Dean and Director of Libraries records
Collection
Identifier: UA306
The records include correspondence, annual reports, and statistical data containing information relating to library staff and faculty, Georgia Tech colleges and schools, library associations and vendors, and other administrative matters concerning the operation of the Georgia Tech Library and Information Center.
(25 document cases)
Some files are restricted for reasons of privacy and/or confidentiality. One file, titled "Strategic planning retreat," contains a floppy disk that may not be accessible to researchers.
Permission to publish materials from this collection must be obtained from the Head of Archives and Special Collections.
10 Linear Feet
The records in this collection primarily document the administration of the library during the last years of Miriam A. Drake's and the first years of Richard W. Meyer's service as Dean and Director of Libraries. The records include correspondence and memoranda, annual reports, printed materials, spreadsheets and other data, and general administrative materials concerning the operation of the Library and Information Center. Information relating to planning, particularly strategic planning, accreditation, budget, library statistics, library committees and projects, and personnel, including promotion and reappointment, are among the issues covered in the records. Materials relating to centers and schools within Georgia Tech, such as Aerospace Engineering and the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (CETL), also form part of the collection. Also prominent in the records are files on national and regional library associations such as the Atlanta Regional Consortium for Higher Education (ARCHE) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), as well as library vendors like JSTOR and BRS Software Products.
The Dean and Director of Libraries at the Georgia Institute of Technology supervises the operation of the Library and Information Center. Originally, the person who held the position had the title of Librarian; the title was changed in 1953 to Director of Libraries. The position reports to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Georgia Tech.
The first library building on the Georgia Tech campus, the Carnegie Library, was constructed in 1906-1907. Laura Hammond served as Librarian during the building's construction, and continued as Librarian until her retirement in 1925. Following Hammond's retirement, Frances Newman took over the position for two years. Newman was succeeded by Dorothy M. Crosland, who served in the position from 1927 until her retirement in 1971.
Due to the growth in the number of books, technical journals, and rare items during the 1930s and 1940s through the collecting efforts of Dorothy Crosland, the need for a new library became critical. The new library, named for its chief donor, S. Price Gilbert, was dedicated on November 21, 1953. The graduate addition (later named the Crosland Tower in honor of Dorothy Crosland) was completed in 1969.
Edward Graham Roberts succeeded Crosland as Director of Libraries and served in the position until 1984. After Roberts' departure, Miriam A. Drake, formerly the Assistant Director for Library Support Services at Purdue University, assumed the position. Drake directed a period of rapid change, overseeing library automation, the implementation of full-text information systems, and the planning and implementation of Georgia Tech Electronic Library (GTEL).
Drake's initial work on digital libraries and multimedia development at the Georgia Tech Library was greatly expanded by her successor, Richard W. Meyer. Meyer, who took over as Dean and Director of Libraries following Drake's retirement in 2001, directed numerous innovations in the Library, including the establishment of the Digital Initiatives department, the foundation of Georgia Tech's institutional repository, and the remodelling of the Library East and West Commons on the ground floor of the library building.
Folders are arranged alphabetically, by folder title.
A print copy of this finding aid is available in the Georgia Tech Archives reading room.
Transfer to the Archives, 2006 (accession number 2006.191).
Additions to this collection are expected.
Two linear feet of manuscript material from this collection have been transferred to Records Management, Georgia Institute of Technology (RM number: 2007.104). Photographs have been removed and will be processed separately as VAUA306.
(25 document cases)
Chanel Rogers and Christine de Catanzaro processed these records in June 2007.
Part of the Archives and Special Collections, Library, Georgia Institute of Technology Repository