University Times

Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University announced Dec. 2 that the two institutions’ library systems would “conduct a thorough review of options for collaboration” and “seek input from faculty, staff, students and other stakeholders from our two universities, the city and the region.” During the review, which will result in a preliminary report in March and a final assessment in June, the search to replace University Library System head Rush Miller upon his Dec. 31 retirement will be suspended temporarily. CMU also has placed on hold its search for a director of collections and information access services for its libraries.

In their joint letter, Chancellor Patrick Gallagher and CMU President Subra Suresh cited the “dramatic transformation” of responsibilities within university libraries as the impetus for studying possibilities for “creative collaboration.”

The review committee will be chaired by Dean Ronald Larsen, School of Information Sciences, and CMU’s Keith Webster, dean of University Libraries. At the Dec. 2 Faculty Assembly meeting, University Senate President Michael Spring said Provost Patricia Beeson “has assured me that there will be a Senate appointment to the working group.” Ken Service, vice chancellor for communications, told the University Times he did not yet have information on other representation on the committee, nor concerning who would lead the ULS temporarily upon Miller’s retirement.

—Marty Levine