Penn State Dean Of Libraries To Lead College Library

6-25-96
Nancy M. Cline, Penn State's dean of University Libraries since 1988, has been appointed the Roy E. Larsen Librarian of Harvard College, effective September 1996. In that position, she will be responsible for overseeing more than 8.9 million volumes in 67 individual libraries and will represent Harvard in national organizations and professional associations.

"As a leader in the library profession, Nancy has contributed greatly to the ongoing research and work of Penn State. Her foresight has allowed the University Libraries to keep pace with the rapid changes in technology and information retrieval," John A. Brighton, executive vice president and provost at Penn State, said. "We wish her well in her move to Harvard, which is certainly a signal of how highly thought of Penn State Libraries is among other institutions."

Cline, who began her career at Penn State in 1970 as a documents librarian, was named head of the Governments Document Section in 1971, a position she held for nine years. She went on to serve as chief of the Bibliographic Resources Department until 1984, when she became assistant dean and head of bibliographic resources and services until 1988.

As dean, Cline is the chief administrative and academic officer for all of the University Libraries, which includes a central collection and six subject libraries at University Park and a library at each of 20 Penn State campuses across the state. Cline is responsible for collections in excess of 3.5 million volumes, as well as extensive holdings of maps, microforms, government publications, archives, computer databases and audio/visual materials.

During her tenure, endowments for the Libraries have increased to nearly $9 million and she played a pivotal role in the successful completion of a capital campaign that raised $14 million in gifts for a new building. She also has led the Libraries through significant changes, by incorporating the most recent technological advances and meeting the day-to-day student and faculty needs throughout the University. In 1994, she received Penn State's Award for Administrative Excellence.

Her expertise has been called upon by numerous organizations and governmental agencies, including the Library of Congress, U.S. Government Printing Office and Public Printer, Office of Technology Assessment, the National Research Council and the Middle States Association. She has been active in formulating policies relating to access of online informational resources, and in setting directions for the research and educational aspects of the national information infrastructure.

Currently president of the Association of Research Libraries, she also is a member of the American Library Association, EDUCOM and the Research Libraries Group, of which she serves on the board of directors and has served as chair of its finance and administration committee. She serves on the board of directors of the Association of American Colleges and Universities and has participated in the development of the National Digital Library Federation.

She has served on or been chair for several committees at Penn State, including the Commission for Women, the Council of Academic Deans, the University Council on Continuous Quality Improvement, the President's Budget Task Force, the Committee on Women and Minority Concerns and the Equal Opportunity Planning Committee.

Dean Cline served on the University Planning Advisory Committee in 1984-86 and in 1990-91, and participated in developing the University's first strategic plan for academic computing.

A native of Chambersburg, she received her A.B. in English and a master's of library science from the University of California at Berkeley.

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Contacts:
Alan Janesch (814) 865-7517 (office) 814) 867-3621 (home) axj12@psu.edu
Christy Rambeau (814) 865-7517 (office) (814) 237-9046 (home) cmr7@psu.edu