Lindsay Cronk

Courage, Creativity, Community

CV

Lindsay Cronk 

404-693-0804 | [email protected] | lpk.cpi.mybluehost.me/

Courageous, Creative, and Community-Engaged Library Leader

As a visionary partner to the Provost’s office, I lead the evolution of academic libraries to support the research enterprise and excellence in education. My leadership style is defined by courageous decision-making, creative problem-solving, and a commitment to community engagement.

Experience

Dean of Libraries and Academic Information Resources
Tulane University (Private R1 institution, 14k students), New Orleans, LA (2023 – Present)

  • Lead strategic direction and innovation for the University’s library services, developing and implementing strategies, projects, and policies that align with institutional priorities and academic needs.
  • Manage an $18.8 million budget and manage team of 105 FTE, ensuring effective use of resources and advancing pay equity, resulting in salary adjustments for 60% of staff at net zero cost to the University
  • Doubled historic fundraising levels, securing major gifts and grants that supported key student engagement initiatives, addressed deferred maintenance, financed facilities renovations,  and digitized collections
  • Accelerate facilities and collection improvements, including facade repairs, collection optimization, and creating new spaces for students, staff, and faculty.
  • Collaborate with university leadership to integrate library services into the broader academic mission, enhancing the Libraries’ role in research, instruction, and civic engagement.
  • Promote equity and inclusion by implementing policies and programs that foster welcoming environments and support access for all Tulanians and expanded the recruitment and retention of staff from diverse backgrounds.
  • Build relationships and recruit allies to enhance resource accessibility and foster social impact, with key partners including the New Orleans Public Library, the New Orleans Book Festival, and The Helis Foundation to position the Libraries as a leader in digital and open access initiatives.

Assistant Dean, Scholarly Resources and Curation
University of Rochester (Private R1 institution, 12k students), River Campus Libraries, Rochester, NY (2021 – 2023)

  • Led collection, curation, and preservation efforts for the University, developing and assessing strategies, projects, priorities, and policies for 7 departments and 37 FTE.
  • Managed a $10 million materials budget and oversaw successful building renovations for Rare Books, Robbins Library, and the Annex off-site facility.
  • Established and funded new initiatives, including an Open Educational Resource grant and an open monograph/subvention fund, enhancing the accessibility of academic resources.
  • Championed the Libraries’ strategic alignment, co-chairing negotiations with Elsevier that resulted in opening access to over 20k articles annually.
  • Advised the Dean on portfolio-related matters and collaborated with the Strategic Leadership Team to ensure consistent and effective decision-making.
  • Promoted a collaborative team culture, coordinating a leadership team of departmental managers and sponsoring ongoing team-building efforts.

Director of Collection Strategies and Scholarly Communication
University of Rochester (Private R1 institution, 12k students), River Campus Libraries, Rochester, NY (2020-2021)

  • Directed collection strategies and scholarly communication across 2 departments, managing a team of 7 FTE and coordinating 14 selectors.
  • Led enterprise license strategies as Co-Chair of the Electronic Resource Management Team, negotiating key research resource agreements.
  • Managed an $8 million collection budget, ensuring efficient forecasting, investment, and assessment to support diverse and equitable collections.
  • Fostered collaborative collection development through partnerships with institutional, community, publishing, and consortial partners.
  • Pioneered new scholarly communication services, including the Green Open Access/Self-Archiving pilot program “Free Your Paper!”.

Head of Collection Strategies
University of Rochester (Private R1 institution, 12k students), River Campus Libraries, Rochester, NY (2017 – 2020)

  • Coordinated collection strategies for the University, managing a $10 million budget and overseeing the work of 14 liaison librarians.
  • Streamlined collection processes, implementing modern collaborative models and managing grants for collection development.
  • Operationalized organizational commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion in collection development, assessment, and management.
  • Led initiatives in scholarly communications, co-founding the Scholarly Communications Community and revitalizing collection documentation.

