UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State University Libraries has named Athena Jackson the Dorothy Foehr Huck Chair and head of the Eberly Family Special Collections Library. Jackson comes to Penn State from the University of Michigan Special Collections Library, where she served as associate director.
“Athena will be a tremendous asset for the University Libraries,” Anne Langley, associate dean for Research, Collections and Scholarly Communications, said. “Her experience in project management, exhibitions, collections and digitization, and her strong national presence among faculty librarians and professional library leaders, are advantageous strengths for leading our complex and highly regarded Special Collections Library.”
While at the University of Michigan Library, Jackson managed Reader Services and Collection Services and participated in the planning, policy development and priority setting for the library.
Previously she served as special collections librarian at the University of Miami, education and outreach librarian and project manager/librarian for Digitizing Louisiana Newspapers Project at Louisiana State University, and North Carolina Newspaper Digitization Project coordinator and archivist at the North Carolina State Archives.
Jackson holds a master of science degree in library and information science from the University of North Texas and a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Houston. She will start at the University Libraries on March 21.
As head of the Special Collections Library, Jackson will oversee five functional areas of operation: Curatorial Services, Research Services, Collection Management, Digital Services and University Archives. The position provides leadership for special collections and archives maintained by the University’s Commonwealth Campus libraries, and manages the archival staff of the Coal and Coke Heritage Center at Penn State Fayette. In addition, the position sets priorities for collection development for digital and physical special collections; identifies and initiates new collecting areas in support of the University’s evolving research and teaching mission; and works with other University Libraries departments and staff to develop priorities, technical infrastructure and workflows in support of an ambitious large‐scale digitization goal for special collections, as defined in the Libraries’ current strategic plan.
The Eberly Special Collections Library, located on the first floor of Paterno Library on Penn State's University Park campus, includes more than 225,000 printed volumes, more than 25 million archival records and manuscripts, 1 million photographs, maps, prints and audio-visual items dating from the 1850s onward. It also includes the official records documenting the University’s history maintained by the University Archives.
More information about the Special Collections Library is available at https://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/speccolls.html.