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Jamie Wittenberg, the new dean of the University Libraries, comes to Loyola University Chicago with a rich background in research data management and open scholarship, and brings a passion for integrating library resources into all aspects of academic life. Most recently at the University of Colorado Boulder, she served as Assistant Dean for Research and Innovation Strategies in the University Libraries.
Wittenberg’s career in libraries began during her time in behavioral research lab management at Purdue University, where she became interested in data curation for scientific research data—a subfield of Library and Information Science. She pursued a Master of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with a focus on protecting the integrity of scientific data for its reuse.
Here, she discusses the importance of connecting students, faculty, and staff with the resources housed within the University Libraries and the role of libraries as a multidisciplinary, interconnected hub on Loyola’s campuses.
What attracted you to Loyola and the University Libraries?
Really, the mission of the University attracted me to the role. When I saw the position profile, I was struck by the commitment to engagement in the city of Chicago and developing students who are really working in service to the greater good. At a time when many universities are retreating from their values, Loyola was steadfast in asserting those values.
I was also interested in the possibilities for the Libraries. We have these beautiful, inspiring spaces, and these fabulous teams, wonderful libraries, and library staff. I kept asking myself, “how could we leverage the libraries to unify and build connections across these campuses?”
How do you see the University Libraries’ role in supporting Loyola’s strategic plan, such as research, student success, and community engagement?
We’re embarking now on a strategic planning process in alignment with the University Strategic Plan. The Libraries, for me, are kind of the filament that unites research, student success, and community engagement across all our campuses. There’s this idea in 20th-century German philosophy of the gestalt–that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. So when I think about the libraries, I think about the ways that we can bring together those facets of the University’s Strategic Plan and invest them with new meaning to create more value for the University, the students, and the faculty.
I’m also really working hard to connect with colleagues across all of Loyola’s schools and colleges to understand how the libraries can support the University’s mission and be working in partnership with all of our stakeholders to advance the plan.
In your opinion, what are some of the biggest challenges facing libraries today?
One of the exciting things about working in libraries is that we are always in a position to engage with the challenges of the era that we’re living in. Libraries take a long view of society. We’re thinking about how to create and preserve information and scholarship 100 years from now.
One challenge that stands out to me is the challenge of articulating our value in an era of ubiquitous information. If you ask three people at this university what the library is, they’ll give you four different answers. To a first-year commuter student, we’re a safe and inspiring place to study, an academic home away from home. To a graduate student, we might be a repository of data sets they’re aggregating to write their thesis. To a teaching professor, we’re a team of instructors that can scaffold information literacy concepts for their class. To a researcher, we’re a rich collection of archival primary source materials. That breadth is a strength of ours and a challenge in terms of articulating what we do to our community.
What do you envision for the future of the University Libraries?
I see the Libraries as evolving into a more unified system where all of our libraries across Loyola’s campuses are working in tandem to really support student success and transdisciplinary research and experiential learning. Anyone should be able to walk into one of our spaces and know what to expect, with standardized access to services and resources across all campuses.
What are you most excited about as the new dean of the University Libraries?
I’m most excited about the students and the faculty. Everything we do in the Libraries is to support their learning and research, so I’m really looking forward to building on some of the great work that’s already happening here. I want to continue thinking about how we transform the Libraries, –the spaces, the services, and the collections– to better meet those needs because they’re evolving and continuing to evolve in 2026 and beyond.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I love yoga, hiking, skiing, and reading. I have a very complicated relationship with the New York Times Crossword, but I do enjoy it. I’m also trying to work my way through visiting every Chicago library, which either makes me a very committed dean or very boring. The Newberry Library is a standout at this point, but I have still not seen a view that compares to the Information Commons.
Learn more about the University Libraries’ commitment to fostering successful student experiences and enriching the Loyola academic community through their website and in their 2024-2025 Impact Report.
