Dean of University Libraries, Temple University

Larry P. Alford is Dean of University Libraries at Temple University, where he has responsibility for a federated library system that includes the seven libraries of the Paley Library System, the three Health Sciences Center libraries and the Law Library. Prior to joining the Temple Libraries in February 2005, Larry worked in a variety of positions in the libraries at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill over a 30-year period including serving as Deputy University Librarian and Interim University Librarian.

From 1992-1996, Larry served as a member of the Atlanta-based Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET) Board of Directors and as Chair of the SOLINET Board in 1995. He was an elected SOLINET representative to the OCLC Members Council and served as president of the Members Council in 2000-2001. In May 2002, the Members Council elected him to a six-year term on the OCLC Board of Trustees, which he was elected to chair in November 2007. He has also served as chair of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging Policy Committee at the Library of Congress. He was the NC LIVE resources co-negotiator for six years; NC LIVE provides electronic information resources to public and private universities, community colleges and public libraries throughout North Carolina.

Larry is a member of the American Library Association and has served as chair of the ALA Directors of Large Research Libraries Discussion Group. From 2004-2006 he served as chair of the Collection Management and Development Section of the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS). He is an elected member of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) Steering Committee and is a member of the Association of Research Libraries Special Collections Working Group. He also serves as a board member of the Abraham Lincoln Foundation in Philadelphia.

Larry holds a BA and MLS from the University of North Carolina. He received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of North Carolina School of Information and Library Science in May 2005.