By Haley Griffith
UW – Madison Libraries Welcome New University Archivist Katie Nash
The University of Wisconsin – Madison
Libraries are pleased to welcome the new University Archivist , Katie Nash . Nash has quickly settled into her new role managing and overseeing the daily operations of the University Archives . She works closely with the Archives staff to ensure that accounts of individuals , places , events , and stories associated with UW – Madison are collected , shared , and carefully preserved for generations to come .
Nash received her BA in anthropology and a minor in sociology from Appalachian State University , and later earned her MILS at University of North Carolina at Greensboro . In 2011 , she became a certified archivist . Prior to her role at UW – Madison , Nash worked as a special collections librarian and archivist at Elon University in North Carolina , and as a college archivist and special collections librarian at Williams College in Massachusetts .
As the current University Archivist at UW – Madison , Nash works closely with staff who manage the Oral History Program , the Records Management operation , anything pertaining to digital collections and media , and general collection development , as well as the arrangement and description of collections .
“ The team in University Archives is truly amazing . Everyone is so knowledgeable , hardworking , service-orientated , creative , and not shy about sharing their great senses of humor ,” Nash noted . “ These traits are crucial to creating and working in a successful and forward-thinking environment .”
About her vision and goals she hopes to share with UW – Madison , Nash said , “ We ’ ve got our work cut out for us , but we ’ re eager to carve out new initiatives , partnerships , and collaborative opportunities across campus .”
Due to several staff transitions and retirements in the University Archives recently , the department has faced some challenges Nash believes can be used as opportunities to improve workflows , policies , procedures , spaces , and much more . She added , “ Although we are all eager for some things to change quickly , we must be methodical and thoughtful in our approach , and communicate change . We want to make sure that we continue to provide the highest quality service .”
The department is excited to welcome Nash to the team . Said her mentor , David Pavelich , “ It ’ s wonderful to have Katie in this role . She ’ s energetic , positive , ambitious , and forward-thinking , and she brings with her a depth of experience in university and college archives that ’ s hard to match . Running the archives for an ambitious university of this size and with this much history is exciting , but also challenging work . Katie has an excellent sense of humor , and she has already discovered Babcock ice cream , so she ’ s well prepared for any challenges this campus can throw at her .”
When she ’ s not working in the archives , Nash enjoys jumping at any opportunity to take in everything Madison has to offer .
Welcome to UW – Madison , Katie !
6 | LIBRARIES Fall 2018