By California State Library Staff
Veteran special collections and archives librarian Mattie Taormina has been named the new director of San Francisco’s Sutro Library.
The Sutro Library, located on the campus of San Francisco State University, holds Adolph Sutro’s (1830–1898) original rare book and manuscript collection encompassing materials dating from the 13th to the 21st centuries. Taormina comes to the State Library with over 20 years’ experience in special collections, archives and information management. Since 2006, she has worked at Stanford University, first as the head of public services for Special Collections and University Archives, where she oversaw a program that supported the research needs of scholars worldwide, and more recently as part of the university library’s teaching and learning team.
“Mattie is a terrific addition to the State Library,” said Greg Lucas, State Librarian. “Her experience and passion for her work make Mattie an ideal person to help ensure Sutro’s treasures are well-cared for and also made available to more Californians.” Prior to her decade at Stanford, Taormina worked at the California State Library for nine years as a special assistant to the state librarian. During her career as an information professional, she has worked for museums and other archival and library repositories handling records management and political research. Taormina has lectured extensively on leveraging technology to further advance access and use of special collections and archival materials. Her scholarship has focused on teaching with primary sources, including the recent book she co-edited in 2014, Using Primary Sources: Hands-On Instructional Exercises.
Taormina holds a BA in American History from the University of San Francisco, an MA in Public History from California State University, Sacramento and a Masters in Library and Information Science from California State University, San Jose. She officially joined Sutro Library on March 2.
