NYPL's Ferriero Nominated as Archivist of the United States
A librarian would succeed historian Weinstein in top position
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 07/29/2009
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- After initial qualms, predecessor Weinstein praised
- Must manage multiple stakeholders
- Ferriero rose from position heading Research Libraries
David Ferriero, Andrew W. Mellon Director of The New York Public Libraries (NYPL), has been nominated by President Barack Obama as Archivist of the United States, National Archives and Records Administration. Former Archivist Allen Weinstein, a historian, resigned in December, citing health reasons.
The position is hardly uncontroversial; Weinstein’s 2005 appointment generated concern from library groups and others worried that the administration of George W. Bush had not consulted stakeholders and that Weinstein would defer to the administration.
It turned out, as LJ reported, that Weinstein won positive reviews as an efficient leader, an engaging speaker, and, true to his word, a forceful proponent of public access, notably acting decisively to return a cache of previously withdrawn declassified records to public access under a plan known as the National Declassification Initiative (NDI).
On the New York Times’s blog The Caucus commenters criticized the appointment of a librarian rather than an archivist, and suggested that Ferriero would have to satisfy a complex set of external and internal stakeholders. Also, as noted on The Caucus, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee was scheduled to hold a hearing investigating the lack of a permanent archivist and has been looking into an apparent security breach involving records from the Clinton administration.
At NYPL
Before his 2004 appointment to head NYPL’s Research Libraries, Ferriero, 63, a longtime academic libraria
n, served as the Rita DiGiallonardo Holloway University Librarian and Vice Provost for Library Affairs at Duke University.
"The New York Public Library is thrilled at the news of this prestigious nomination of David Ferriero," said NYPL President Dr. Paul LeClerc. "David's leadership has helped advance the Library and expand the vast publics it serves in an era of rapidly evolving information needs.”
(Photo by Todd Eberle)
The May 2007 departure of Susan Kent, director of NYPL’s Branch Libraries, less than three years after coming from the Los Angeles Public Library, led to the rise of Ferriero to a new consolidated position directing both the Branch and Research libraries.
At the time, Ferriero told LJ that the consolidated position was a natural outgrowth of planning he and Kent did together to coordinate services better. “Early on, Susan and I recognized that, if we were successful, there was really one job.”
Since then, Ferriero has moved to consolidate the two integrated library systems serving the circulating and research collections, leading to a new ILS, The Catalog, which debuted earlier this month, not without a few hiccups.
He also has presided over some real estate deals, such as the sale of the Donnell Library in anticipation of cash and a partial replacement, that have hit the skids in the economic downturn.
As for Ferriero’s replacement(s), NYPL spokesman Herb Scher told LJ, “It is still very early, and the confirmation process for David's nomination still needs to take place. Determinations about interim staffing are to come.”
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