Gary E. Strong, director of the Queens Borough Public Library in New York, has been appointed as UCLA’s university librarian effective Sept. 1, Chancellor Albert Carnesale announced.

“Gary Strong brings to UCLA his outstanding credentials and a wealth of experience in both the public and private library systems. He is ideally suited for the task of running UCLA’s comprehensive library system, which is among the best academic research libraries in the world,� Carnesale said. “The UCLA Library is an important intellectual link between our campus and the global community and will surely benefit from Gary Strong’s expertise. The UCLA family looks forward to his joining our campus.�

Since 1994, Strong has been the head of the busiest public library in America, serving the most diverse county in the nation with a central library, 62 community libraries and six adult learning centers. Prior to joining the Queens Borough Public Library in 1994, he worked closely with UC libraries during his 14 years as the California State Librarian. From 1973 to 1980, he served as associate director, director and deputy state librarian at the Washington State Library.

“I am very much looking forward to being a part of the UCLA community and its world-class library and to following in the tradition of the distinguished university librarians who preceded me,� Strong said. “I am excited by the challenges of continuing to develop the library’s extensive collections and to expanding its digital resources in support of UCLA’s scholarly, research and teaching mission. A great university deserves a great library, and I am energized by its accomplishments and by its potential.�

Strong brings to his new post expertise in both public and private library systems, and the experience of having created the California Research Bureau, which today stands as one of California’s finest public policy research organizations. Through its nonpartisan work, the bureau demonstrates the importance of strong public policy development in guiding the nation’s most populous state and its government.

Strong’s career spans more than 30 years as a librarian and library administrator, giving him a unique perspective on the ramifications of the Information Age. He is an expert on many of the key issues reflecting the current social challenges facing public institutions, including the role of the public library in the 21st century, adult literacy, electronic equity for equal access to information, multiculturalism and cultural diversity in a pluralistic society, intellectual freedom, privacy and censorship, funding and fundraising for public institutions, and a host of subjects relating to the knowledge explosion.

Strong, 58, is a native of Moscow, Idaho. He earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Idaho in 1966 and a Master of Library Science degree from the University of Michigan in 1967.

Strong began his career at the University of Idaho Library and the Latah County (Idaho) Free Library and subsequently worked at the Markeley Residence Library at the University of Michigan, public libraries in Oregon and Washington, and the Washington State Library.

Strong and his wife, Carolyn, currently live in Beechhurst, N.Y., and have two adult children.

Strong succeeds Gloria Werner, who retired after working for 40 years at UCLA, the last 10 of which serving as the head librarian. As the university’s sixth librarian, she led the UCLA library to national prominence and was very involved with integrating information technology into the traditional library experience.

Ranked among the top 10 research libraries in the United States, the UCLA Library system is a campuswide network whose principal components are the Charles E. Young Research Library, the College Library and seven subject libraries. Its collections encompass more than 7.6 million volumes as well as important collections of archives, audiovisual materials, corporate reports, government publications, manuscripts, maps, microforms, oral history transcripts, photographs, technical reports and other scholarly resources.