New Madden Library dean named

California State University, Fresno has named Peter McDonald as the new dean of the Henry Madden Library.

He succeeds Michael Gorman, who is retiring after serving as head of the library since 1988.

McDonald will join the campus staff Feb. 19, coming to Fresno State from the Syracuse University Library, where since 1999 he was the associate university librarian for collection services and director of the Belfer Audio Archive.

Prior to Syracuse, McDonald served in several capacities at Cornell University, including librarian of the Geneva Agricultural Library and chief bibliographer for the Core Agricultural Literature Project in the Mann Library.

He previously worked for the New York Public Library and as assistant librarian/copy cataloger at the Grolier Club in New York.

He started his career in 1976 as a newspaper reporter and copy editor in Homer, Alaska.

McDonald received his bachelor’s degree in 1976 from McGill University in Montreal, his master’s in library science in 1986 from the University of Washington in Seattle and a Preservation/Rare Book Administrative certificate from Columbia University.

He is a member of several boards and professional organizations, including the governing council of the American Library Association.

He also is a published poet and poetry essayist.

To view McDonald’s full résumé, click here.