WOODRUFF LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES APPOINTS NEW LIBRARY LEADER

CONTACT: Dr. Elaine Sloan
PHONE: 404-978-2018
EMAIL: sloan@auctr.edu

August 17, 2004 -The Robert W. Woodruff Library Board of Trustees has appointed Loretta Parham to the position of director/chief executive officer. Mrs. Parham has served as the University Librarian and Director of the Harvey Library at Hampton University in Virginia since 1998. She will assume her new role at Woodruff beginning November 1, 2004.

Mrs. Parham has held a number of positions of increasing responsibility in library services, higher education and nonprofit organizations. Her experience includes serving as Deputy Director of the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for six years; District Chief of the Chicago Public Library (CPL) for three years; and related positions at CPL for 14-plus years, where she managed the services and personnel for 20 diverse branch agencies.

Mrs. Parham has been active in the library profession. She has served as chairperson for several professional boards and committees including the Board of Directors of the Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET), chair and founder of the Historically Black College & University (HBCU) Library Alliance, a member of the Editorial Board for College & Research Libraries, a peer review scholarly journal of the Association of Colleges and Research Libraries, and the Appalachian College Association Central Library Council.

She holds a Master of Library Science degree from the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor and a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Mrs. Parham is an alumna of the Frye Institute and the Harvard Leadership Institute, and was selected as a Mover & Shaker for 2004 by Library Journal.

In making the announcement, Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, chairperson of the Library Board of Trustees and Spelman College president, stated: “Mrs. Parham’s considerable administrative experience, knowledge of key strategies for effective service delivery, enthusiasm for the mission of the Robert W. Woodruff Library and the institutions it serves and personal style all combine to make her an outstanding choice for this critically important leadership position.”

I am delighted to join The Woodruff Library and the Atlanta University Center community. I look forward to this important opportunity to work with the AUC academic community and the library staff to make Woodruff Library the “First Choice” for all students, faculty and staff,” says Mrs. Parham.

For the past two years, the Library has undergone a number of changes. The Library recently completed a strategic plan and service initiative, Project First Choice, in order to reach the library’s new vision, “to reflect the excellence of our member institutions by being the first choice for our users in their search for information”.

"Interim Library Director/CEO Dr. Elaine Sloan, retired Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian of Columbia University, was appointed in 2002 to lead the strategic transition and management of the Library, including the changes in governance, financing, planning and execution of the improved service strategy. She will remain in the position through the transition period.

The Library, constructed in 1982, is a three-level structure of more than 220,000 square feet. The Library holds more than 370,000 volumes; subscribes to more than 1,428 serials; possesses 54,000 bound periodicals; 860,000 microforms and a growing number of electronic resources. The Archives and Special Collections hold extensive collections on the African American experience. They include the John Henrik Clarke Africana and African American Collection, and the Henry P. Slaughter and Countee Cullen Memorial Collection of graphic and performing arts. For more information on the Woodruff Library call 404.978.2000 or visit www.auctr.edu/index.html.