Unifying Harvard’s Libraries

After “exhaustive analysis,” an implementation work group of the Task Force on University Libraries has recommended creating a coordinated management structure for the entire University library system (see “Libraries on the Edge,” [6] January-February 2010, page 41). A new position, executive director of the University library, will report to a board of directors, chaired by Provost Steven Hyman, comprising Pforzheimer University Professor Robert Darnton, currently director of the Harvard University Library, and deans (or their designates) and faculty members from Harvard’s schools. This new administrative structure seeks to preserve local autonomy--by serving scholarly interests within specialized areas of study such as business or medicine--while facilitating the “global strategic, administrative, and business processes” of the library system as a whole.