Sarah J. Hooke selected to be the new dean of the library

By Avery Slavin Asst. News Editor Sarah J. Hooke was announced as the new dean of the Henry Whittemore Library on Feb. 20. Provost Kristen Porter-Utley sent the announcement to faculty, stating Hooke’s role of dean would be effective March 2 and she is “truly thrilled about the expertise and excitement Ms. Hooke will bring to the role.” Hooke said being selected “means a lot to me, professionally and personally. I love the students and faculty, and I love the approach to education here. I really wanted to become permanent dean and it was a very rigorous process, so I know I wasn’t just a shoo-in just because I was familiar with the place.” While serving as interim dean of the library for nearly a year, Hooke was very focused on creating connections between the library and the rest of campus, which stood out to Porter-Utley. “Sometimes when you hire somebody into an interim role, one of the things they do is just keep the wheels on the bus. They keep it running, which I think she did really well. But she didn’t just do that. Sarah went above and beyond from my point of view,” she said. President Nancy Niemi said, “Sarah has really thought about what state university libraries are and can be for the community. They’re such - and will always be, as far as I’m concerned - part of the heart of any learning community. She had great ideas for what it is and what it should be. “She wasn’t afraid to work fast and learn deeply about our particular library and the strengths it had and the places where we could grow to do an even better job of being the library this community needs,” she added. The hiring process was typical for most dean roles, consisting of reviewing candidates’ materials, compiling a short list of people to interview over the phone or on Zoom, and choosing 3-4 candidates to come in-person to conduct open forums and meet with many different people at the University before the position is offered, according to Porter-Utley. She said to form the search committee that helps give suggestions on candidates’ strengths and weaknesses, she reached out to the deans of the colleges first, and then they looked for “student-facing” staff and faculty who would be willing to be a part of it. The committee consisted of T. Stores, dean of Arts and Humanities; Sara Gallegos, executive director of the Center for Student Experience and Career Development; Jerome Burke, director of the Center for Inclusive Excellence; Sandra Rothenberg, coordinator of Library Instruction and reference librarian; Colleen Previte, Special Collections librarian and archivist; and Bartholomew Brinkman, English professor and director of the Center for Digital Humanities. Hooke said she does anticipate some challenges while navigating this role, though. She said that when coming into a role like this one, sometimes people are not as enthusiastic about your plans as you are. One of her main goals she wishes to achieve during her time as dean is creating a more active community within the library, but a challenge that comes with that is “busyness,” she said. “There’s a lot happening on campus, a lot of activities and things people want to do and go to. Plus, people have their core studies or their core jobs. However, the University is in a good place and the library has a lot of resources, so getting people to know more about what resources we have and how we can work with them can help them in their jobs and studies,” she said. Porter-Utley said the committee was looking for someone who was excited about libraries and had a long-term vision for the library, saying they wanted to find someone who was “really innovative and had creative ideas. Someone who honors the tradition of the library, but is also thinking about what the next generation looks like.” Niemi said she thinks libraries are “the best invention in the world” and hopes that the campus library “continues to evolve into a central place of learning, inquiry, scholarship, research, a real hub of learning for the community.” Junior Estrella Barbel said, “As an education major, I really like the curriculum library. It offers great resources. I also like the seating arrangements. There are so many areas in the library, so I can always find a place to do my work.” Junior Andrea Zereski said she can really focus when she’s in the library and she enjoys all the different seating options. Senior Emma DePina said, “I really like the library. It gives me a place to be by myself between classes since I’m a commuter, and I can go to the Red Barn and get some snacks while I do my work.” Sophomore Ria Padayachee said she thinks it would be nice if they had book displays or genre spotlights, similar to Barnes & Noble. Junior Indigo Allain said it would be nice to see the library open later on the weekends. Hooke said one area where she wants to dive deeper during her time as dean is the digital repository, where papers and documents can be digitized and displayed as an “exhibit or collection” that can pop up with a quick internet search. “Right now, one of the projects we are involved in is with the Hilltop Players. Our archives had some programs from them, but not all, and some of the Hilltop Players had a lot of their old programs. So we’ve combined them and digitized each program of the shows they’ve done over the years, and it becomes searchable and findable online,” she said. Porter-Utley said she would love to “walk into a library and see it vibrant with a lot of students and they’re doing a variety of different things.” She added through the Campus Master Plan, a library renovation or reconstruction is being prioritized, and she’s excited to have Hooke be a part of that. However, the plan is still a work in progress.