Kristina Keogh has been named the new dean of the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library at the USF St. Petersburg campus. Keogh comes to USF after being the director of library services for the past six years at the Alfred R. Goldstein Library at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, FL.
“I am honored and excited for this opportunity to be the dean of the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library and join the USF St. Petersburg campus community,” Keogh said. “I was impressed with the people I met during the interview process who are doing amazing work and I look forward to supporting that work and tapping into the resources available across the USF libraries to provide greater opportunities for faculty, students and staff.”
Keogh has more than 15 years of experience in librarianship, including more than seven years in management and administrative roles in positions of increasing responsibility. She also has an extensive record of public service, outreach, programming, scholarship and planning in academic libraries at both research and teaching institutions in both the public and private spheres.
As director of library services at Ringling, Keogh helped to plan for, transition and then lead the new Alfred R. Goldstein Library, a state-of-the-art facility that opened in 2016. She directed facilities, services, budget and operations at the library, including strategic and long-range planning. During her time, Keogh realigned existing and created new positions that better supported the evolving role that libraries play at higher education institutions, including in the areas of instruction, assessment and special collections and archives.
“During my career, I have focused on the library being a part of the educational process in furthering student success,” she said. “Often times, it is the library where students go to find answers. By providing a customer-service oriented experience, we can help connect students to the tools and information needed to support their academic journey.”
Keogh supervised and mentored five faculty librarians and eight full- and part-time staff that carried out library services and managed access to collections at Ringling, advocating for diverse candidates that reflected the local student and community populations.
Keogh also worked to increase the retention of faculty and staff from underrepresented communities across Ringling College of Art and Design, and worked with librarians, faculty and the student government association to establish a Student Library Advisory Committee that prioritized a representative voice for students at the library to inform decisions about facilities, collections and services impacting educational and professional goals.
“Kristina impressed the search committee by her experience, focus on student and faculty success, and goal to transform the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library as the site for experimentation and innovation while bringing scholars and the community together,” said Kaya van Beynen, the associate dean of research and instruction at USF Libraries and chair of the search committee. “The library has always been the heart of the university, serving and providing information access to the entire USF community, and with Kristina’s enthusiasm for learning and innovation we will ensure that we remain a welcoming place that makes learning fun.”
Prior to her position at Ringling College, Keogh was head of the Fine Arts Library at Indiana University Bloomington. In that role, she was responsible for the administration and direction of the library, with a focus on supporting traditional and emerging research practices and learning support for students and faculty. During this time, she was also director of the Art Librarianship Specialization and Dual Degree Program, where she provided vision and mentored current and prospective students in the program.
Keogh earned a bachelor of science in Art History from the University of Central Florida and a masters in Art History from the University of Florida. She went on to receive a master’s of science in Library and Information Studies at Florida State University and a doctorate in Art History at Virginia Commonwealth University.