Emily Gore, deputy university librarian at the University of Georgia, has been elected to serve as the new chair of the steering committee for SPARC, an international coalition of research libraries and institutions that supports open systems for research and education.
“We’re delighted to have Emily and (newly elected vice chair) Emma (Molls) at the helm,” SPARC Executive Director Heather Joseph said. Molls is director of open research and publishing at the University of Minnesota. “They each bring critical expertise and perspective to SPARC’s work, as well as a deep commitment to our mission. They’ve both been effective and collaborative members of the SPARC Steering Committee, and the whole SPARC team is looking forward to working with them in these new leadership roles.”
At UGA, Gore has led efforts to expand researcher opportunities for open access publishing. She chairs the Research Data Management Advisory Council and serves on the Research Communication and Collaboration Roundtable and the AI Leadership Council. In addition, she serves on the Digital Library of Georgia Advisory Board, the New Georgia Encyclopedia Advisory Board and the Georgia Historic Newspapers Advisory Board.
Before coming to the UGA, Gore was assistant dean of libraries at the University of Tennessee. She has also held leadership positions at Florida State University, Clemson University and the Digital Public Library of America. Gore has served on the board of SPARC, Inc., LYRASIS, the Open Access Network and the RightsStatements.org Consortium. She earned a master’s degree in library science from the University of Alabama
“I’m super excited to be able to chair the Steering Committee,” Gore said. “I’ve learned so much from the SPARC team and my steering committee colleagues about the federal policy environment related to scholarly communications and best practices at SPARC institutions that have really helped me do a better job on my campus to further open access, open data and open education. Serving as chair will allow me to continue this collaborative work while giving back to the community that has helped me immensely throughout my career.”
Gore’s term will begin when once confirmed by the SPARC Board of Directors and continue through February 2029.
SPARC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports open systems for research and education that enable everyone, everywhere to access, contribute to, and benefit from the knowledge that shapes our world. Its membership includes more than 230 libraries and academic organizations across North America. This membership is complemented by affiliated SPARC coalitions in Africa, Europe, and Japan as well as individual member organizations in Australia and Hong Kong.