5/12/99

News directors, editors: A photo of Julia Zimmerman may be downloaded at:
http://www.ohio.edu/news/pix/ZIMMERMAN.JPG

Contact: Provost Sharon Brehm, (740) 593-2600

ATHENS, Ohio -- Julia Zimmerman, associate director of Georgia Tech Library in Atlanta, has been named dean of university libraries at Ohio University. Current library Dean Hwa-Wei Lee has announced he will retire in August.

Zimmerman has been in her current position at Georgia Tech since 1993, overseeing the day-to-day activities of the library, supervising three assistant directors and coordinating maintenance and building projects with the university's facilities office.

At Ohio, Zimmerman will be the chief executive officer of the university libraries, reporting to the provost. Zimmerman will oversee a staff of some 200 contract, classified and student employees working in the library system.

"I am delighted that Julia Zimmerman will join us as the new dean of university libraries. She has an outstanding record of accomplishment in her previous work at Georgia Tech," Provost Sharon Brehm said. "She is well informed and savvy about technology, dedicated to customer service and is a skillful administrator who can build teamwork within the library as well as collaborations across campus, state and nation. She will be a superb dean of libraries."

At Georgia Tech, Zimmerman also has served as the libraries assistant director for Information Services, head of the Systems Department and head of the Database Management Department.

"It was an honor to be selected as dean of libraries at Ohio University," Zimmerman said. "Its a fine university and an exciting place to be. I'm very impressed with the Alden Library, and I look forward to working with the library staff to provide the best possible library services to the Ohio University community."

Zimmerman completed a bachelor's degree in English from Florida State University in Tallahassee in 1970 and a master's degree in librarianship from Emory University in Atlanta in 1976.