New RBM editor named

NEWS
For Immediate Release
July 22, 2008

CHICAGO - The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), has named Beth Whittaker  editor of RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage (RBM).

Whittaker served on the RBM editorial board from 2006-2008 and brings in-depth knowledge of the world of rare books and manuscripts to the bi-annual publication. Her three-year appointment as editor begins immediately.

 “In addition to her excellent credentials and strong references, the search committee was especially impressed with Beth’s enthusiasm, commitment, grasp of issues facing special collections and interest in reaching out to new constituencies,” said ACRL Publications Coordinating Committee Chair Daren Callahan.

Head of Special Collections Cataloging at OhioStateUniversity, Whittaker is currently secretary of the ACRL Rare Books and Manuscript Section (RBMS) Executive Board. She previously served on the RBMS Bibliographic Standards Committee and as editor of “Controlled Vocabularies for Use in Rare Book and Special Collections Cataloging.” Her research in the areas of rare books, digitization and special collections cataloging is widely published.  

Whittaker earned her MLIS from the University of Texas at Austin and graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Kansas with master’s and bachelor’s degrees in history and French.   

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ACRL is a division of the American Library Association (ALA), representing more than 13,000 academic and research librarians and interested individuals. ACRL is the only individual membership organization in North America that develops programs, products and services to meet the unique needs of academic and research librarians. Its initiatives enable the higher education community to understand the role that academic libraries play in the teaching, learning and research environments.