NWC appoints new library director

Northwestern College has announced the hiring of Tim Schlak as director of Ramaker Library. Schlak is a Ph.D. candidate in library and information science at the University of Pittsburgh and anticipates completing his degree this spring. He will begin his new position July 1.

“Tim brings vision, expertise and enthusiasm to the directorship,” says Dr. Doug Anderson, interim director of the library and the chairperson of the position’s search committee. “He is fully engaged with the major challenges and opportunities facing libraries and librarians in the digital age. He can help us meet the multidimensional information needs of the college community in ways that blend tradition and innovation while remaining centered in the college’s mission of vibrant Christian higher education.”

In addition to his doctorate, Schlak earned a master’s degree in library and information science and a master’s in Slavic languages and literatures, both from the University of Pittsburgh. He received a bachelor’s degree in Russian area studies from Wittenberg University and worked in a United Methodist Church initiative to send mission teams to Russia.

A former president for the Pittsburgh chapter of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Schlak served as a teaching fellow at the University of Pittsburgh and recently published an article on photographic archives in Archival Science.

“What excites me so much about coming to Northwestern as library director is the opportunity to contribute to the proposed learning commons, which will transform how students and faculty live and learn in community,” says Schlak. “Ramaker Library has served Northwestern well for many years, but changes in information and communication technologies have fundamentally reshaped the liberal arts college library landscape. I look forward to helping to set the vision for how library and information services can respond to the needs of faculty and staff for decades to come in a dynamic facility that grows with our community.”