Director of Tisch Library Jo-Ann Michalak will leave her position this spring after 19 years.
As director, Michalak oversaw the construction and renovation of the Tisch Library and the construction of the Lilly Music Library, as well as the creation of Tisch's website. During her directorship, survey data has indicated a turnaround in satisfaction with Tufts library services, she said.
Tufts had begun an initiative to expand its library, then known as the Wessell Library, when Michalak arrived at Tufts in 1991. Surveys at the time showed an overall satisfaction rate below 50 percent, according to Michalak.
Student, faculty and staff feedback has reflected improvement, she said, citing a current overall satisfaction rate with library services at over 95 percent.
Additionally, the university's senior exit surveys annually report that the library is both the most important and the most highly rated support service, she said.
Michalak said she plans to remain a part of the Tufts community after she leaves her current position.
"It has been my privilege to lead the Tisch Library as it grew into a respected research library, which was not the case 18 years ago, and became a selling point to prospective students and faculty and a research partner while they are here," she said.
Michalak expressed pride in the library's development over her tenure as director.
"We didn't have great resources or collections at the time, and we've really worked to change that," Michalak said. "When Tisch Library was first built, we did not even have the funds to complete the ground level, but that has now been completely renovated."
A 2003 accreditation noted the library's progress, stating that the library was no longer a negative aspect for the university, she said.
Tufts' library resources are now comparable to those of other schools in the greater Boston area, which has decreased students' need to rely on outside libraries, she said.
"Previously, Tufts was a very active user of the other collections in the Boston area, but now, the strength of our collections can be put up against other library consortiums," Michalak said.
Michalak contributed to a planning group that converted the then-Wessell Library into the present-day Tisch Library. The renovation project more than doubled the library's floor space and restructured the building's layout to accommodate changing student and technological needs, according to Michalak.
Michalak said the process of library improvement is always ongoing.
"The arts and sciences and engineering programs continue to add new areas they want to teach in, and that has service and collection implications for us," Michalak said. "We talk to the faculty on how they teach and what kind of resources they want to teach their classes, and buy our collections accordingly."
Michalak's job involved keeping up with evolving technology and student needs while simultaneously acquiring the funding to achieve this goal, she said.
"There are definitely things we had not anticipated when we planned Tisch, such as geographic information systems, the café, the wireless delivery of information or the huge growth of information that is digital," Michalak said. "You have to move a lot to just stay even at this job."
Michalak's accomplishments also include securing a donor for a planned multimedia-production lab, according to Laura Walters, Tisch's associate director for teaching, research and information resources.
Michalak also established the Friends of Tufts Libraries, a group that stages events like book discussions and author lectures for students and alumni. The group also organizes fundraising efforts for future renovations. Michalak said she will remain active in the group after the end of her time as director.
Music Librarian Michael Rogan, the head of the Lilly Music Library, credited Michalak with creating the current administrative model, in which one director oversees all areas of the library.
"There have been changes to different types of communication structures so that managers can have more and better communication among themselves, as well as up the administrative chain," Rogan said.
Michalak worked closely with the university's Human Resources department to introduce a staff recognition system that was adopted by the university, Walters said.
"Jo-Ann has always been interested in staff development, and she has worked closely with Human Resources to present many skill development opportunities to the staff," Walters said. "She introduced the concept of teams to the library and is truly committed to good staff morale."
