Martha Whitehead Appointed to Lead Harvard University’s Vast Library System

Martha Whitehead has been named as the next leader of the Harvard University Library system. She will serve as Harvard University librarian, vice president for the Harvard Library, and the Roy E. Larsen Librarian for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. She will assume her new duties in June 2019.

Currently, Whitehead serves as university librarian and vice provost of digital planning at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. She previously served as associate university librarian from 2004 to 2010 and as interim university librarian from 2010 to 2011. Before joining the faculty at Queen’s, she served at the University of British Columbia Library beginning in 1985, holding several posts, including head of its information services division from 1997 to 2004.

“I am thrilled to be joining Harvard, where the library and the University’s mission are so interwoven, and where there is such a rich legacy to build upon,” Whitehead said. “I’m honored to be entrusted with leading the library forward during this complex period in the information realm.”

Whitehead holds a master of library and information science degree from the University of British Columbia.