This fall, the University named Jennifer Betts the new director of the John Hay Library. Betts has served as the University archivist since 2010 and, more recently, worked as the associate director of the Hay.
In her new role, she will oversee various programs and services at the library and manage the University’s collection of archives. As director, Betts hopes to bring more students into the library and partner with various centers on campus.
In a time of heightened scrutiny and targeting of national archives, Betts also plans on “actively participating in initiatives to preserve the histories that may be vulnerable at this moment,” she wrote in an email to The Herald. For example, the library is working on digitizing and contributing materials to the Digital Transgender Archive.
Betts added that these initiatives also help advance the mission of the library’s Strategic Collecting Directions, which promotes materials collection in seven various themes to create a more holistic basis for research, according to its website.
Some of the themes include Global Lavender Voices — focusing on LGBTQ+ stories — and Voices of Mass Incarceration in the United States — documenting the lived experiences of incarcerated individuals in America.
“This work will not stop,” Betts wrote, adding that the library is seeking additional funding “to continue this critical work of preserving and making accessible collections that are inclusive and provide space for everyone.”
She previously helped secure nearly $2 million in external funding from a variety of national sources to expand online access to the library’s materials, according to a Brown Library news release.
Beyond reaffirming commitments to document vulnerable stories, Betts also hopes to create a more inclusive library community that fosters diverse perspectives and a love for learning.
Whether through classes, a study space, exhibitions or research fellowships, “the library wants to be the center of interdisciplinary research, teaching and learning,” Betts wrote. “The John Hay Library always endeavors to bring more students into the library.”
For Betts, part of achieving this goal entails making the Hay’s rare collections more accessible to the larger research community, including students and faculty at Brown.
She wrote that she is excited to continue the library’s existing partnerships, such as with the Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice, while also strengthening relationships with other Brown institutions, such as the Watson School of International and Public Affairs and the School of Public Health.
Andrew Majcher, head of digital services and records management at Brown’s libraries, told The Herald that he is confident that the Hay will “thrive” under Betts’s tenure as director.
Betts is “a steady and thoughtful leader who upholds the values of Brown University,” he wrote. She is “deeply committed to preserving the records that document the University’s history, students and alumni for future research and scholarship.”