Coordinator of Online Resources and Collections
University of Houston (Public R1, 45k students), Houston, TX (2015 – 2017)

  • Coordinated e-resources workflows and management, applying assessment, analytics, and user experience methodologies to improve collection services.
  • Integrated data visualization into collection workflows, designing public and internal-facing dashboards for liaisons, faculty, and students.
  • Developed and implemented policies for library collection development, maintaining vendor relationships and leveraging institutional partnerships.

Membership Manager
LYRASIS, Atlanta, GA (2015)

  • Managed member benefits and services for over 1,400 academic libraries, acting as the eResource expert and advocating for members with nearly 50 vendor partners.
  • Oversaw member engagement programs, including online training and licensed products, and analyzed the portfolio for return on investment.

Membership Coordinator
LYRASIS, Atlanta, GA (2013-2015)

  • Coordinated member services for 1,400 academic libraries, providing support for eResource management and facilitating training on digital services.

Member Services Specialist
LYRASIS, Atlanta, GA (2012-2013)

  • Provided technical and billing support for Southern and Western region members, focusing on eResource issues and developing online education curriculum.

Education

  • EdS, Instructional Technology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA (2016)
  • MLIS, Technology Track, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA (2012)
  • BA, International Relations and Studio Art, Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA (2006)
    • Study Abroad, 2004 – Hong Kong

Presentations and Workshops

Upcoming

  • Joyful Teams Solve Problems (Keynote), LOUIS (Louisiana Libraries consortia) User Conference (LUC), October 9, 2024. 

Past:

  • Payday Mayday: ARL Data for Wage Equity Efforts. Panel, Association of Research Libraries (ARL). May 8, 2024. 
  • PeMento: A Spicy Prototype for Peer Mentoring and Midcareer Professional Development. Carterette Webinar, Georgia Library Association. June 20, 2023.
  • Same Old Problem, Brand New Playbook: Applying Project Management to Resource Negotiation with Maridath Wilson. ACRL Leadership Discussion Group session. February 10, 2023.
  • Won’t Break My Soul: NERL’s Playbook for Defying Scarcity and Manifesting Joy with Maridath Wilson, Jessica Morales, and Sarah Forzetting. Charleston Conference, November 16th, 2022.
  • PeMento: A Spicy Prototype for Professional Development, Core Forum, October 14, 2022
  • [I love it When We’re] Cruisin’ Together: A Member-Driven Model for Consortial Collaboration with Maridath Wilson. Charleston Conference, November 5, 2021
  • Values-Based Strategies: Why NERL Demands a Better Deal and Why We All Deserve One. Muse Meets 2021 Panel. April 30, 2021
  • What Moves Us: Approaching Migration, Managing Change (Keynote), AMIGOS Online Conference, February 11, 2021
  • Capitulating or Capitalizing, Compromising or Combatting: What is Meaningful Discourse between Library and Vendor? with Ashley Krenelka Chase, Cris Ferguson, Rachel Fleming, Erin Luckett, and Kristin Twardowski. Charleston Conference, November 6, 2019.
  • Documentation Worth Making, Values Worth Fighting For: A Vision for Next Generation Collection Policies with Anne Rauh and Kelly Durkin Ruth. Charleston Conference, November 7, 2019.
  • Reframing the Relationship: Perspectives on Library-Vendor Partnerships with Allen Jones, Michael Rodriguez, and Rose Reynolds. Charleston Conference, November 8, 2019.
  • Acquisitions Work: From Competencies to Competence (Continuing Education Webinar) with Rachel Fleming. Association for Library Collections & Technical Services, September 25, 2019.
  • Envisioning Feminist Leadership (Keynote), American Association of University Women, May 9, 2019.
  • Decoding the Scholarly Resources Marketplace with Rachel Fleming. Charleston Conference, November 8, 2018.
  • “They Didn’t Teach This in Library School”: Identifying Core Knowledges for Beginning Acquisitions Librarians (Neapolitan Session) with Rachel Fleming. Charleston Conference, November 7, 2018.
  • Managing Vendor Relationships, with Jason Chabok, Allen Jones, Michael Rodriguez, Christine Stamison, and Kimberly Steinle. Preconference, November 6, 2018.
  • Possibilities for Collective Action (Webinar Panel), CRL eDesiderata Forum, October 18, 2018.
  • Vendor Relationships: Build, Negotiate, Transform, ALCTS/LITA Panel, ALA Midwinter, February 11, 2018.
  • When Change is a “New” Concept: Using Your Library’s Past to Manage Its Future, with Ashley Krenelka-Chase and Rachel Fleming, Charleston Conference, November 8, 2017.
  • Database Stewardship: Better Processes from Trial to Renewal, with Jennifer Freer (Rochester Institute of Technology), RIT/UR Conference, June 15, 2017.
  • ALCTS Panel, UX and eResources, ALA Annual Conference 2017, June 25, 2017.
  • Collection Data Visualization, Workshop, Texas A&M, November 1, 2016.
  • Collection Dashboards for Selectors, with Wenli Gao (UH). Charleston Conference, November 4, 2016.
  • Rolling with the Punches…and Punching Back: The Millennial Librarians’ Approach to Library Budgets and Acquisitions, with Ashley Krenelka Chase, Ellen Frentzen, and Christine Weaver-PIeh (Neapolitan Session). Charleston Conference, November 3, 2016.
  • Data Visualization from Scratch (Preconference). Charleston Conference, November 4, 2016.
  • Crossing the Streams: Trialing and Investigating New Format Resources. Acquisitions Institute, May 16, 2016.
  • COUNTER Point: Making the Most of Imperfect Data. ER&L, April 4, 2016.
  • MC and organizer, LYRASIS eGathering (unconference). May 20, 2015
  • Panelist, Practical Outreach: Best Practices for Engaging Your Community (panel). ALA Annual Conference, June 26, 2014. 
  • Library+: Free Technologies to Enhance User Experience. Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy, August 23, 2013.
  • Brave New LibGuide (webinar). November 10, 2012.
  • Library Leaders Panelist, LYRASIS eGathering (webinar panel). November 1, 2012.
  • Brave New LibGuide: An Analytical Approach. Georgia COMO, October 5, 2012.

