Congratulations to Clark Head Librarian Anna Chen, who has been appointed Associate University Librarian for Special Collections and Director of Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina, and who will be leaving the Clark Library as of October 2024. In her new role, she will oversee 50 staff in 5 curatorial units: Research and Instructional Services, Technical Services, Preservation and Conservation Services, the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center, and exhibitions and engagement programs.
We will miss her immensely at the Clark & Center for 17th– and 18th-Century Studies. A superb leader, she has helped to build a collaborative and transparent work culture for a dynamic and accomplished team in order to develop shared purpose and mutually supportive professional growth for all. Her success as a manager can be measured by the tremendous success of her team in their own professional achievements.
Anna instituted a practice of collaborative collection development to sharpen and balance the Clark’s collecting profile, resulting in a forward-looking approach to thoughtful acquisitions that both responds to and helps to shape modern research interests. She led a collaborative, systematic, and comprehensive review of all the Clark’s long-standing collecting areas and re-evaluated their borders. The team documented these changes in the Clark’s first publicly available collection development policy, along with the Clark’s first mission statement, which contextualizes our acquisitions approach within a larger framework of inclusive and proactive librarianship.
Anna has also prioritized the integration of the Clark into the mission, life and goals of UCLA. She has built a structured instruction program, laying the groundwork for a digital collections program, and restructuring the Clark’s student, volunteer, and internship positions into a more comprehensive, integrated, and collaborative experience. She has also encouraged students to consider the Clark as a laboratory for the projects that interest them. The benefits of a vibrant student presence have been wonderful for the Clark and the university.
Establishing collaborative and inclusive expectations about what we do and whom we serve, Anna developed a public engagement program, and forged connections between the Clark and its neighbors and community constituents to promote and provide more equitable and inclusive access to library collections, services, and staff. The library now hosts visits from a wide variety of community organizations; provides public tours multiple times a week; and develops multiple public events each year to welcome broad and inclusive audiences in the library.
Anna is grateful for the unique opportunity to be responsible not only for the library but also for the Clark’s historic buildings and 5-acre campus, the connections between which have immeasurably enriched her understanding of her work as a librarian. She learned so much from our site manager, and worked closely with colleagues on highly-attended public programming initiatives. These include promoting the Clark’s environmental resources and linking the grounds with the library’s collections and community as well as with like-minded organizations on campus and in the library’s West Adams neighborhood.
We are thrilled for Anna and for UNC, who are fortunate to have recruited such a wonderful scholar, colleague, and collaborator. While we will miss her immensely, we are continuing publication projects together, and we are excited about fostering connections between our organizations and universities.