UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Nathan Hall, professor and director of Digital Libraries and Preservation at Virginia Tech University Libraries, has been named Penn State University Libraries associate dean for Distinctive Collections and Digital Strategies, effective April 1, 2023.
“Nathan Hall has a national reputation in the digital library arena, building digital community archives and advocating for open and equitable scholarly communications,” said Faye A. Chadwell, dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications. “His experience at Virginia Tech and North Texas, as well his active service in ACRL and with APTrust, will reinforce the excellent work we are already pursuing with distinctive collections at Penn State.”
As an associate dean, Hall will formally join the University Libraries administrative leadership team and will provide leadership and strategic vision for multiple units: Cataloging and Metadata Services, the Eberly Family Special Collections Library, Library Strategic Technologies, Preservation, Conservation and Digitization, and Research Informatics and Publishing. This portfolio emphasizes the implementation of innovative and collaborative strategies to acquire, preserve, enhance and expand access to distinctive collections.
The associate dean has oversight for the Libraries’ critical role building, stewarding and fostering engagement with rare and unique collections in a variety of formats, and also supports the pursuit of innovative ways to increase visibility, advance equity and inclusion, and partner with new and existing University and external entities whose missions and priorities align with the University Libraries, such as Penn State’s Center for Black Digital Research and Center for Virtual/Material Studies.
Hall has served at Virginia Tech University Libraries since 2011. During that time, he also has held several roles with Digital Imaging and Preservation Services, including as its director. He received tenure from the institution in 2017. Prior to arriving at Virginia Tech, Hall was a digital curation librarian and environmental science digital library coordinator at the University of North Texas Libraries.
“I am humbled to join the leadership team of Penn State University Libraries and I was impressed by the staff, faculty and infrastructure in place. Outgoing Interim Associate Dean Dace Freivalds is leaving the Distinctive Collections and Digital Strategies portfolio in a stable position, and I am excited by the challenges and opportunities ahead,” Hall said. “My family is looking forward to living in State College. It is a big change, but the amenities and quality of life have a lot to offer.”
Hall received both a master of library and information science degree and a doctoral degree in information science from the University of North Texas. He was named an Emerging Leader in 2013 by the American Library Association. Hall’s record of publications and presentations is impressive with emphasis on virtual reality and 3D data, building digital community archives, and strategic approaches to open and equitable scholarly communications. In 2019 he was part of a group of eight who co-authored the monograph “Open and Equitable Scholarly Communications: Creating a More Inclusive Future,” published by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL). He is also the co-editor of a forthcoming College & Research Libraries issue on “Open and Equitable Scholarship” set to be published in 2024.