Grand Valley library dean named to SPARC

ALLENDALE, Mich. – Lee Van Orsdel, dean of Grand Valley State University Libraries, has been selected to serve a three -year term on the steering committee of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC).

SPARC, with an office in Washington, D.C., is an international alliance of academic and research libraries working to create better, faster, and more economically sustainable systems for scholarly publishing. Developed by the Association of Research Libraries, membership in SPARC numbers nearly 800 institutions in North America, Europe, Japan, China and Australia.

Van Orsdel is one of four new members elected to the 15-member committee. She has been Grand Valley’s dean of University Libraries since 2005 and has more than 30 years library career experience. Van Orsdel is currently involved in planning for a proposed new library on the university’s main campus, in Allendale, which serves nearly 24,000 students.

Grand Valley State University is the comprehensive regional university for Michigan's second largest metropolitan area and offers 71 undergraduate and 26 graduate degree programs, including one doctoral program. It has campuses in Allendale, Grand Rapids and Holland, and centers in Muskegon and Traverse City.