
Peter R.
Young Named National Agricultural Library DirectorBy Len Carey June 3, 2002WASHINGTON, June 3--Under
Secretary of Agriculture Joseph Jen has named Peter R. Young as director of the
National Agricultural Library. Young has been chief of the cataloging distribution service at the
Library of Congress (LC) since 1997, where he
directed distribution of LC bibliographic and authority products, services and
technical publications for the United States. Since November 2001 he has served
also as acting chief of the Asian Division at the Library of Congress, where he
managed staff, services and programs related to LC's 2-million-item Asian
vernacular language collections. We are extremely pleased to have Peter at the helm of the National
Agricultural Library, said Under Secretary of Agriculture for
Research, Education and EconomicsJoseph Jen. His wealth of experience in the international library and
information arenas will be an asset in serving the needs of USDAs global
agricultural research and education communities. As director of the National Agricultural Library (NAL), Young will provide
leadership and direction for the library's broad programs and technical
information services. NAL is one of four national libraries and the principal
source in the United States for information about food, agriculture and natural
resources. The NAL's expert staff, large and accessible collections and
leadership role in information services and technology applications make it the
world's foremost agricultural library. Young has held professional positions in college, university, research and
public libraries and also has government and industry experience. From 1990 to
1997, he served as executive director of the U.S. National Commission on
Libraries and Information Science, an independent federal agency established in
1970 to advise the president and the Congress regarding library and information
services and policies. He has been an academic library administrator at
Rice University,
Franklin and Marshall College, and
American University and served as
assistant director of the Grand Rapids
(Mich.) public library. He served in the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Division in 1969 and
was awarded three bronze star medals for meritorious achievement directing a
Special Services Library in Cu Chi, Vietnam. Young earned a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from the
College of Wooster, in Wooster, Ohio, and
a master's degree in library science from Columbia University's School of Library
Service. NAL is part of the Agricultural Research Service, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief
scientific research agency. The NAL web
site is its electronic gateway to a wealth of agricultural information
resources. U.S. Department of Agriculture |