Salem resident named Executive Director of the Frederick E. Berry Library and Learning Commons at Salem State University

Elizabeth McKeigue, MSLS, of Salem, has been named executive director of the Frederick E. Berry Library and Learning Commons at Salem State University, a resource for students, faculty and staff, and for residents of Salem and surrounding communities. McKeigue began serving in this role in May and is responsible for the development and management of library staff, collections and programming.  

McKeigue is responsible for articulating the library’s strategic direction and priorities and advancing its mission to serve as a gateway to global information, enabling direct and remote access to resources in a variety of formats. McKeigue will also foster a dynamic work environment that promotes innovation, teamwork, diversity, and inclusion.

The library is open to library card holders within the NOBLE public library system which consists of communities including Salem, Lynn, Marblehead, Peabody, Swampscott and others.

A native of Danvers, McKeigue returns to the North Shore, recently moving to Salem, from Santa Clara University in California where she held the position of assistant university librarian for learning and engagement. Previously, McKeigue held positions at Lamont and Widener Libraries Harvard College.

“As a graduate of Danvers High School, my Salem State-educated teachers encouraged my potential and inspired me to become the first in my immediate family to attend and graduate from college. The example they set as educators and mentors sparked my vocation to higher education,” McKeigue said.

McKeigue holds a master’s in library and information science and completed additional graduate work in Irish studies, all at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She also completed additional coursework as an undergraduate at the University of Wales, Trinity Saint David in Carmarthen, Wales, U.K.

“With her ties to the North Shore, extensive work at libraries around the country, and her academic achievements, I look forward to our partnership in continuing the success of the Frederick E. Berry Library and Learning Commons,” David Silva, provost and academic vice president, said. “Salem State will benefit greatly from her expertise and experience.”

The 124,000 square foot Frederick E. Berry Library and Learning Commons was completed in July of 2013 and houses 1,000 reader seats, 150 computers, 12 reservable group study rooms, three library instruction classrooms, and is designed to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

The library consists of over 320,000 print books, and more than 9,000 DVDs and other media. Users have access to over 14,466 electronic books, and over 71,000 journals from more than 280 databases. Unique digitized collections are accessible online, such as: collections of faculty publications, Salem Normal School historic materials, Essex County lithographs, rare materials and photographs of the Great Salem Fire of 1914, and materials from the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

“In addition to my professional background as a librarian, I have a deep and lifelong respect for Salem State as an institution. I personally understand the power that Salem State graduates have to change lives,” McKeigue added.

Read more  about the Frederick E. Berry Library and Learning Commons.