Catherine Quinlan joined the University of Southern California as dean of the USC
Libraries on August 1, 2007. She came to USC after a decade at the University of
British Columbia, where she headed a library system encompassing more than 300
full-time staff members distributed over and more than 21 sites. Beginning in 2004,
she also served as managing director of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, a $74
million facility located on the UBC campus that is a prototype for academic
information management and dissemination.
Prior to joining UBC, she spent seven years as director of libraries and chief librarian
at the University of Western Ontario, and as an adjunct professor in the university’s
Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Previously, Quinlan oversaw the
health sciences library at Memorial University of Newfoundland and was a member of
the adjunct business administration faculty.
Quinlan has published extensively on the importance of information literacy and has
lectured at educational institutions around the world. She also has served on the
board of directors of numerous professional organizations including the Canadian
Association of Research Libraries and the Pacific Rim Digital Library Alliance.
At USC, Quinlan—in partnership with the USC Marshall School of Business—has
initiated the establishment of a new, innovative, and entirely online master’s degree
in management of libraries and information science (MMLIS). The USC MMLIS
welcomed its first cohort of students in May, 2013, and will graduate its first class of
librarians in May, 2015. She also launched the first-ever USC Libraries Discovery
Fellowship, a program that brings to USC a distinguished thinker, artist, or
technologist to engage library collections in surprising ways and encourage USC
students to find inspiration, creativity, and discovery in the libraries. As of January,
2012, Quinlan is the inaugural holder of the Ronald and Valerie Sugar Dean’s Chair
of the USC Libraries.
Quinlan holds a master of business administration degree from Memorial University
of Newfoundland, a master of library studies degree from Dalhousie University, and a
bachelor of music degree from Queen’s University.
Libraries on August 1, 2007. She came to USC after a decade at the University of
British Columbia, where she headed a library system encompassing more than 300
full-time staff members distributed over and more than 21 sites. Beginning in 2004,
she also served as managing director of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, a $74
million facility located on the UBC campus that is a prototype for academic
information management and dissemination.
Prior to joining UBC, she spent seven years as director of libraries and chief librarian
at the University of Western Ontario, and as an adjunct professor in the university’s
Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Previously, Quinlan oversaw the
health sciences library at Memorial University of Newfoundland and was a member of
the adjunct business administration faculty.
Quinlan has published extensively on the importance of information literacy and has
lectured at educational institutions around the world. She also has served on the
board of directors of numerous professional organizations including the Canadian
Association of Research Libraries and the Pacific Rim Digital Library Alliance.
At USC, Quinlan—in partnership with the USC Marshall School of Business—has
initiated the establishment of a new, innovative, and entirely online master’s degree
in management of libraries and information science (MMLIS). The USC MMLIS
welcomed its first cohort of students in May, 2013, and will graduate its first class of
librarians in May, 2015. She also launched the first-ever USC Libraries Discovery
Fellowship, a program that brings to USC a distinguished thinker, artist, or
technologist to engage library collections in surprising ways and encourage USC
students to find inspiration, creativity, and discovery in the libraries. As of January,
2012, Quinlan is the inaugural holder of the Ronald and Valerie Sugar Dean’s Chair
of the USC Libraries.
Quinlan holds a master of business administration degree from Memorial University
of Newfoundland, a master of library studies degree from Dalhousie University, and a
bachelor of music degree from Queen’s University.
