New library director at Umeå University Library named
NEWS
Mikael Sjögren, current Head of Dean’s Office at Umeå School of Education, will become the new Library Director at Umeå University Library – the largest academic and research library in northern Sweden. He will begin his appointment on 1 September.
“Mikael Sjögren has broad leadership experience, an extensive network, and furthermore, he has been working as a teacher and researcher,” says Lena Gustafsson, Vice-Chancellor of Umeå University. “Accordingly, he has a very good combination of knowledge and experience to successfully lead the operations at our university library. I look forward to working for the continued development of the library, which of course is central to the university's development.”
Mikael Sjögren has worked at Umeå University for 20 years, and is a familiar face to many.
"The work as library director will be a stimulating challenge, and it’s one that that I really look forward to," says Sjögren. "The University Library is undergoing very exciting period. A great deal is happening in the digital development, while the library is simultaneously working to introduce creative work environements and meeting places."
He began his appointment as Head of Dean’s Office at Umeå School of Education in August 2010. He previously worked for two years as director of Umeå University's police training and during 2006 to 2008 he was educational director at the Faculty of Arts. During his time as a researcher and teacher, he worked first at the Department of Historical Studies and then at the Department of Social Work, where he also worked as director of studies. In 1997, he received his doctorate in history with a dissertation on twentieth century Swedish poverty. Internationalisation is also something that is close to Mikael Sjögren's heart. It is a commitment that he hopes to further develop in his new role as Library Director.
Umeå University Library
Umeå University Library consists of the University Library, including the Research Archives, the Medical Library at the Norrlands University Hospital, and the library Campus Örnsköldsvik.
The University Library has 4,000 daily visitors, and has approximately 1.5 million volumes of books and 20,000 journal titles. The library’s bright and welcoming premises include 1,800 study spaces, 300 public computers, and an academic resource lab to support students.
E-books on demand is a European-wide network that Umeå University was the first to be a part of. The intent is to make older books available. During 2011 a joint library catalogue will be launched within the network, which means that tens of millions of books will be easily searchable and accessible for digitization. The service-wide language support makes it possible to order books from large parts of Europe in Swedish and at a reasonable cost. www.ub.umu.se/en
For further information, please contact:
Mikael Sjögren Mobile: +46 (0)70-582 65 66
Lena Gustafsson, Vice-Chancellor of Umeå University Mobile: +46 (0)73-079 42 91
