College hires Librarian, interim IT director

The selection committee chose Harringonton unanimously. “We were especially impressed by her understanding of the place of the library within the liberal arts context and by her vision of the library’s mission on the campus and in the wider world,” said Professor of Psychology and Women’s and Gender Studies Rose Olver, co-chair of the committee. Call and President Anthony Marx approved of the committee’s selection.

Call said that he is pleased with the committee’s work. “I felt that the search committee did an exceptional job in bringing good candidates to the campus,” he said. “I think Sherre will be a great leader for the library.”

At Vanderbilt, Harrington served as director of the Annie Potter Wilson Music Library and Director of the Stevenson Science and Engineering Library.

“We know that … Harrington will continue to make the Library an important part of every student’s education on this campus,” said Margaret Groesbeck, head of reference and online services at Frost Library and a member of the search committee. “We are counting on her to foster an environment that promotes the use of the Library as a site of research, a good study space and a welcoming social space.”

Harrington is looking forward to working at the College. “It was everything that I thought I wanted: a small college, direct contact with undergraduates and an institution that was progressive in its thinking,” she said.

With one search down, the College will embark on a search for a new director of Internet technology (IT).

Thomas Warger will serve a one-year term as interim director of IT while the College searches for a full-time replacement. Warger was the director of computing services at Bryn Mawr College and has also served as the assistant coordinator for information systems at Five College, Inc.

“He comes to us very highly recommended,” Call said. “He has a great deal of experience … and a lot of it has been in the five-college area.”

Warger has an optimistic vision for the year. “I want to ensure that the IT department has a successful and vigorous year … and is not handicapped by the absence of a full-time director.”

Warger also said he intends to improve the coordination and communication among the department’s component units, work closely with the new librarian in implementing various technologies and avoid the onslaught of viruses that he says colleges suffered from during the last academic year.

“We’re all being extra vigilant to see that we head off and minimize any bad things,” he said. “We can deal with those viruses as they crop up but it’s much easier if those machines come in clean … One of our foremost goals is to try to keep the most stable and effective network services available to the campus all year.”