Lilly Library changing hands

The Lilly Library will have a new director effective Monday.

Joel Silver will take control of the library from Breon Mitchell, who has been the director since 2001, Silver said.

“He always said that he would retire at a certain date,” Silver said. “He wants to travel with his wife. He’s been at IU for 40 years.”

Silver has nursed a long-standing relationship with the Lilly Library since he started working there in 1983, according to a press release from March 19.

“I have been serving as the interim director and the curator of books up until my appointment,” Silver said.

Silver has also done more than just work with the Lilly Library in his time at IU. According to a press release, he has been operations manager, adjunct associate professor and director of special collections specialization in the School of Library and Information Science. He is also an adjunct faculty member in the Department of
English.

He has made academic contributions with published articles, books and many exhibition catalogs. He also has done work as a lecturer.

While Silver said he doesn’t yet have plans for specific programs at Lilly, he does know he wants to make sure Mitchell’s work is continued.

“I’m going to keep growing the collection and increase the online presence to make the collections available to everyone,” he said. “We’re also going to continue to put on programs at the museum, as well.”

In regards to change, he’s not sure if much will differ from how the museum is run now.
“It’s still too early to tell,” he said. “There are a couple of open staff positions, because there have been retirements recently, but that’s all right now.”

The Lilly Library won’t have any special events the rest of this school year, said Silver, but there is still the semester-long exhibition that has been up since January, which is the Print Culture East and West.

According to the Lilly Library website, the collection will run through April 10, and it explores the interchange of print technologies, ideas and visual imagery between Japan and the Western world. The collection contains rare Japanese books from Lilly Library’s holdings.

Silver said he encourages people to take advantage of the tools the Lilly Library offers.
“Lilly is available not only to people wanting to use the collections, but to people who want to view the things that we have,” he said.