More Information
Jamie Hazlitt, an academic librarian with two decades of experience in public services, liaison work, outreach, collections and library administration, has been named director of Arts, Music and Powell libraries, effective November 7. The appointment was made by Athena N. Jackson, the Norman and Armena Powell University Librarian.
As director of a division that unites librarians and staff across three distinct library locations, Hazlitt will lead planning and management, including coordination of the liaison, research support, instruction, and collection development programs, as well as spaces and other facilities projects. An important aspect of the role involves serving as an advocate for arts and music research practices, focusing on undergraduate needs in Library decision-making, and fostering strong relationships with campus stakeholders. As one of three directors in the Library’s User Engagement unit, which connects Library public services, Hazlitt will work closely with her peers to develop and ensure best practices for user experience and deliver outstanding programming that engages students and advances academic success.
“Throughout my career, three core values have consistently guided my work: communication, connectivity and transparency,” said Hazlitt. “These values are integral to my management approach, and are what I aim to bring to the role of director of the Arts, Music and Powell libraries.”
Hazlitt began her library career working the reference desk at UCLA Library’s Arts Library. Her return to UCLA follows 19 years of progressive responsibility, community-building and collaborative leadership across public services, technical services and administration at the William H. Hannon Library at Loyola Marymount University, where she most recently served as associate dean. At LMU, Hazlitt authored and stewarded the library’s five-year strategic plan, fostered inclusive communication and organizational culture, managed an $11M operating budget and served as the library liaison to leadership in other campus units. Her many projects included leading the development of a new outreach and programming department, spearheading collection development and the librarian liaison program and launching LMU's first open educational resources (OER) initiative, which she later leveraged into securing a $1.5M grant from the U.S. Department of Education to develop OER for Social Justice — a project to transform course materials for 12 high enrollment courses across four California Catholic institutions, including LMU.
“We are thrilled to have Jamie back at UCLA Library,” said Allison Benedetti, associate university librarian for teaching, learning and research and head of the search committee. “Her wealth of experience with administration, budgets, collections, along with her relationship building and leadership skills will be great assets to the Library as we continue to evolve our strategic plan and focus on creating innovative spaces for users.”
Among her publications are the book chapter “Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst: Engaging Faculty With a Multi-year Deselection Project,” published in Telling the Technical Services Story (2021), and “Faculty Pub Night at the William H. Hannon Library: Highlighting Faculty Works Through Creative Programming,” which appeared in Public Services Quarterly (2016). Hazlitt is currently the production editor for the open-source journal Evidence Based Library and Information Practice and has an active track record delivering professional presentations and posters. For the past three years, she has served on the conference planning committee of the Acquisitions Institute at Timberline Lodge, a library conference that provides opportunities for acquisitions and collection development for librarians and others.
She earned a B.F.A. in visual communications from the University of Washington and a master’s degree in library and information science from UCLA. As a UCLA student, she worked as an intern at the Fowler Museum and as a graduate student assistant for the Arts Library.
Hazlitt, a self-described connector, said, “I consistently seek opportunities to build trust and bridge departments within the library, to bring people and ideas together between the library and other units on campus, as well as networking and partnering with colleagues in other institutions. I can’t wait to make these connections at UCLA.”