ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell University has named Elaine L. Westbrooks as its next university librarian, starting July 1. Cornell Provost Michael Kotlikoff appointed, and the Cornell Board of Trustees approved, Westbrooks as the Carl A. Kroch University Librarian, according to a news release on the Cornell Chronicle website. Westbrooks is currently vice provost and university […]
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ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell University has named Elaine L. Westbrooks as its next university librarian, starting July 1.
Cornell Provost Michael Kotlikoff appointed, and the Cornell Board of Trustees approved, Westbrooks as the Carl A. Kroch University Librarian, according to a news release on the Cornell Chronicle website. Westbrooks is currently vice provost and university librarian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
This marks a return to Cornell for Westbrooks, who previously worked at the university as a metadata librarian for eight years.
“Elaine has the knowledge, experience, and passion to ensure that a world-class research university with a global reach like Cornell has the library it depends on,” Kotlikoff contended. “Under her leadership, Cornell University Library and Cornell University Press will continue to thrive in the digital age.”
In her role at the University of North Carolina, Westbrooks oversees a library system that includes 10 libraries, nearly 10 million volumes, and 300 librarians, archivists, and staff members.
“I’m passionate about creating a better world,” she said. “I’m passionate about the important role that libraries play in democracy, and the important roles that the library plays in advancing the mission of a university like Cornell: a land-grant, an Ivy, a New York state school, all the special things about Cornell; you have to have a great library. And a library can’t be great if it’s not truly committed to being the best library it can be for everybody.”
At Cornell, Westbrooks plans to focus on ensuring that the library has and can retain a skilled, knowledgeable workforce that is diverse and inclusive. She also aims to ensure the library continues in this digital age to get information and primary resources into the hands of people who need them the most — researchers, students, and citizens.
Westbrooks succeeds Gerald R. Beasley, Cornell’s 12th university librarian, who announced in April 2021 that he would not seek to renew his five-year term, which ends July 31. During the transition, Beasley has been focused on his research efforts on the changing roles of academic libraries, and Senior Vice Provost Judy Appleton has overseen library operations.
The university librarian at Cornell is the chief academic and administrative officer for the library and the press, overseeing a combined budget of about $69 million and about 350 staff members. Cornell University Library houses more than 8 million volumes, as well as millions of electronic resources in 20 constituent libraries in Ithaca and New York City.
Westbrook’s experience
Westbrooks served as metadata librarian, then senior metadata librarian at Cornell’s Albert R. Mann Library from 2000-2006. She then led metadata services for Cornell University Library until 2008. Westbrooks went on to hold leadership positions at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and the University of Michigan, before moving onto North Carolina in 2017.
Westbrooks holds a bachelor’s degree in linguistics and a master’s degree in library and information science from University of Pittsburgh. Westbrooks is the co-editor of three books: “Metadata in Practice” with Diane Hillmann, “Metadata and Digital Collections: A Festschrift in Honor of Tom Turner” with Keith Jenkins, and “Academic Library Management: Case Studies” with Tammy Nickelson Dearie and Michael Meth.