Honors

  • 2019 ALCTS Presidential Citation
  • 2019 LITA Board Commendation
  • 2017 Library Journal Mover & Shaker, Digital Developers

Publications

Ongoing:

Cronk, Lindsay. “Resourcefully” (recurring column). The Serials Librarian. 

In Production:

Cronk, Lindsay. “Defining Collection Development as Operational Scholarly Communications in Academic Libraries.” Scholarly Communication Librarianship and Open Culture: Law, Economics, and Publishing. ACRL, 2021. 

Cronk, Lindsay. “Renewals as Projects: A Framework for Annual Review.” The Serials Librarian. 2023. Volume 83, Issue: 1-2.

Past: 

Wilson, Maridath, & Cronk, Lindsay. “The NERL Playbook.” Commonplace. 2022. https://doi.org/10.21428/6ffd8432.2b8579b0

Cronk, Lindsay. “Resourcefully: Grey Matters” The Serials Librarian. 2021. Volume 79, Issue: 3. https://doi.org/10.1080/0361526X.2020.1856755 

Cronk, Lindsay. “Resourcefully: Let’s End the Serials Crisis.” The Serials Librarian. 2020. Volume 79, Issue: 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1080/0361526X.2020.1832016 

Cronk, Lindsay and Fleming, Rachel. “Beyond Library School: Surfacing Resource Needs for Acquisitions Workers.” Charleston Voices. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 2019. 

Cronk, Lindsay and Fleming, Rachel. “‘They Didn’t Teach This in Library School’: Identifying Core Knowledges for Beginning Acquisitions Librarians.” Against the Grain. 2018: Vol.30, issue 6.

