The reach of a library system is impossible to measure, especially one as innovative and expansive as the Penn Libraries. The 2019-2020 academic year included 8.4 million digital article views, and over 46,000 streaming video plays through the Libraries system. Now, the recently announced Libraries five-year strategic plan gives modern scholars, academics in training, and students even more to look forward to when they return to campus. The plan encompasses deep and distinctive collections, increased access to resources and scholarly content, rooms designed for collaborative learning, along with workshops and subject-expert librarians available either in-person or just a click away.
In the spring of 2020, the Penn Libraries provided an unprecedented increase in digital services and virtual access to resources, which has proven critical in supporting faculty and students alike during the COVID-19 pandemic. While this undertaking was significantly expedited when Penn shifted to remote teaching and learning, it had already been planned as an essential component for the Libraries’ strategic growth and vision for the future. To support that growth, the Libraries is attracting the best and brightest talent the world over to build dynamic resources and tools that inspire critical inquiry and creative expression. A recent gift from Andrew Snyder, W’92, a Libraries board member, and his sister, Jill Granader, C’89, PAR’19, named the inaugural position of Assistant University Librarian for Research Data and Digital Scholarship.
“Investing in innovative, named positions attracts the best minds and creative talent to work at the Penn Libraries and fuels the academic output of Penn as a whole,” said Constantia Constantinou, the H. Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and Director of the Penn Libraries. “It’s crucial that we have the deep expertise necessary to support our world-renowned faculty and brilliant students.”
Nicky Agate, the Snyder-Granader Assistant University Librarian for Research Data and Digital Scholarship, and her team support faculty and students whose research makes intensive use of data or who want to engage with digital and computational methods and tools, including text and data mining, data visualization, and mapping and spatial analysis.
Agate, who is leading the planning to build a new Center for Research Data and Digital Scholarship, views the Libraries as an all-important access point for information, whether large data sets, University collections like those on Marian Anderson and Benjamin Franklin, or more modern forms of publishing, such as podcasts.
“The Libraries are important to the University for so many reasons,” said Agate. “When I arrived, I could feel the spirit of innovation and experimentation everywhere.”
An important part of the Penn Libraries’ mission is to engage and enrich the global academic community, while also serving the Penn community at home. In order to have such an expansive impact on teaching and learning outcomes, exceptional leadership is needed to drive the effort. Leading the charge towards 21st century success at the Penn Libraries are donors like Snyder and Granader, Vice Provost Constantia Constantinou, esteemed experts like Agate, and a willing Penn community that understands the role of the Libraries’ long-term strategic vision to set the standard for a modern library system.
