New York University President L.Jay Oliva announced today the appointment of Carol A. Mandel as the new Dean of Libraries. Mandel is currently the Deputy University Librarian at Columbia University. She will assume her new post effective mid-April.
Mandel will assume the position vacated by Dean Carlton Rochell, who is retiring after over 22 years as Dean of Libraries. The Dean of Libraries oversees all of NYU’s libraries; the NYU Press, which publishes more than 150 titles each year; and Campus Media Services.
Dr. Oliva said, “I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Carol Mandel as Dean of the NYU Libraries. NYU’s Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, the core of the NYU library system, now contains over 2.8 million books, as well as special collections and the Avery Fisher Media Center. The facilities in our beautiful central library have continued to move with the technological revolution indeed, in the early 1980s we were one of the first research libraries in the country to offer an on-line catalog; today our facilities are as sophisticated as any in the nation. Libraries will face many and varied challenges in the new millennium, and I believe Carol Mandel will lead NYU into the incredible library of the future.”
A graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Mandel earned both a M.A. in art history and a M.S.L.S. at Columbia University. She has served as the Director of Technical and Networked Information Services at Columbia. Other positions have included Assistant/Associate University Librarian, Access Services at the University of California, San Diego; and Associate Executive Director of the Association of Research Libraries, Washington, D.C.
Mandel has published widely on such topics as cataloging, preservation, and information technology, and is an active participant in the programs of numerous professional organizations, such as the Council on Library and Information Resources. She has played a leadership role in the library profession in a number of areas, including bibliographic access, digital library services and electronic scholarly publishing.
Dr. Oliva lauded the Libraries Dean Search Committee, chaired by Lucinda Covert-Vail, for its outstanding efforts. “Ms. Mandell stood out in a field of excellent candidates by virtue of her knowledge, skills and broad experience,” he said.
Dr. Oliva added, “There will be more formal opportunities to extend my appreciation to an enormously talented colleague and friend, Carlton Rochell. He literally created the modern library system of our University.”
The NYU Library System contains over 3.9 million volumes. The core of the system, the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library and Study System, was dedicated in December of 1972. Designed by Philip Johnson and Richard Roster, the building is the central library of NYU’s Washington Square campus. The library was named after pharmaceutical pioneer and philanthropist Elmer Holmes Bobst, whose gift of $11 million made the library possible.