By KATIE MEYER

ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Within a few days of Bata’s resignation, Fordham University announced the appointment of Linda LoSchiavo to the position of library director. LoSchiavo has already enjoyed a career at Fordham University spanning almost three decades.

LoSchiavo joined Fordham as a senior cataloger, and in 1987, she became head of the retrospective conversion project, a transformational initiative. In 1990-1991, she served as systems librarian. She also inaugurated a fully automated online library catalogue. In 1991, LoSchiavo was appointed assistant director of libraries and director of the Quinn Library.

In July 2012, LoSchiavo began serving as interim director. She brought together a planning group for a strategic plan called Moving Closer: The Fordham University Libraries Approach 2016 by focusing on an integration of technology, faculty and student life and space transformation. She and her research team began a study of the library’s operations and infrastructure and constructed new ways for purchasing materials for the digital library collection.

“Linda brings many years of collaborative leadership experience, innovative vision, and dedicated service to her work,” Stephen Freedman, provost and professor of ecology and evolutionary biology said in an email.  “She has a unique and unparalleled perspective on the ever-evolving role of Fordham’s libraries in advancing the culture of research.”

LoSchiavo earned B.A. and M.A. degrees in English from Fordham University and her M.S. in Library Sciences from Pratt Institute.

LoSchiavo is well-known and respected among her professional colleagues. For over a decade she shared her expertise on the executive board of the Westchester Academic Library Directors Organization for libraries at over 900 institutions, including Fordham University.

“We welcome her with great enthusiasm to engage the University community in charting creative new directions to further develop sustainable models of scholarly communication,” Freedman said.