January 25, 2010

Obama taps libraries dean Winston Tabb for national board

Winston Tabb, Sheridan Dean of University Libraries and Museums at Johns Hopkins, has been nominated by President Barack Obama to the National Museum and Library Services Board. The nomination, announced last week by the White House, requires confirmation by the Senate.

“I am honored to serve and humbled by this recognition,” Tabb said.

The National Museum and Library Services Board is the advisory body for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The institute works to create strong libraries and museums through programming at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations. Board members are presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed men and women who have demonstrated expertise in, or commitment to, library or museum services.

As dean of libraries at Johns Hopkins, Tabb directs the integration of new information technologies throughout the university’s libraries and, as head of the University Libraries Council, leads and coordinates Johns Hopkins’ entire system of libraries, which includes the Welch Medical Library and its satellites, the Mason Library at SAIS, the Friedheim Library at the Peabody Institute, the library at the Downtown Center and information services at APL.

He is also director of the Sheridan Libraries, which include the Milton S. Eisenhower Library and the Hutzler Reading Room in Gilman Hall, both on the Homewood campus; the George Peabody Library on Mount Vernon Place; the John Work Garrett Library at Evergreen Museum & Library; and the libraries at the university’s regional campuses in Washington, D.C., and Rockville and Columbia, Md.

Tabb also oversees Homewood Museum and Evergreen Museum & Library, both of which are integral to the academic life of the university and are open to the public for tours, arts exhibitions, concerts and other events.

Appointed vice provost for the arts in 2005, Tabb undertook responsibility for implementation of the recommendations of the Homewood Arts Task Force, which he chaired, and for coordination of efforts to extend its work beyond the Homewood campus and across the university. Tabb has led in the development of funding for arts initiatives and in building relationships with arts organizations in the greater Baltimore community.

Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, Tabb served at the Library of Congress for more than 30 years, ultimately as associate librarian of Congress for library services. A graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University, he holds a degree in library science from Simmons College and a master’s degree from Harvard University.