To: The NYU Libraries Community

From: NYU President Andrew Hamilton and Provost Katherine E. Fleming

Date: Thursday, April 5, 2018

It gives us great pleasure to announce that H. Austin Booth, Vice Provost for University Libraries at the University at Buffalo, has been appointed as the new Dean of Libraries at New York University. She will begin her assignment as Libraries Dean on July 1, 2018.

At the heart of any great research university is a great library. At NYU, the libraries provide critical support for scholarship, teaching, and learning. They have had to evolve their mission to adapt to a fast-paced landscape that has added the complexities of new technologies in teaching and research, digital publishing, data management, and technical support. So, in selecting a new dean, NYU was looking for someone outstanding—a talented administrator, an innovative and collaborative leader, and a person of great energy, enthusiasm, and drive.

H. Austin Booth was all that and more. She impressed the Search Committee with her collaborative leadership style, her familiarity with the complex issues confronting academic libraries at this time, and her deep experience working with academic departments to build collections. She also stood out for her involvement in curricular redesign and digital learning; her demonstrated effectiveness as a fundraiser; and her experience in driving innovation, meeting the needs of the diverse user community, managing multiple libraries in a large research library system, redesigning library spaces, and forging partnerships across campus.

Austin received her BA in English and Economics from Cornell University in 1984, and received her MLIS from University of California, Berkeley in 1987. She received an MA in English Language and Literature in 1992 and a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies in 1995, both from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Austin has been with the Libraries at Buffalo in increasingly prominent roles since 1997, including Director, Arts & Sciences Libraries and Director of Collections. Previously, Austin worked at San Jose State University, UC Berkeley, and Oakland Public Library.

Active and respected in national circles of research university librarians, Austin serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Association of Research Libraries, and is Chair of the ARL Coordinating Committee. She has served in numerous elected positions in SUNY-wide library directors councils.

Austin is the co-editor (with Mary Flanagan) of both Re: Skin and Reload: Rethinking Women + Cyberculture, and is the author of numerous articles and chapters in her scholarly area and in the field of libraries, including open data, library management, collection development, curriculum-based information literacy, peer review, and archives.

We would like to thank the Dean Search Committee, so ably led by Gigi Dopico, FAS Dean of Humanities and Professor of Spanish & Portuguese Languages and Literature. They took on this task in addition to their regular duties and put in many hours of hard work, and their thoughtfulness and dedication brought us an exceptional candidate.

Finally, we also want to thank Carol Mandel, whose decision to step down we announced almost one year ago. For the past 18 years, Libraries has thrived under her leadership. She did a superb job as dean, always firmly and clearly advocating for the Libraries in ways that visibly benefitted the University as a whole. We thank Carol for her extraordinary leadership and her complete dedication to NYU.

Please join us in congratulating and welcoming Austin to NYU and wishing her well as the new Dean of Libraries.

Dean of Libraries Search Committee

  • Gigi Dopico, Dean for Humanities; Associate Professor of Spanish & Portuguese Languages and Literatures, FAS (Chair)
  • Ulrich Baer, Vice Provost for Faculty and Undergraduate Affairs; Professor of German and Comparative Literature, FAS
  • Virginia Danielson, Director of Library, NYUAD
  • Dennis Di Lorenzo, Harvey J. Stedman Dean, School of Professional Studies
  • David Ellis, Senior Language Lecturer, Expository Writing, FAS
  • David Engel, Maurice Greenberg Professor of Holocaust Studies & Chair, Hebrew and Judaic Studies, and Professor of History, FAS
  • Alicia Estes, Interim Associate Dean, User Services Outreach & Assessment; Associate Curator & Head, Business & Government Information Services, Division of Libraries
  • Carol Morrow, Vice Provost
  • Charlotte Priddle, Associate Curator; Librarian for Printed Books, Fales Library & Special Collections, Division of Libraries
  • Victor Rodwin, Professor of Health Policy and Management, Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
  • Clay Shirky, Vice Provost for Educational Technologies; Associate Professor of Journalism, FAS; and Assistant Arts Professor, Interactive Telecommunications Program, Tisch
  • Mark Siegal, Associate Professor of Biology and Director of Biology Undergraduate Studies, FAS
  • Marita Sturken, Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication, Steinhardt; Member, Faculty Advisory Board for NYU Press
  • Kara Whatley, Associate Curator; Head, Science & Engineering, Division of Libraries
  • Enrique Yanez, Assistant Dean, Human Resources, Division of Libraries
  • Tyler Zoanni, Doctoral Student, Anthropology, GSAS