 staff members. She said:

I am thrilled to be joining Harvard, where the library and the University’s mission are so interwoven, and where there is such a rich legacy to build upon. I look forward to stewarding Harvard’s extraordinary collections, as well as helping the library play a critical role in the global digital landscape. I’m honored to be entrusted with leading the library forward during this complex period in the information realm.

Read the University announcement here.

 

Read more articles by John S. Rosenberg

You might also like

What of the Humble Pencil?

Review: At the Harvard Art Museums’ new exhibit, drawing takes center stage

Harvard Research Funding Will Resume, Government Signals

Notices of grant reinstatements follow a court ruling, but the Trump administration could still appeal. 

At Harvard College Convocation, an Emphasis on Open-Mindedness

Garber, other leaders sidestep politics but welcome international students.

Most popular

How MAGA Went Mainstream at Harvard

Trump, TikTok, and the pandemic are reshaping Gen Z politics.

Irna Phillips, soap opera’s single mother, by Lynn Liccardo

Brief life of soap opera’s single mother: 1901-1973

Free Speech, the Bomb—and Donald Trump

A Harvard cardiologist on the unlikely alliances that shaped a global movement to prevent nuclear war

Explore More From Current Issue

Two people moving large abstract painting with blue V-shaped design in museum courtyard.

A Harvard Art Museums Painting Gets a Bath

Water and sunlight help restore a modern American classic.

Nineteenth-century prison ruins with brick guardhouse surrounded by forest.

This Connecticut Mine Was Once a Prison

The underground Old New-Gate Prison quickly became “a school for crime.”

Catherine Zipf smiling, wearing striped shirt and dark sweater outdoors.

Preserving the History of Jim Crow Era Safe Havens

Architectural historian Catherine Zipf is building a database of Green Book sites.