Sarah M. Pritchard

Pritchard graduated with a bachelor's degree in French Studies from the University of Maryland in 1975, and two master's degrees in French Literature (1976) and Library Science (1977) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Pritchard has held leadership positions in academic institutions, influencing library administration, digital initiatives, and scholarly research. Her expertise encompasses diverse areas, including women studies, feminism, collection development, technology integration, scholarly communication, and international library partnerships. She has made significant contributions to diversity and inclusion within the academic and research library field.^[2]

Pritchard began her career in 1977 at the Library of Congress where she later became the first reference specialist in women’s studies, then head of the Library’s Microform Reading room.

In 1988 she was selected for the Council on Library Resources’ Academic Library Management Intern program and then served as Associate Executive Director (1990–1992) of the Association of Research Libraries.^[3]

In 1992 she was appointed Director of Libraries at Smith College where she served until 1999.^[4]

From 1999 to 2006 Pritchard was University Librarian at the University of California-Santa Barbara, overseeing library services, collections, digital resources, capital projects, fundraising and consortial initiatives.

In 2006 Pritchard was appointed Charles Deering McCormick University Librarian and Dean of Libraries at Northwestern University^[5][6] She retired in 2023. Accomplishments over her tenure included expanding the collections to over 7 million items, developing a 20-year strategic space plan, construction of a high-density climate controlled shelving facility, transformation of the Mudd Library building, establishing positions for digital humanities and data management, new collaborations with other campus entities such as the Block Museum of Art, overseeing an improved business model for the University Press, and formally confirming the faculty status of librarians.^{[7] [8]}

Pritchard has held numerous offices in library professional associations and regional consortia, including 13 years on the governing Council of the American Library Association (ALA).

She also served on the ALA Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship, and was chair, Women's Studies Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries.^[9] She served on the Task Force that produced A Women’s Thesaurus.^[10][11]

In 2003, the Governor of California, Gray Davis, appointed Pritchard as a member of the Library of California Board.^[12]

Pritchard was the compiler of the Association of Research Libraries publications, ARL Statistics (1989–91) and the ARL Salary Survey (1990–91).^[13]

Pritchard was founding board member of portal – Libraries and the Academy published by the Johns Hopkins University Press and editor from 2009-2014.^[14]

She served on the Board of the Center for Research Libraries from 2017-2020.^[15]

Pritchard has been invited to present her research at professional conferences in Europe, Asia and South America,^[16][17][18] and presented the program, “Libraries and the Persistence of Knowledge,” as the George Carlington Simmons Lecture Archived 2024-05-30 at the Wayback Machine at the University of the Southern Caribbean in 2018.

She served on the Association of Research Libraries Board of Directors from 2019-2022.^[19]

She was a founding director of the Chicago Collections Consortium an organization of libraries, museums, historical societies, and other cultural heritage organizations collaborating to preserve and promote the history of the Chicago region. and served on its Board for over 10 years, including three as the chair.^[20]

From 2023 to 2025, Pritchard was President of the Caxton Club in Chicago, where she was instrumental in promoting bibliophily and the appreciation of fine printing through various events and initiatives. ^[21] Previous to her tenure, Pritchard was actively engaged with scholars, collectors, and curators in special collections and archives.

• Phi Beta Kappa, University of Maryland, 1975.
• Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) graduate fellowships: 1975–77.
• Library of Congress awards: Meritorious Service, 1984; Special Achievement, 1986, 1988.
• American Library Association Equality Award 1997.^[22]
• University of Wisconsin School of Library and Information Studies, Outstanding Alumna, 1997.^[23]
• Association of College and Research Libraries/Greenwood Press, Career Achievement in Women's Studies, 2001.^[24]
• Deering Family Award, 2022.^[25]