College Names William H. Walters as Executive Director of Library

William H. Walters, Ph.D., former dean of library services at Menlo College, has been named executive director of Manhattan College’s Mary Alice and Tom O’Malley Library.

In his most recent position at Menlo College, Walters oversaw the reconfiguration of the library’s collections and services during the College’s transition from a multipurpose institution to an innovative business school. He also led the development of a new library website, an online information literacy tutorial, and an institutional repository that provides free worldwide access to the scholarly work of Menlo College faculty and staff.  

During his seven years at Menlo College, Walter taught courses in economic geography and empirical research methods. He also served as professor of library and information science, associate professor of social sciences, interim director of information technology, accreditation liaison officer and coauthor of the College’s five-year strategic plan. 

Walters has worked as a faculty and staff member at a variety of institutions including Brown University, Cornell University, St. Lawrence University, Millersville University, and the Providence VA Medical Center.

His research has appeared in numerous journals including the American Library Association, the Royal Geographical Society, the American Institute of Biological Sciences, the International Cartographic Association, the Gerontological Society of America, the Regional Science Association International, and the Association for Information Science and Technology. He serves on the editorial board of Portal: Libraries and the Academy and has been a consultant to the Oberlin Group, the Oklahoma Disability Study, the Sociometrics Corporation and The City University of New York.

“We are thrilled to have William join us to lead the O'Malley Library. He brings a wealth of experience in management and librarianship, and scholarship worthy of our most research-active faculty,” said William Clyde, Ph.D., executive vice president and provost. “We are confident he will lead our dedicated library team in building on our strengths and finding creative ways to better serve the Manhattan College community.”

Walters holds a Ph.D. in sociology from Brown University, an M.A. in geography from the University of Vermont, an M.L.S. in library science from the University at Buffalo, SUNY, and a B.A. in geography from SUNY Geneseo.

“I’m excited to get started at Manhattan College to continue to strengthen the library’s role on campus,” Walters said. “I’m also interested in further exploring the ways in which new innovations in scholarly communication can be evaluated and supported at the College.”