Claire DeMarco named Associate Vice Provost for Operations of the University of Pennsylvania Libraries 

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries is pleased to announce the appointment of Claire DeMarco as Associate Vice Provost for Operations. In this senior strategic role, she will lead efforts to integrate advanced technologies and sustainable practices across all facets of library operations, enhancing the Penn Libraries' ability to support the university's research and educational missions.

"Claire has a proven track record of building collaborative teams, enhancing operational excellence, and fostering innovation," says Brigitte Weinsteiger, H. Carton Rogers III Vice Provost and Director of the Penn Libraries. "With her leadership, we will strengthen our ability to implement data-driven strategies and cultivate a culture of continuous improvement, ensuring the Penn Libraries adapts proactively to the changing needs of our diverse scholarly community. "

Since 2021, DeMarco has served as Director of Information Discovery Services at Harvard Library. She began working at Harvard in 2012 in the Faculty Support Services and Research Services groups at Harvard Law School Library. In 2017 she joined Harvard Library to implement the initiatives outlined in the library's first digital strategy, including the reimagining of Library.Harvard, the creation of CURIOSity Digital Collections, and expanding the use of interoperable metadata standards and structures, including linked data and IIIF.

In the broader library science field, DeMarco has served as the Chair of ALA-CORE Technical Services Directors of Large Research Libraries Committee, as Secretary of the LD4 Steering Group, and she is an active member of the IPLC Technical Services Group. During previous periods of her career, DeMarco worked as a managing attorney in health care practice and as a research specialist in legislative and regulatory affairs at both state and federal levels. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member at Northeastern University School of Law.

At Penn, DeMarco will play a critical role in driving innovations that align with the rapid evolution of information discovery and academic library services. She will direct a team of 90 staff, overseeing the areas of preservation; conservation; physical processing; acquisitions, access, and licensing; access services; and technical services, and the stewardship of the Libraries' high-density storage facility, LIBRA.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the Penn Libraries - to learn from the broad range of experts across the Operations portfolio, to collaborate creatively with this new leadership team, and to align and uphold the community’s vision of progress in principle and practice,” says DeMarco.

She holds an A.B. from Mount Holyoke College, an M.S.L.I.S. from Drexel University, and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School.

Her first day in her new post at the Penn Libraries will be February 24.