Concordia appoints university librarian
Benoit-Antoine Bacon, provost and vice-president of Academic Affairs, is pleased to announce the appointment of Guylaine Beaudry to the position of university librarian. Her five-year term, which begins May 1, was confirmed by the Board of Governors at its April 16 meeting.
“Guylaine has been outstanding as director of the R. Howard Webster Library and as interim university librarian. Under her leadership, we will transform our libraries and lead the way in next-generation library infrastructures and services,” says Bacon. “One of Guylaine’s greatest strengths is her deep commitment to the student experience.”
He thanked the members of the search committee that he chaired for their commitment and high standards, noting that the university conducted a very extensive search and interviewed many highly qualified candidates. The members of the advisory search committee were: Antoinette Bozac, Arnaldo Brunetti, Katrina Caruso, Brigitte Desharnais, Lorraine Oades, Joanna Duy, Dubravka Kapa, Geoffrey Little and Mia Massicotte.
Beaudry joined the university in October 2009 as director of the Webster Library, and she has served as interim university librarian since July 2013.
Previously, she was director of the Digital Publishing Centre at Université de Montréal and executive director of Érudit, a publishing platform for scholarly books and journals in the social sciences and humanities.
“To lead the Concordia libraries is a profound honour and privilege. I look forward to transforming the library and to ensuring optimal support for the academic and research needs of present and future generations of Concordians. Libraries around the world are experiencing rapid change in response to the needs of 21st century library users, and we need to remain leaders” she says.
Beaudry has authored many books on scholarly publishing, including La communication scientifique et le numérique (2011) published at Hermès/Lavoisier and Profession : Bibliothécaire (2012) at Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal. She served as president of the Corporation of Professional Librarians of Quebec from 2008 to 2010. She is a member of the Royal Society of Canada Expert Panel on the status and future of libraries in Canada.
Her work has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Fonds québécois de recherche sur la société et la culture.
She holds a PhD in History of the Book from École pratique des hautes études (Paris) and a Master of Library and Information Science from Université de Montréal.