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Deborah Jakubs Reappointed as University Librarian

Deborah-Jakubs250.jpg
Deborah Jakubs

Deborah Jakubs, the Rita DiGiallonardo Holloway University Librarian and Vice Provost for Library Affairs, has been reappointed to a third five-year term, Duke Provost Sally Kornbluth announced Friday, March 4.

Jakubs, who became university librarian in January 2005, leads a system that both serves the Duke community and attracts scholars from around the world.  It is comprised of six libraries, an extensive offsite high-density repository, and the Center for Instructional Technology. In fall 2015, she marked the reopening of the renovated Rubenstein Library, which offers new research space, modern classrooms, easy access to Duke’s special collections and ample exhibit space to be enjoyed by Duke students and scholars as well as the larger community.

The libraries also play a major role at Duke in promoting excellence in teaching and scholarship, internationalization, interdisciplinarity and knowledge in the service of society.

“Under Deborah’s outstanding leadership, the Duke University Libraries remain a vital component of university life by providing facilities, resources, and support to our faculty, staff, students, and external community,” said Kornbluth in announcing the reappointment. 

Duke University Libraries rank among the nation's top 10 private research libraries — with nearly seven million volumes, millions of resources in a variety of formats and 65,000 linear feet of manuscripts and archives. Thousands of worldwide users visit the libraries' digital collections.

Jakubs is also an adjunct associate professor of history at Duke, and has served as the director (1997-99) and associate director (1995-97, 2000-02) of the University of North Carolina-Duke University Consortium in Latin American Studies. She came to Duke in 1983 and worked as director of collections services for the library system before being named university librarian.

Nationally, Jakubs serves on numerous advisory boards and consults widely on research libraries. She has been particularly active in the fields of area studies, international education, and cooperative collection development. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and is the past president of ARL.