Ball State alumnus Matthew Shaw has been named the new dean of University Libraries, a position that puts him in charge of strategic alignment of teaching, learning and technology within the university.
Shaw started working in Bracken Library as an undergraduate student in 1990 at age 18, and took a staff position right after graduation. He then went on to work in other libraries but returned to campus from 2004-2013, where he worked as the electronic resources librarian.
He later worked in collections development and was the head of access services until taking a position at the University of Indianapolis.
“The opportunity became available and of course I had gone to UIndy and gotten some valuable experience that I thought I could bring back to my alma mater and apply here,” Shaw said. “Having worked in the library for so many years, I really have a deep respect for Ball State and for my colleagues here in the library, many of whom are still here from my previous time."
Shaw’s family has lived in Muncie since the mid-19th century, and he holds two degrees from Ball State- an undergraduate degree in English and a master’s degree in Executive Development for Public Service, as well as another master’s degree in Library and Information Sciences from Indiana University.
“[My family and I] are pretty connected here in the community, so it’s good to be able to stay in the community but it’s even better, I think, to be able to serve here at Ball State,” Shaw said. “I’m glad to be back here.”
As dean, Shaw will oversee collections, services and technologies that support student success and faculty research.
“The dean of the libraries is – even though some aspect of it is management, of course – I think we have to be strategic thought leaders for the libraries so that we continue to remain relevant to the mission of the institution,” Shaw said. “In many ways, the library is a partner with faculty members to make sure that we’re delivering and providing the kind of content that students and faculty need to be successful learners [and] successful researchers, and that we are providing sort of the components for knowledge building that move the university forward.”
Shaw said he believes that libraries can be a sandbox for emerging technologies and said that the libraries will always participate in technology implementation.
Ball State has three libraries: Bracken Library, the Architecture Library inside the CAP building and the Science-Health Library inside the Cooper Science complex. Shaw reports to the Information Technology department.
“The interesting thing about libraries, I think, is that because we are an IT unit that supports teaching and learning, we sort of live in both worlds. We live in the world of IT, but we also live in the world that supports the academic mission so we’re both information and technology,” Shaw said. “Technology is the conduit through which we deliver and enable the processing of information to build knowledge.”
Shaw said he thinks that libraries are still as relevant as they have been in the past, but user expectations about access to information has changed. He wants to move the library forward with more powerful and enhanced services for discovery and delivery of information and build on the strengths that the libraries already have.
“That was one of the things about coming back to Ball State ... I already know the strengths of this organization,” Shaw said. “I don’t have all the answers, but I believe that the professionals in this building all hold a piece of the puzzle and as we work together, our staff and our librarians, I think a real, a composite picture will emerge of the right things for us to do moving forward to continue to be a hub for our students and faculty here on campus.”
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