University of Limerick has appointed a new University Librarian and Director of Library and Information Services.
Ciara McCaffrey has been appointed to the position at University of Limerick, where she will have institutional leadership responsibility for the scholarly information needs of UL’s learning, teaching and research community.
Prior to her appointment Ciara held the role of Deputy Librarian at UL for eight years. She played a key leadership role the major capital development project to deliver the outstanding and internationally recognised new Glucksman Library, which includes highly innovative, technology-enhanced spaces and the only Automated Storage and Retrieval System housed within a library in Europe.
Ciara takes over the position from Gobnait O’Riordan, who retired in January of this year after a career spanning 40 years at UL, including 18 years as Director, Library and Information Services.
UL Provost and Deputy President Professor Shane Kilcommins said he believed that Ciara’s would be “an excellent appointment, and she is a colleague who is well known to many. I know that she is also looking forward to commencing her new role”.
In a career spanning 25 years, Ciara previously worked in Trinity College Library Dublin. She has a professional profile nationally and internationally and has conducted and published practice-based research in library user experience and learning spaces.
She said: “I’m honoured and excited to lead the Glucksman Library at UL and the exceptional library staff into the future. I look forward to collaborating with colleagues across the University, as digital transformation radically changes the higher education landscape.
“Our opportunity and challenge in the digital age is to bring trusted scholarly collections and supports to UL’s students, teachers and researchers, wherever they are, while ambitiously developing the library building as an outstanding learning and community space on campus - the beating heart of the University.”