New Dean of University Libraries Announced

Adelphi University Announces the Appointment of Brian Lym as Dean of University Libraries

 Garden City, NY, April 2013—Dr. Gayle D. Insler, Adelphi University provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, has announced the appointment of Brian Lym as dean of University Libraries. This appointment follows a national search to replace Charles Simpson who is retiring after 10 years of distinguished service as dean. Mr. Lym, who most recently was on leave from his position as head of Instruction and Research Services at Hunter College to serve as the interim chief librarian and professor at Medgar Evers College, will join the Adelphi community on June 1, 2013.

In his role at Medgar Evers, Mr. Lym provided strategic leadership to the Charles Evans Inniss Memorial Library as it prepares and plans for a $21.4 million renovation.  Since 2005, he played increasingly broader roles in the Hunter Library including the development of information literacy initiatives and offering strategic leadership of collaborative, practice‐based research and teaching by library faculty within the Hunter College Libraries. Prior to joining Hunter, Mr. Lym was a member of the library faculty at the City College of San Francisco and at several community colleges in the California system.  He has also held positions as senior reference librarian for Memorial Sloan‐Kettering Cancer Center in New York, associate librarian for the San Francisco Botanical Garden, user services librarian at the California Academy of Sciences and served as an information specialist for the U.S. Forest Service in Albany, CA.

“I am very pleased to officially announce Mr. Lym’s appointment as dean of University Libraries,” said Dr. Insler. “Libraries are dynamic resources for our students, and under Brian’s leadership, we will add additional depth, richness and innovation into the academic life at Adelphi. I also extend my most sincere gratitude to Charles Simpson for his exceptional leadership and commitment to Adelphi.”

“The best academic libraries today are transforming themselves as well as the teaching, learning and research communities they serve.  The opportunity to be leading the Adelphi University Libraries in this time of metamorphosis is both an honor and a wonderful challenge,” said Mr. Lym. “I am thrilled to join the Adelphi community.”

Mr. Lym has written and presented nationally on innovation and assessment and has served as an executive board member of The Greater New York Metropolitan Area Chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL).   He currently serves on national committees of the ACRL, including the ACRL President’s Program planning committee devoted to library leadership development.  He earned an M.S. in Wildland Resource Science, an M.L.I.S. in Library & Information Studies and a B.A. in Humanities from the University of California, Berkeley.  Mr. Lym lives in New York City, with his partner, Scot Medbury, president of Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and is a keen gardener and cook.

 About Adelphi University Libraries

The Adelphi University Libraries play an integral role in the instructional, research, cultural, and student life programs of the University by providing high quality library and information facilities, resources, technology, and services in consonance with the mission and vision of the University. The Libraries serve all members of the Adelphi community representing diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds as well as a wide range of academic disciplines. Located at the Garden City campus and the Manhattan, Hauppauge, and Hudson Valley Centers, they offer an extensive range of books and other materials and services to support academic studies and enhance research. The University Libraries contain over 600,000 volumes; 806,000 microforms; 33,000 audiovisual materials; 61,000 electronic journal titles;221 electronic databases; University Archives and Special Collections ; and access to the world’s resources through interlibrary loan & other services. To learn more about Adelphi’s libraries, visit libraries.adelphi.edu.