Dean’s Corner: Building Connections

As the dean of UC Libraries, I serve as an ambassador for the university and the Libraries on a global scale.  My travel takes me across the United States and around the world for conferences and site visits from San Francisco, California to Zhejiang, China.  It is equally important, however, for me to foster my relationships on a local and regional level with the universities and library systems across the state.

This summer, Ohio University hosted a two-week Institute for Chinese Academic Leaders.  Scott Seaman, the university’s dean of libraries, invited me to Athens to participate in a panel about “Current Trends & Changes in U.S. Research Libraries.”  This gave me the opportunity to spend time with the OU library leadership, support their international partnerships, and to reinforce the ties between our two libraries.

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From left to right: Liu Wanguo, director and research librarian and Huang Ying, head of Research and Development at Northeast Normal University with Scott Seaman, dean of Libraries at Ohio University

Upon their arrival at Ohio University, the visitors presented dean Seaman and OU’s dean emeritus Dr. Hwai-Wei Lee with handmade scrolls decorated with Chinese calligraphy commemorating the visit.

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From left to right: Huang Ying and Liu Wanguo with Ohio University’s dean emeritus Dr. Hwai-Wei Lee

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Dean’s Corner: A Year in Review

Xuemao Wang

Dean and University Librarian Xuemao Wang

The 2014-15 academic year has been one of exploration, innovation and collaboration for UC Libraries. The launch of the Strategic Plan has contributed greatly to our success with its ten initiatives along with a wide range of events and activities created and sponsored by library faculty and staff throughout our libraries. The initiatives are all focused on the same goal, to make UC libraries the globally connected intellectual hub of the university. Below is a small sampling of those successes. More information on the ten strategic initiatives is available online.

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Dean’s Corner: Xiamen University- China’s Largest, Newest 21st Century Academic Library

Continued from this post, below is more about my trip to China. The first week and a half of April, I traveled throughout China to visit a few of UC’s international partners.  My travels began at Zhejiang University (ZJU) in Zhejiang, China. The second week I traveled to Xiamen where I met with colleagues at Xiamen University (XMU).

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Aerial view of Xiamen University

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Next Up in the Digital Humanities Speaker Series: Dr. Alex Gil

Alex Gil

Alex Gil

UC Libraries is thrilled to welcome Dr. Alex Gil to campus Monday, April 6, 2015 as the second expert in our Digital Humanities Speaker Series. He will present a series of talks, all free and open to the public, to be held in 480 Langsam Library.

  • 10:00-11:30am: “Setting up Playgrounds for the Digital Humanities: Strategies to Foster and Support Digital Humanities Activities and Communities” (followed by a lunch reception)
  • 12:45-1:45pm: “Breaking the Code: The Developing Librarian Project at Columbia University Libraries” (targeted for library faculty and staff, but all are welcome)
  • 2:00-3:30pm: Keynote: “Hacking Light, Crossing Borders: Building Transnational Communities in Digital Scholarship and the Case of GO::DH” (reception to follow in 480)

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Dean’s Corner: Global Engagement

UC Delegation visiting Chongqing University in 2013.

Next week, I will be traveling to China to visit at least three separate universities, Zhejiang University, Xiemen University, and Chongqing University.  Since coming to UC in 2012, this will be my 8th trip to China as part of my role as special advisor to the President and Provost on global affairs and part of the Libraries vision to become the “globally engaged, intellectual commons of the university.”  Last week the UC Libraries Newsletter Source published an interview with me discussing my experience with global engagement, and my role in UC Libraries’ and UC’s global engagement strategy.  Below is that interview in its entirety.

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Welcome to the Dean’s Corner

Welcome to my new blog – a subsite of LiBlog!

Xuemao at Langsam Lunar New Year 2015 party

Posing with Lion Dancers at the Lunar New Year Event in Langsam Library

As Dean and University Librarian of UC Libraries, I am proud to be a part of this diverse and talented community.  I am excited to join them by sharing on LiBlog my experiences as Dean. I will post pictures and updates of my national and international travels and use this forum to discuss the libraries’ continued transformation through our Strategic Plan.

It is my hope to increase the library’s broader visibility and engage my peers, nationally and internationally, in the world of academic libraries.  I plan to open a new door of communication from me to the entire UC community and beyond.

Thank you for taking this journey with me.  Please visit back soon and often!

Xuemao