Emily Glenn named McGoogan Library dean at UNMC

Emily Glenn has been named the new dean of the McGoogan Health Sciences Library at UNMC, pending approval by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents and effective July 1.

Dele Davies, MD, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs, said Glenn, who has been serving as interim director of the library since September 2022, impressed the selection committee with her background, vision and accomplishments in the interim role.

“Members of the committee and the numerous stakeholders who were consulted were impressed with Emily’s stewardship of the library over the past eight months, and we believe she is the person to steer the library into the future,” Dr. Davies said. “The library is the cornerstone of the success of any academic institution, and we feel certain that, under Emily Glenn’s leadership, the McGoogan Health Sciences Library will continue to grow, innovate and serve UNMC’s faculty, students and staff, as well as the wider community, with excellence.”

UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, stressed the importance of Glenn’s new role.

“With the opening of the Wigton Heritage Center in summer of 2021 and the continued growth of our nationally prominent rare book collections, the library’s role at UNMC has become even more visible,” Dr. Gold said. “Through her innovation and leadership, Emily has shown that she is not only a committed steward of UNMC’s history but also the creative and visionary leader we need to take the McGoogan Library into the future.”

Glenn said she was invigorated by the appointment, adding that as she went through the interview process, she was excited to speak to colleagues and learn about their interest in the library’s future.

“I got to share some vision items and reflections, talk about what the next several years may look like – including new activities to support the educational and research missions of the university,” Glenn said. “I am excited to reach across the state, including to other UNMC campuses, to share more of our historical collections, offer student wellness initiatives and roll out an effort to help our students get a leg up on professional publications and research activities.”

Glenn, who joined UNMC in 2016, called the appointment “a natural next step,” enabling her to “engage with the partners and grow the relationships I have developed over the past several years. It’s a privilege to have a role in creating the vision of what’s next for the library and the libraries of the University of Nebraska system.”

Prior to being named interim dean, Glenn – who holds a master’s degree in library science – served as the library’s associate dean, overseeing user services, collections, education and teaching, and technology. Glenn brings more than two decades of experience in corporate, academic and special libraries to her new role.

She previously held roles at the University of Washington, where she was the community health outreach coordinator with the Network of the National Library of Medicine for Region 5; chief librarian at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College in Ethiopia; librarian at a university-affiliated biomedical research institute in Seattle and head of archives technical services at Duke University Medical Center Library and Archives in Durham, North Carolina.