Susan Gibbons appointed to National Museum and Library Services Board
Susan Gibbons (Photo by Dan Renzetti)
President Joe Biden has appointed Susan Gibbons, vice provost for collections and scholarly communication at Yale, to serve on the National Museum and Library Services Board, an advisory body that helps guide federal policies to enhance the country’s museums and libraries.
Gibbons, chief of staff to Yale President Peter Salovey and the former university librarian, is one of 11 new presidentially appointed members to the board, which advises the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) — the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums.
In a statement, IMLS Director Crosby Kemper welcomed the new members to the 22-member board.
“They bring extensive, and varied, experience from the library and museum fields that will add great value to the board. Collectively, they represent the importance of diversity in the humanities and demonstrate the valuable role of museums and libraries in American society,” he said. “I look forward to working with them and receiving their esteemed input.”
Other newly appointed board members include individuals representing the Library of Congress, the Columbia University Libraries, and the Cincinnati Art Museum. Gibbons joins Homa Naficy, the chief adult learning officer at Hartford Public Library and a board member since 2016, in representing a Connecticut-based institution on the advisory body.
As vice provost for collections and scholarly communications, Gibbons leads efforts to further connect Yale’s world-class collections with its mission of education, research, preservation, and practice. In the role, she works closely with the Yale University Library, the Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, the Paul Mellon Centre, Yale University Art Gallery, Yale Center for British Art, Yale Peabody Museum, and Yale University Press.
Gibbons served as Yale’s university librarian from 2011 to 2020, leading a 12-library system that supports teaching, learning, and discovery across all disciplines and provides access, through its vast collections, to a diverse record of human thought and experience over time. In 2015, she received a second appointment in the provost’s office to foster collaboration among Yale’s libraries, museums, galleries, and other collection holdings. She was named vice provost in 2019.
Prior to joining Yale, Gibbons held library positions at the University of Rochester, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Indiana University. She served on the board of the Association of Research Libraries from 2013 to 2020 and as its president in 2019.
The National Museum and Library Services Board is composed of 20 voting members appointed by the president, and the IMLS’s director and deputy director. Terms for appointed members last five years. In addition to advising the IMLS on policy and practices, the board guides the selection of recipients for the National Medals for Museum and Library Service.
