New Dean of University Libraries

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Adriene Lim as Dean of the Libraries effective August 19, 2019. 

As the new leader of the University of Maryland Libraries, Dr. Lim will work with the campus to develop and implement a vision and strategic plan for moving our libraries to a new level of efficiency and service to the campus. She will work to creatively use new technologies to manage the library more efficiently and effectively; and partner with the office of research to develop a robust data archiving system. Her role includes actively collaborating with deans, the Vice President for Information Technology, the Teaching and Learning Transformation Center, and other university partners to optimize campus learning resources. She will also be working closely with the Provost’s office to optimize library space utilization; proactively managing teams on new initiatives; while also working to maximize the benefits of the university’s membership in the Big10 Academic Alliance.

Dr. Lim currently serves as the Dean of Libraries and Philip H. Knight Chair at the University of Oregon, where she has strategically led a complex library operation, revitalizing systems, workflows, technologies and operations. In this role, Lim leads and provides hands-on work for technology-intensive library operations; developing and advancing librarians and library workers while improving numerous service models, policies, programs and collections. She has also been a leader in fundraising initiatives and partnered with others on a major building renovation and space- repurposing projects. 

Dr. Lim has over 20 years of extensive leadership and management experience, and currently serves on the Board for the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Wayne State University, a Master of Library and Information Science degree from Wayne State University, and a Ph.D in Library and Information Science, from Simmons University. 

President Loh and I want to take this opportunity not only to say how enthusiastic we are about the future of the Libraries under Dr. Lim’s leadership, but also to thank Dr. Babak Hamidzadeh for his outstanding service to the University as interim dean. We are very grateful for his dedicated work and leadership.

I also want to thank the search committee, chaired by Dean Keith Marzullo, College of Information Studies, and to our friends at Isaacson Miller for the excellent job done conducting this search.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Lim to Maryland and to her new role as Dean.

Sincerely,

Mary Ann Rankin, Ph.D.