UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Jennie Levine Knies, Penn State University Libraries’ interim co-director of Commonwealth Campus Libraries and head librarian of the Penn State Scranton Library and Nesbitt Library at the Penn State Wilkes-Barre campus, has been selected to serve as the University Libraries’ inaugural associate dean for Commonwealth Campus Libraries, effective Dec. 1, 2022.
“Jennie Knies’ extensive academic librarian and leadership experience at Penn State University Libraries locations and elsewhere in the Big Ten have given her the background she needs to serve our organization well in this new role. I’m thrilled to welcome her as a permanent member of the University Libraries leadership team and look forward to her contributions on behalf of all our Commonwealth Campus libraries, which are a vital and highly valued component of the University Libraries in its entirety,” sasid Faye A. Chadwell, dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications. “Jennie’s intimate understanding of Penn State’s Commonwealth Campus libraries, along with her significant experience in digital and special collections, as well as instruction and research support, have prepared her well to support excellence in Penn State learning and research and to strengthen service to Pennsylvania communities across all our locations.”
As an associate dean, Knies will formally join the University Libraries administrative leadership team and will directly oversee the position of senior director of Commonwealth Campus Libraries, currently vacant, as well as the head librarians at Robert B. Eiche Library at Penn State Altoona, Dubois Campus Library at Penn State DuBois, John M. Lilley Library at Penn State Behrend, Berks Thun Library at Penn State Berks, and Madlyn L. Hanes Library at Penn State Harrisburg. The senior director of Commonwealth Campus Libraries will have director oversight of library heads serving all other Penn State Commonwealth Campuses. In this Libraries-wide capacity, Knies will be responsible for providing leadership, direction and oversight of all Commonwealth Campus libraries to advance student learning, faculty productivity and community engagement, and fostering collaborations at all Penn State campuses.
Knies has served the University Libraries with tenure as associate librarian since arriving at Penn State in 2015, initially serving as head librarian of Nesbitt Library on Penn State’s Wilkes-Barre campus. In this position, she coordinated and co-conceived the Penn State Wilkes-Barre Celebration of Scholarship and the campus undergraduate research fair, among other achievements. Her role expanded in October 2017 to lead the Penn State Scranton Library, and in July 2021 she was named interim co-director of Commonwealth Campus Libraries along with Jennifer Gilley, head librarian of the Elisabeth S. Blissell Library at Penn State New Kensington.
Prior to joining Penn State, Knies served the University of Maryland Libraries for 15 years, holding the titles of manager of digital programs and initiative in the Digital Systems and Stewardship Division; manager of digital collections in the Collection Management and Special Collections Division; and curator for the Historical Manuscripts, Archives and Manuscripts Department. Prior to her academic career she was director of operations for Integrated Systems Research Corporation in Baltimore, Maryland.
An active member of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference, Knies served as its elected chair in 2020-21 and twice has been elected to its Distinguished Service Award Committee, among several other roles. She also was elected chair of the Encoded Archival Description Roundtable of the Society of American Archivists in 2007-08 and remains active in the American Library Association and Pennsylvania Library Association.
Knies earned her undergraduate degree in Russian area studies and a master of library science degree, both from the University of Maryland, College Park. In 1996-97, she was selected as a Western Fellow of the Open Society Archives, a center for research and education within the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. There she had curatorial responsibilities and completed the processing of the Soviet “Red” Archives, including the creation of an online finding aid in both Russian and English.
“Each Commonwealth Campus library is unique, but together, they are a powerful network. As associate dean for Commonwealth Campus Libraries, it will be my priority to build a sense of belonging across the Commonwealth Campus libraries, so that we can, as a group, identify priorities, set goals, and make decisions that both fit within the strategic visions of the University Libraries and the Commonwealth Campuses, while maintaining our own unique spirit,” Knies said. “I am excited by the prospect of shaping a new administrative era at Penn State University Libraries.”