The College of William & Mary’s Swem Library welcomed Georgie Donovan as its new associate dean for collections and content services on January 20, 2015.
Donovan has 15 years of professional experience in library management. She comes to W&M from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, where she has worked in multiple positions since 2004, most recently as associate dean of libraries. She also led Appalachian State’s successful reaccreditation effort with the SACS Commission on Colleges in 2013.
Donovan earned a bachelor’s degree in English from University of Georgia, and a master’s degree in creative writing from University of Texas at El Paso. She later graduated from the University of Arizona with a master’s degree in information resources and library science, and has served in positions in the humanities, collection development, technical services, and library administration.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with such a talented group of colleagues in Swem Library and in the University as a whole,” said Donovan. “I look forward to working with faculty, students, and my library colleagues to collect amazing materials and to put these documents and information in the hands of researchers with as much ease and simplicity as possible.”
Donovan began work as a library assistant while attending the University of Georgia. After graduation, she spent several years as an educator in El Paso, as well as in Tokyo, Japan and Copiapó, Chile.
Most recently, Donovan has served as the associate dean of libraries at Appalachian State since 2012, overseeing financial management of the library’s operations and coordinating the administrative services team. She previously worked as the coordinator of bibliographic services, with responsibility for the library’s acquisitions, cataloging, and access to materials in all formats.
In her new position with Swem Library, Donovan will play a key role in helping the library redefine its general collections management and technical service operations. Her responsibilities will include overseeing the annual collections budget, communicating a collections strategy with the campus community, adapting to user experiences in a world of digital scholarship and research, and ensuring organizational effectiveness.
“We were most impressed by Georgie’s leadership experience and her demonstrated ability to navigate a complex publishing environment,” said Carrie Cooper, dean of university libraries. “As the newest member of our leadership team, she will help us develop a collections strategy and ensure that we are investing our money in print and digital collections that support the teaching and research at the College of William & Mary. She understands the significant changes taking place in libraries, and will help us develop a staffing plan that will ensure our continued success.”
Donovan lives in Williamsburg with her husband, and has two grandchildren, Ellora and Emil, and another grandchild on the way. She enjoys cooking, yoga, playing the piano, gardening, beekeeping and painting.
