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President Obama Taps Simmons College Graduate For Top U.S. Archivist Post

BOSTON (July 30, 2009) — The White House announced this week that President Barack Obama has sent to the Senate his nomination of Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science Alumnus David S. Ferriero for Archivist of the United States National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

If approved by the Senate, Ferriero, a 1974 graduate of the Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science, will become the 10th archivist since the National Archives was established in 1934 by President Franklin Roosevelt. NARA is the nation's record keeper with holdings dating back to 1775. The U.S. Archivist is responsible for the oversight of the activities of NARA, such as holding public records and releasing government documents, including presidential papers.

Ferriero currently serves as the Andrew W. Mellon Director of the New York Public Libraries, one of the largest public library systems in the U.S. and one of the largest research library systems in the world. Serving as director since 2004, Ferriero is responsible for collection strategy; conservation; digital experience; reference and research services; and education, programming, and exhibitions. Prior to taking the director position, Ferriero served as the chief executive of NYPL's Research Libraries, and as the university librarian and vice provost for library affairs at Duke University. He began his career as a junior library assistant at the MIT Libraries, where he spent 31 years, leaving in 1996 as the acting co-director of the MIT Libraries.

The nationally ranked Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science is one of the oldest and largest library and information science programs in the nation. Founded in 1899, Simmons College is a nationally recognized university located in the heart of Boston that includes an undergraduate college for women, and graduate programs for women and men in management, social work, health sciences, and library and information science.