----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Date: May 11, 1999
For Immediate Release
Contact: Lori Starr or Mary Daily
Getty Public Affairs, 310-440-6471
SUSAN ALLEN NAMED CHIEF LIBRARIAN AT GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR THE
HISTORY OF ART AND THE HUMANITIES
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The J. Paul Getty Trust announced today the
appointment of Susan Macall Allen to the new position of Chief
Librarian. Dr. Allen is currently Head, Department of Special
Collections, Young Research Library at the University of California,
Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Allen will begin her new position at the
Getty on June 28, 1999.
In her new role Dr. Allen joins the senior management team of the
Getty Research Institute. The Institute's mission is to serve
education in the broadest sense by increasing knowledge and
understanding about art and its history. The Research Institute
Library is one of the largest art and architecture libraries in the
world, containing 800,000 volumes, including general collections of
books, serials, and auction catalogues encompassing the entire history
of art and related fields in the humanities. The Library's special
collections include one-of-a-kind rare books, artists' journals,
sketchbooks, architectural drawings, photographs, and archival
materials. As the Library expands its collections in the coming years
it will acquire material encompassing the history of art on all
continents.
In announcing Allen's appointment, Deborah Marrow, Director of the
Getty Grant Program and Interim Director of the Getty Research
Institute, commented, "We are delighted that Susan Allen is coming to
the Getty. Her substantial experience in research libraries and in
educational institutions will be a great asset as we broaden the
holdings of the Library and make its resources more widely accessible.
Susan's strong relationships with colleagues regionally, nationally,
and internationally will be crucial in achieving our goal of working
more collaboratively with other institutions."
At UCLA, Dr. Allen has been responsible for managing six Department
of Special Collections divisions, including manuscripts, oral history,
public services, publications, rare books, and University archives.
Prior to her position at UCLA, she was Director of Libraries and Media
Services at Kalamazoo College in Michigan from 1993 to 1997, and Head,
Special Collections, at the Libraries of The Claremont Colleges from
1987 to 1993. She also has served as Adjunct Associate Professor
within the Division of Library and Information Science at San Jose
State University. Dr. Allen is one of the organizers of the
exhibition, The World from Here: Treasures of the Great Libraries of
Los Angeles, to be held at the UCLA Hammer Museum of Art and Cultural
Center in the fall of 2001.
"In joining the Research Institute as Chief Librarian, I hope to
work with the Getty leadership to build a research library with
unsurpassed collections of art and cultural material," said Allen.
"The Research Library has a distinguished reputation as an extremely
valuable resource for scholars, and I hope to expand the user circle
not only within Los Angeles, but also nationally and internationally.
"
She holds a B.A. in History and an M.A. in Library Science from the
University of Wisconsin, Madison; an M.A. in Liberal Studies from St.
John's College, Santa Fe; and a Ph.D. from UCLA. She is well known and
active in many national library professional organizations. Dr. Allen
has published widely, particularly on the topics of Colonial American
printing history, security at libraries and archives, and expanding
the use of special collection materials to undergraduate students.
# # #
The Getty Research Institute for the History of Art and the
Humanities serves education in the broadest sense by increasing
knowledge and understanding about art and its history through
encouraging, enabling, and inspiring advanced research. The Institute
provides intellectual leadership through innovative research,
exhibition, and publication programs and provides service to a wide
range of scholars worldwide through the creation and maintenance of an
extraordinary art library that is accessible to both on-site and
remote users. Located at the Getty Center and accessible through a
variety of on-line data bases and services, the Library is a resource
for scholars, college and university faculty, graduate students,
curators, and independent researchers.
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