Reappointment of Barbara Rockenbach, Stephen F. Gates ’68 University Librarian
February 12, 2025
Dear Members of the Yale Library Community,
We are delighted to announce the reappointment of Barbara Rockenbach as the Stephen F. Gates ’68 University Librarian. This renewal, approved by the Yale Corporation, recognizes Barbara’s success over the past four and a half years in supporting innovative research and teaching for students, faculty, and researchers. During her tenure, she has enhanced educational and data infrastructures and increased access to the library’s iconic spaces and collections.
Barbara’s impact began almost immediately upon her arrival at Yale in 2020. As the university navigated the pandemic, Barbara embraced the challenge of adapting library services, while ensuring that the libraries were among the first spaces to reopen to students. Many innovations adopted during this time—including improved remote access to library resources, expanded online offerings, and book delivery by mail—have become part of the library’s regular services, benefitting users across campus and advancing priorities such as collection digitization.
In addition to enhancing library services, Barbara has improved the library’s technology infrastructure, crucial to providing necessary tools and platforms for research and enriching the academic experience for students and faculty. Following an evaluation of the existing technology supporting all library operations and services, she introduced the first phase of a multi-year migration to a more modern system, which will be implemented in July.
The new system will also underpin emerging forms of research support. Partnering with colleagues across campus, Barbara developed a multi-year strategy to increase support for data-intensive research for all disciplines. Under her leadership, the library established the Computational Methods and Data (CMD) department and formed shared-staff partnerships with the Data-Intensive Social Science Center and the Center for Geospatial Solutions. Most recently, the library launched the Yale Dataverse—a critical new technology infrastructure to acquire, make available, and preserve data sets—and library staff are collaborating with the Poorvu Center and other campus partners to develop AI tools, guidance, and support.
While identifying and responding to emerging research needs, Barbara has also invested in Yale Library’s historic strengths. Under her leadership, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library has been reorganized to support cross-collection collaboration, new technology infrastructure, and shared best practices among the seven special collections at Yale Library (Arts, Beinecke, Divinity, Medical Historical, Manuscripts & Archives, Music, and Lewis Walpole.) This reorganization has advanced the library’s outreach and partnerships in New Haven and introduced new approaches to steward the collections in a manner that meets current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.
Barbara has also reaffirmed Yale Library’s continued commitment—matched by only a few university libraries in the world—to collecting, preserving, and providing access to print collections. To support this commitment, Yale Library recently joined Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, and the research division of the New York Public Library in the ReCAP storage and access consortium. In addition to long-term storage options for print collections, ReCAP provides immediate, seamless access to a shared collection of 8 million new and unique titles that Yale does not currently own.
Looking toward Sterling Memorial Library’s centennial in 2031, Barbara is leading the library in evaluating ways to meet the evolving needs of students, faculty, and staff. This work is already underway. Through programming and spaces, including the creation of the Hanke Gallery and the renovation of the Linonia and Brothers Room, Barbara has reinforced the library’s central role in fostering community and supporting the academic enterprise on our campus.
We are grateful to all those who informed our reappointment decision with their thoughtful comments. Colleagues from across the university expressed appreciation for Barbara’s ability to both honor the historic significance of Yale Library and introduce innovations that support the continued growth of educational, research, and cross-disciplinary programs at Yale. Many also remarked on her incredible skill at building collaborations with those within and outside of Yale and her service-oriented approach to leadership.
Please join us in congratulating Barbara on her reappointment and in wishing her and the Yale Library team every success in the years ahead.
Sincerely,
Maurie McInnis
President
Professor of the History of Art
Scott Strobel
Provost
Henry Ford II Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
Reappointment of Barbara Rockenbach, Stephen F. Gates ’68 University Librarian
Dear Members of the Yale Library Community,
We are delighted to announce the reappointment of Barbara Rockenbach as the Stephen F. Gates ’68 University Librarian. This renewal, approved by the Yale Corporation, recognizes Barbara’s success over the past four and a half years in supporting innovative research and teaching for students, faculty, and researchers. During her tenure, she has enhanced educational and data infrastructures and increased access to the library’s iconic spaces and collections.
Barbara’s impact began almost immediately upon her arrival at Yale in 2020. As the university navigated the pandemic, Barbara embraced the challenge of adapting library services, while ensuring that the libraries were among the first spaces to reopen to students. Many innovations adopted during this time—including improved remote access to library resources, expanded online offerings, and book delivery by mail—have become part of the library’s regular services, benefitting users across campus and advancing priorities such as collection digitization.
In addition to enhancing library services, Barbara has improved the library’s technology infrastructure, crucial to providing necessary tools and platforms for research and enriching the academic experience for students and faculty. Following an evaluation of the existing technology supporting all library operations and services, she introduced the first phase of a multi-year migration to a more modern system, which will be implemented in July.
The new system will also underpin emerging forms of research support. Partnering with colleagues across campus, Barbara developed a multi-year strategy to increase support for data-intensive research for all disciplines. Under her leadership, the library established the Computational Methods and Data (CMD) department and formed shared-staff partnerships with the Data-Intensive Social Science Center and the Center for Geospatial Solutions. Most recently, the library launched the Yale Dataverse—a critical new technology infrastructure to acquire, make available, and preserve data sets—and library staff are collaborating with the Poorvu Center and other campus partners to develop AI tools, guidance, and support.
While identifying and responding to emerging research needs, Barbara has also invested in Yale Library’s historic strengths. Under her leadership, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library has been reorganized to support cross-collection collaboration, new technology infrastructure, and shared best practices among the seven special collections at Yale Library (Arts, Beinecke, Divinity, Medical Historical, Manuscripts & Archives, Music, and Lewis Walpole.) This reorganization has advanced the library’s outreach and partnerships in New Haven and introduced new approaches to steward the collections in a manner that meets current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.
Barbara has also reaffirmed Yale Library’s continued commitment—matched by only a few university libraries in the world—to collecting, preserving, and providing access to print collections. To support this commitment, Yale Library recently joined Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, and the research division of the New York Public Library in the ReCAP storage and access consortium. In addition to long-term storage options for print collections, ReCAP provides immediate, seamless access to a shared collection of 8 million new and unique titles that Yale does not currently own.
Looking toward Sterling Memorial Library’s centennial in 2031, Barbara is leading the library in evaluating ways to meet the evolving needs of students, faculty, and staff. This work is already underway. Through programming and spaces, including the creation of the Hanke Gallery and the renovation of the Linonia and Brothers Room, Barbara has reinforced the library’s central role in fostering community and supporting the academic enterprise on our campus.
We are grateful to all those who informed our reappointment decision with their thoughtful comments. Colleagues from across the university expressed appreciation for Barbara’s ability to both honor the historic significance of Yale Library and introduce innovations that support the continued growth of educational, research, and cross-disciplinary programs at Yale. Many also remarked on her incredible skill at building collaborations with those within and outside of Yale and her service-oriented approach to leadership.
Please join us in congratulating Barbara on her reappointment and in wishing her and the Yale Library team every success in the years ahead.
Sincerely,
Maurie McInnis
President
Professor of the History of Art
Scott Strobel
Provost
Henry Ford II Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry