In the 21st century, the Penn Libraries are not just rooms with stacks of books. They are the home of limitless potential for fostering knowledge through partnership and collaboration. And their future is being guided by devoted academic leaders who are finding innovative new ways to share information and resources with inquiring minds around the world.
Constantia Constantinou took the helm of the Penn Libraries as H. Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and Director in July 2018. During her first year on the job, she focused on building an understanding of the University’s 14 libraries and their assets, strengths, and priorities. Guidance came from the Penn community and the Libraries’ invaluable staff, who shared their own ideas and aspirations with their new Director during a series of town hall meetings.
Those meetings played a major role in the formation of a five-year strategic plan, expected in November, which will outline the Penn Libraries’ mission and goals for the years to come.
Constantinou is already capitalizing on Penn’s broad array of unique resources to enact change. Her vision emphasizes key ideas that maximize the Libraries’ potential to build and disseminate knowledge.
Collaboration
Constantinou has witnessed first-hand the power of partnership, undertaking the challenging task of forging relationships in her native Cyprus between Greek and Turkish Cypriot librarians. New partnerships at Penn, such as a recent collaboration with the Athenaeum of Philadelphia, promise to extend the Penn Libraries’ reach and make its assets more widely accessible.
Innovation
The tools of the modern age represent both urgency and opportunity in Constantinou’s world. As irreplaceable objects and records of cultural heritage fall victim to global conflict, she recognizes the responsibility of the librarian as a steward of such knowledge. To that end, she is placing emphasis on digitizing the Penn Libraries’ unique assets, and enabling staff whose work advances this priority. Constantinou recently named William Noel, a world leader in the digitization of ancient materials, as the Libraries’ new Associate Vice Provost for Special Collections & External Strategic Partnerships—a role in which Noel will build and nurture relationships with galleries, archives, libraries and museums across the globe.
Growth
Opportunity for expansion abounds for the Libraries. Penn’s reputation positions the University as an ideal home to a growing body of scholarly resources, and an equally exceptional setting for their study. In looking to the future, Constantinou is working closely with donors who can contribute to the tangible collections housed at Penn—which will also be digitized—as well as laying the groundwork for improvements in infrastructure that will optimize the learning experience for Penn students and faculty.
On October 16, Constantinou will serve as moderator at Penn to You Chicago: Unpacking Our Digital World, a regional event that invites Penn alumni, parents, and friends to hear from three brilliant Penn faculty about their innovative work driven by data and digital analytics. Among them is William Noel, who will speak about his work using technology to share Penn’s resources with the world. Click here to find out more about the program and to register.
Read more about Constantia Constantinou in this article from Penn Today.
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