Cronk, Lindsay. “Collaboration is the New Leadership: When to Lean In and When to Lean Back.” Millennial Leadership in Libraries. Edited by Ashley Krenelka Chase. New York: Hein, 2018.

Cronk, Lindsay and Getz, Kelli. “Let’s Get in Formation: Standardized Data Review for eResource Management,” Against the Grain. 2016: Volume 28, issue 4.

Cronk, Lindsay and Rodriguez, Michael. “User Experience and eResource Integration: A Conference Report on the 2015 LITA Forum,” Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship. 2016: Volume 28, issue 2.

Service

Advisory: 

  • NERL Program Council Executive Board, 2021-2023
  • NERL Program Council, 2019-Present
  • IMLS Grant Reviewer, 2020 and 2021
  • Representative, HathiTrust, 2018-Present
  • Representative, Eastern Academic Scholars Trust (EAST), 2017-Present
  • Ubiquity Press, 2017-Present
  • Duke University Press 2017-2020
  • Digital Science, 2017-2019

Professional:

  • Advocacy and Public Policy Committee, ARL, 2023-2024
  • Past-President, Core 2022-2023
  • President, Core, 2021-2022
  • President-Elect, Core 2020-2021
  • Founder, PeMento: Peer Mentoring for MidCareer Library Workers, 2021-Present
  • President-Elect, Core 2020-2021
  • Member, Core Steering Committee, 2019-2020
  • Lead, Core Communications Working Group, 2019-2020
  • Member, ALA Council, 2019-2022
  • Board Member, Library Information Technology Association (LITA), 2017-2020
  • Member, Planning Committee, Acquisitions Institute, 2017-2019
  • Member, Resource Sharing and Collections Management Taskforce, Greater Western Library Alliance, 2016-2017
  • Editor, LITA Blog, American Library Association (ALA), 2016-2017
  • Special Projects Manager, LITA, ALA, 2015-2016
  • Web Coordinating Committee, LITA, ALA, 2016-2018
  • Education Committee, LITA, ALA, 2015-2017
  • Communications and Marketing Committee, LITA, ALA, 2015-2016
  • Webmaster, New Members Roundtable, Texas Library Association (TLA), 2016-2017
  • Secretary/Treasurer, New Members Roundtable, TLA, 2015-2016
  • Conference Planning Committee, Texas Library Association (District 8), 2014-2015
  • Committee Volunteer, American Library Association (LITA, LLAMA), 2014-2015
  • Co-Chair, Atlanta Emerging Librarians, Georgia Library Association, 2012-2013

Library:

  • Career Exploration in Libraries and Mentoring Faciltiator (CEiLaM), UR, 2018-2020
  • Member, Library Promotions Committee, 2020-Present
  • Chair, University Electronic Resources Management (ERM) Team, 2020-Present
  • Manager, Talent Management Team (TMT), University of Rochester, 2019-2020 
  • Member, Strategic Planning Team (SPT), UR, 2017-2018.
  • Member, Collection Management Committee (CMC), UH, 2015-2017
  • Facilitator, Electronic Resources Management Team (ERMT), UH, 2015-2017
  • Member, Liaison Services Advisory Board (LSAB), UH, 2015-2017
  • Chair, Retention Subcommittee (CMC), UH, 2016-2017
  • Vice-Chair, Bylaws Committee, UH, 2016-2017
  • Member, ER Workflow Taskforce (ERMT), UH, 2016-2017
  • Member, Omeka Implementation Team, UH, 2016-2017

Campus:

  • Tulane Civic Engagement Coalition, 2024-Present
  • Tulane University Senate, Ex Officio, 2023-Present
  • University of Rochester Strategic Planning Team, 2021-2022
  • Cougar Ally, University of Houston LGBTQ Resource Center. 2014-2016
  • Personal Access Liaison (PAL), Program for first-year student success, 2014-2016
  • Facilitator, UH Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Discussion Group, 2014

Memberships

  • American Library Association
  • Louisiana Library Association

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