The Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library at Emory University has named Elizabeth Ott as its associate university librarian for special collections and director of the Rose Library. She will begin her new duties on Jan. 6, 2025.
“I am delighted to welcome Elizabeth Ott to the Libraries and to Emory,” says Lisa Macklin, associate vice provost and university librarian at Emory University. “Liz brings an understanding of the unique role of special collections in teaching, learning, and research for our faculty and students and for researchers from across the globe. Her prior leadership and experience engaging with campus and community partners will support the world-renowned, diverse collections and inspiring programming and exhibits of the Rose Library.”
Elizabeth Ott has been selected as associate university librarian for special collections and director of the Rose Library at Emory University. Photo: University of North Carolina.
Ott is currently the Frank Borden Hanes Curator of Rare Books at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she served as the interim associate university librarian for special collections and director of Wilson Special Collections Library from 2022-2024. She began working at UNC at Chapel Hill in 2015 as Wilson’s assistant curator of rare books. Prior to that, she worked as a curatorial assistant at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia and a program assistant at the university’s Rare Book School.
“Rose Library houses such unique, important collections that document the rich and complex history of the South, collections that celebrate the art and craft of poetry and literature, collections that shed light onto political and social histories that continue to shape our world,” says Ott. “I am thrilled to lead a staff who are already thinking of innovative ways to bring these resources into conversation with researchers locally and globally.”
Ott earned a PhD in English literature from the University of Virginia, a Master of Arts in Victorian media and culture from Royal Holloway, University of London – Egham in the United Kingdom, and a Bachelor of Arts in English and history from Agnes Scott College.
When asked what piqued her interest in the job and what her vision is as director of the Rose, Ott highlighted partnerships, community engagement, and the staff.
“I was attracted to this position by the reputation of the stellar staff of the Rose Library, and Emory Libraries more broadly, as well as the Rose Library’s commitment to engaging a wide variety of communities with special collections materials,” says Ott. “My vision for Rose Library is to support and expand its drive to be a vibrant and connected library that is an integral partner with other institutions, across Emory’s campus, the Southeast, the nation, and the world.”
—by Maureen McGavin, senior writer, Emory Libraries marketing and engagement team
About the Rose Library
The Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, & Rare Book Library currently holds approximately 134,000 print titles, and more than 2,200 collections measuring over 22,000 linear feet of material (over four miles worth of boxes). Rose Library welcomes nearly 1,000 researchers each year (about 50 percent from outside Emory’s classes, and 30 percent Emory undergraduates) and another 800 college and K-12 students for classes and instruction sessions.
The Rose Library’s renowned collections span more than 800 years of human history — with particular depth in modern literature, African American history, Emory University history and the history of Georgia and the South. To learn more, visit libraries.emory.edu/rose.
About Emory Libraries
Ranked among the top 20 Association of Research Libraries (ARL) in North America, Emory Libraries serves as an interdisciplinary, intellectual commons for our campuses in Atlanta and Oxford, Georgia, with more than 5.8 million volumes and 430,000 electronic journals, 1.8+ million e-books, and internationally renowned collections. Libraries include the Robert W. Woodruff Library; Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, & Rare Book Library; Woodruff Health Sciences Center Library, and Oxford College Library.