FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] – Brown University has announced Thomas A. Horrocks as the new Director of Special Collections and the John Hay Library, effective July 9, 2012.
Horrocks has been employed at Harvard University for the past fourteen years, eight as Director of the Center for the History of Medicine at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine and six as Associate Director for Collections at Houghton Library. During his tenure at Countway, he reorganized and expanded the special collections staff, managed the renovation of the special collections department, established an exhibition program, revived and revamped the Warren Anatomical Museum, designed the library’s first fellowship program, raised funds for various cataloging and processing projects, and created the Center for the History of Medicine.
At Houghton Library, where Horrocks is responsible for collection development, collection promotion, and collection preservation, he has been involved with several notable acquisitions, created the library’s first preservation program, revitalized the contemporary poetry department, produced the library’s first collection development guidelines, enhanced and streamlined the exhibition and fellowship programs, and, working with Harvard faculty and local cultural organizations, organized major national and international conferences on Abraham Lincoln and Samuel Johnson.
Before coming to Harvard, Horrocks was employed at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia for thirteen years, where he served as Director of Historical Programs and Director of the Library. Holding a library degree from Drexel University and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Pennsylvania, Horrocks has published many articles and has written, edited, and co-edited five books, including Popular Print and Popular Medicine: Health Advice in Early American Almanacs (2008), The Living Lincoln (2011), and Johnson After Three Centuries: New Light on Texts and Contexts (2011). He is currently writing a biography of James Buchanan and a book on Abraham Lincoln’s 1860 campaign biographies.
The Brown University Library is home to more than 6.8 million print items, plus a multitude of electronic resources and expanding digital archives serving the teaching, research, and learning needs of Brown students and faculty, as well as scholars from around the country and the world.
Contact: Jennifer Braga | 401-863-6913
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