Trevor A. Dawes, the vice provost for libraries and museums and May Morris University Librarian at the University of Delaware, will serve as incoming vice president/president-elect for the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). After serving in this role for 2023, he will become president in 2024. The ARL membership ratified the election at its annual meeting on Oct. 18, 2022.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit membership organization of 127 libraries and archives in major public and private universities, federal government agencies and large public institutions in Canada and the United States. The association advocates on research libraries’ behalf, convenes research and higher education partners, shares intelligence on current issues and develops the next generation of diverse library leaders. The University of Delaware has been a member of ARL since 1983.

“ARL is an industry leader in policy and legislative advocacy, assessment, and leadership and diversity development,” Dawes said. “Along with its other initiatives, the association remains poised to convene, inform, shape and influence the research and learning ecosystem.

“I am honored to be elected to this role as it demonstrates the trust and confidence my colleagues have placed in me to lead the association,” he said. “I believe deeply in the mission and vision of ARL and look forward to my continued work with the board and our members on advancing our goals, especially in equity, diversity, inclusion and social justice.”  

Dawes, a highly respected leader and sought-after speaker in the library science industry, will begin his term as vice president of the board on Jan. 1, 2023, and his term as the 63rd ARL president on Jan. 1, 2024. He has served on the ARL Board of Directors since 2020 and on the association’s Membership Committee, Finance Committee and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee. Dawes is currently on the Board of Directors for the Northeast Research Libraries Consortium (NERL) and the National Information Standards Organization (NISO). He has also served as the 76th president of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) from 2013-2014 and the chair of the Board of Directors of the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA) in 2020.

“The University of Delaware is incredibly proud of Trevor and this noteworthy achievement,” said UD Provost Laura Carlson. “It is a well-deserved recognition of the incredible impact that Trevor has had not only within the Library, Museums and Press at the University but also more broadly within the community of research librarians. I look forward to the great accomplishments he will bring about for ARL in this leadership role.”

Dawes joined the University of Delaware as the vice provost for libraries and museums and May Morris University Librarian on July 1, 2016. He oversees the UD Library, Museums and Press, which includes the University libraries, including the flagship Morris Library, as well as the University of Delaware Press and University Museums, which includes the Old College and Mechanical Hall art galleries and the Mineralogical Museum in Penny Hall.