Amanda McLellan, assistant director for discovery and technology at East Carolina University, in Greenville, North Carolina, has been named the director of Wittenberg’s Thomas Library. She will begin her new role on August 1.

Responsible for technology strategy for the library and overseeing daily operations for library technology, general collections cataloging, integrated library services, and special collections cataloging at East Carolina, McLellan provided strategic and project management at a divisional level, and reported and advised on library technology initiatives for the East Carolina campus.

“In both the early screening interview and her on-campus visit, Amanda’s creativity, curiosity, good humor, and leadership experience impressed both the search committee and the library personnel,” Provost Michelle Mattson said. “With deep roots in Ohio and a background in private, residential liberal arts education, she also brings a personal commitment to the educational mission and geographical location of Wittenberg. We believe she will bring the right combination of skills and experience to guide the Thomas Library into the future and very much look forward to welcoming her to the Wittenberg community.”

At Wittenberg, McLellan will assume directorship of Thomas Library and seek out innovative, transformative, and strategic leadership to expand and improve existing facilities and to engage students and faculty as the University continues the transformation of the facility into an academic learning commons that will support a wide range of academic and student support services.

Reporting to the Provost and working closely with Academic Affairs to develop a strategic plan for the library that aligns with on-going institutional initiatives, McLellan will be responsible for library operations and management of the facility, including technology, equipment, and budgetary needs.

"I am thrilled to have been selected as the next director of Thomas Library,” McLellan said. “This opportunity is a return to my roots, both in a return to my birthplace of Ohio and a return to a small liberal arts institution. As a graduate of DePauw University, I know firsthand the power of a liberal arts education, and my years spent in libraries of various sizes has helped me understand the value and how important a library is for a university. I am impressed with the love and passion exuded by the staff and faculty I have met so far, and I look forward to getting to campus and getting to 'Tiger Up' alongside amazing students and colleagues.

"My first goal is going to be getting to know my new colleagues, asking questions, and listening to build a sense of what is working well and vice versa," she added.

McLellan, who earned her doctor of education in educational leadership in December of 2021 from East Carolina University, is currently an adjunct lecturer at the University of Illinois (U of I), in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, where she recently taught an online undergraduate course on Race, Gender, and Information Technology. She has also taught Introduction to Technology for Library and Information Science to a graduate class in the School of Information Sciences at U of I, where she has been an adjunct since 2012.

Earning a master of library and information science in May 2008 from the University of Illinois and her bachelor’s degree in art history at DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, McLellan served as the head of application and digital services at East Carolina. In this capacity, she supervised five full-time staff members and promoted effective communication between library departments across campus and the community, while she collaborated with colleagues to establish and manage metrics for measuring, analyzing, and optimizing user satisfaction for new and existing digitization and development projects from 2016 until being promoted to the assistant director for discovery and technology in 2019.

From 2013 to 2016, she was head of special collections and digital initiatives at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia, where she managed the institutional repository, digital commons, digitization and special collections projects, rewrote the gift policy, worked directly with donors, and served on several library, university, and consortia committees. McLellan also provided training, reference, and instruction as needed and served as library liaison to several departments. She was the digital services librarian at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, Virginia, from 2008 to 2013, where she also taught Introduction to Computer Applications and Concepts, a three-credit course covering basics of computer and information literacy, including MS Office, as an adjunct instructor from 2010 to 2012.