Five months after the College's head librarian resigned his post, Dartmouth is still searching for a replacement.
The search for a new Dean of Libraries will continue through the summer and into the fall as a committee prepares to meet in Boston this week to conduct preliminary interviews with candidates.
The search process began after former Dean Richard Lucier resigned from his three-year post on Jan. 30 of this year. Lucier's deputy librarian, John Crane, has served as interim dean since Lucier's departure.
Search committee chair Katharine Conley said that some 50 candidates have applied for the position. Of these, nine will be interviewed for one hour each in Boston this weekend. The committee began reviewing applications on April 15 and will continue to do so until the position is filled. Conley said an announcement is not expected before the middle of the fall term.
Some have expressed concern that the search process has lasted too long, considering that Lucier announced his intention to step down last September. Conley insisted that the process is "right on track," and that the process was necessarily slow. She called the volume of applications healthy, given the particular requirements of the job.
"The library world's not huge," Conley said, but noted that the isolated nature of Hanover and Dartmouth's tech-heavy library system have not limited interest in the position.
The search committee, comprised of 10 members including representatives from the graduate schools and one undergraduate student, has solicited applications through a variety of local and national outlets and is not considering internal candidates, according to Crane. The job description released for the position describes a search for an energetic leader sensitive to a traditional academic library as well as "innovations and challenges brought to it by rapidly emerging information technologies."
Lucier served as Dean of Libraries throughout the transition of the Baker Library to the Baker-Berry complex and implemented the Digital Library, which went online two years ago. The most visible controversy during his tenure was Lucier's decision to merge the Sherman Art Library into the Berry complex, as well as overseeing the loss of autonomy for the Sanborn English Library, which now serves as a reading room within Baker-Berry.
The Dean of Libraries oversees an annual budget of nearly $20 million and a staff of 200. Chief responsibilities include supporting the research and scholarship of Dartmouth faculty, students, and staff, aiding in the recruitment and retention of new staff and tending to the development of collections and services. The Dean reports to College Provost Barry Scherr and is a member of the Provost's Academic Council.
Scherr wants to see the new dean as "someone who can articulate the views of the library in the next two decades." He articulated the ideal candidate as someone who is "particularly good at internal management" and "works well with academic departments."
