Atlanta, GA – January 12, 2023. The Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) has hired Rebecca Crist to serve as Program Coordinator for Shared Collection Resources, starting February 1, 2023. Ms. Crist will succeed Cheryle Cole-Bennett, who is retiring as of March 1, 2023 after nearly 15 years working as ASERL's Program Coordinator for Shared Print Programming. For the past ten years, Ms. Crist has served as Project Manager for the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA), leading development and implementation of BTAA's Shared Print Repository Program.
"A productive consortium brings institutions together to achieve more than they might accomplish alone, and ASERL has a proven record of uniting some of the finest research libraries in the country for highly effective, targeted initiatives," added Rebecca Crist. "I am delighted to be part of this team and look forward to supporting ASERL's member libraries."
"ASERL and BTAA have a long history of collaboration on numerous projects," commented John Burger, ASERL's Executive Director. "We've worked with Rebecca Crist for several years and are very pleased to have her join our team at this opportune time, when ASERL begins re-envisioning how we can optimize the use and sharing of the important collections held across our membership. Rebecca's experience in leading volunteers and consortial programming will be a key ingredient to our success in the years ahead."
Previous to her work at BTAA, Ms. Crist worked at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), the University of Illinois Press, and Human Kinetics Publishing. She holds a Master of Science degree from the UIUC Graduate School of Library and Information Science, and holds positions on numerous advisory panels including the Google Books Library Partnership, the OCLC Shared Print Metadata Advisory Committee, and the HathiTrust Government Documents Advisory Committee.
Chris Cox, ASERL Board President and Dean of Libraries at Clemson University, added, "ASERL libraries have decades of experience in sharing collections using traditional methods. We are excited to explore new processes and technologies that can improve how our collections are used in service to the faculty, researchers, and students at our institutions. Rebecca is coming to ASERL at a great time and she brings tremendous leadership and creativity to these efforts."
About the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries
Founded in 1956, ASERL is one of the largest regional research library consortia in the United States, serving 38 institutional members in 12 states. ASERL provides highly acclaimed programming, cultivates important conversations, and nurtures relationships among library leaders in the Southeast. By working together, ASERL members provide and maintain top-quality resources and services for the students, faculty, and citizens of their respective communities. ASERL is housed in the Robert W. Woodruff Library at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. See www.aserl.org for more information.