Julia Zimmerman has been Dean of University Libraries at Florida State University since 2007. Prior to her appointment at FSU she was Dean of Libraries at Ohio University. From 1979-1999 she held several positions at Georgia Institute of Technology, and before that served at Penn State University and Wake Forest University. She has been active in state, national and international library organizations.

Since assuming leadership of the FSU Libraries, Julia has overseen two dramatic renovations, commons spaces for graduate students and for undergraduates, that provide a wide variety of academic support services not typically found in libraries. She has also increased the visibility and use of Special Collections, with its extraordinary collection of rare books and manuscripts, and Heritage Protocol, a unique program which collects and preserves artifacts and documents that tell the story of FSU’s history.

Julia’s interest in access services goes back to the early 80’s when, as head of the Systems Department at Georgia Tech, she worked with the founders of the Sirsi Corporation and her colleague Crit Stuart to create the first module of the Sirsi Unicorn system: Circulation. Additionally, she has worked with three consortia to improve access to consortial resources, and in both Georgia and Florida, led the development of unmediated borrowing systems.

Julia is a 1970 graduate of Florida State University. She received her graduate library degree from Emory University, and is delighted to return to Atlanta for the Access Services Conference.