FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 10, 2000

Fairbanks, Alaska- Seven years after leaving the university and four years after leaving Alaska to head a private firm in Washington state specializing in computing services to libraries nationwide, Paul McCarthy will return early this summer as Director of Libraries and Information Technology for the Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. McCarthy previously headed the Rasmuson Library from 1987-1993, and prior to that, had been with UAF for more than 23 years.

"My heart and spirit were always with Alaska, the library and with UAF. My wife and I welcome the opportunity to return and to resume our contributions to the university and the community." From 1994, McCarthy has maintained a connection to the university as a professor emeritus of library science, developing major research and grant programs including work with libraries and archives in the Russian Far East as well as special programs relating to polar information. Three of McCarthy's four children are graduates of UAF.

McCarthy came to UAF in 1964 from the special collections program at Syracuse University in New York. In 1965 he established the Rasmuson's archives section, gathering a significant collection of records, manuscripts and photographs documenting Alaska's history. In the early 1980s he became head of the Alaska and Polar Regions Department, which incorporated all of the library's holdings focused on Alaska and the North. The internationally renowned Alaska and Polar Regions Collection is today considered one of the world's largest collections of books and archival materials relating to Antarctica and the Circumpolar North.

The Rasmuson Library is considered one of the Pacific Northwest's major libraries, with more than 1.5 million book volumes and 20,000 serial and periodical titles. Material in the general collection is available in a variety of formats, including computer software, films, videotapes, phonograph records and compact discs.

McCarthy replaces David Bantz, who was Rasmuson Library director since July 1998. Bantz is now working with the University of Alaska's Statewide Administration, focusing on systemwide information resources, electronic commerce and technology infrastructure. Alaska and Polar Regions Collection Director Susan Grigg will continue serving as acting director of libraries and information technology until McCarthy officially comes on board.

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DPD/3-10-00/00-055