The membership of the International Association of University Libraries (IATUL) endorsed the appointment of Dean and University Librarian Charles Eckman as President of the organization during the IATUL General Assembly meeting July 14, 2020. Established in 1955, IATUL serves a unique global role as an international forum for the exchange of ideas on library matters related to university and research libraries. IATUL’s strategic plan is oriented toward cooperative innovation and the development of university library services, and the Association provides a broad framework of support for academic library decision makers and professionals through annual conferences, seminars, summits, and regional meetings. IATUL special interest groups are working in the following areas: research data management; metrics and research impact; library facilities; information literacy; and library services in emerging countries.
Dr. Eckman has been working with IATUL since 2014. He has served on the Board of Directors since 2018 and as IATUL’s Vice President for the past two years. He views the organization’s collaborative outlook as particularly well-aligned with the University of Miami’s strategic hemispheric and global engagement strategy. “This moment is a critical one in the development of modern research libraries—higher education and research practices are rapidly evolving in new directions,” says Eckman. “We must listen to, learn from, and work with each other in order to develop responsive and innovative library service models,” a collaborative impulse that guides UML in all of its strategic endeavors. Under Eckman’s leadership, the University of Miami Libraries (UML) recently began working with the directors of libraries of 12 institutional members of the Hemispheric University Consortium to create a collective library action plan to support the Consortium’s research and education initiatives.
Dr. Eckman will serve a one-year term as President through the next annual General Assembly meeting. The University of Miami and Florida International University will co-host the IATUL Annual Conference in 2022.
