As many of you know, BHL Project Director Tom Garnett officially retired on March 24, 2012.
Tom oversaw the growth of BHL from the idea of coordinated digitization by Natural History and Botanical Garden libraries into a cooperative of fourteen US and UK members and global nodes in Europe, Australia, China, Brazil, and Egypt.
He also left an important mark at the Smithsonian Libraries, where he had previously served as Associate Director.
Smithsonian Secretary Wayne Clough honored Tom with a Letter of Commendation which was presented at during a special event at the Smithsonian Castle, March 23, 2012.
We wish Tom well in the future and still expect to seem him around the world of biodiversity and libraries!
In other changes at BHL …
Nancy E. Gwinn, Director, Smithsonian Libraries, was elected chair of the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) Steering Committee for a two-year term at its annual meeting in Boston on March 16. In this position, Dr. Gwinn will guide the Committee as it oversees the continuing expansion and development of the digital collection, which now numbers over 100,000 volumes and nearly 40 million pages of biodiversity-related publications. Other newly elected officers include Vice Chair Constance Rinaldo, Librarian, Ernst Mayr Library, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, and Secretary, Susan Fraser, Director, Mertz Library, New York Botanical Garden.
Martin R. Kalfatovic, Associate Director for Digital Services at the Smithsonian, has assumed the position of BHL Program Director (he was formerly Deputy Director) and will work with the pan-BHL team of Chris Freeland (Technical Director, Missouri Botanical Garden), William Ulate (Global BHL Coordinator, Missouri Botanical Garden), Grace Costantino (Smithsonian Libraries, BHL Project Manager), and Bianca Crowley (Smithsonian Libraries, BHL Collections Coordinator).
Martin R. Kalfatovic is BHL Program Director and Associate Director, Digital Programs and Initiatives Division, Smithsonian Libraries and Archives. As the BHL Program Director, Mr. Kalfatovic functions as the executive director and manager of the international consortium of over 80 natural history, botanical garden, government, and university libraries engaged in the mass digitization of taxonomic literature. The position also serves as a key contact for government, NGO, and academic leaders at both the national and international level. Within his role at Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, Mr. Kalfatovic is responsible for the Libraries’ active Digital Library program. This program includes the creation of digital editions of library materials, online exhibitions, and new digital publications.
My goodness, I just caught up with this news. In 2007 Tom was generous enough to meet with me – I'm a lowly librarian from the University of Otago, New Zealand – and advise and encourage me with the work I was then doing around the management of biodiversity research data. I just happened to be revisiting an email from Tom today, in the hope that his words will inspire my library colleagues. Thank you again, Tom, for your generosity and encouragement. I wish you all the best in your retirement. Kind regards, Gillian Elliot