Empowering UGA: How the Deputy University Librarian Enhances Knowledge Access for Students and Faculty

Emily Gore is a librarian at the University of Georgia (UGA) with a unique mix of skills. She loves technology, values accessibility, and has a flair for design. Her mission? To make information easy to access for everyone.

“Making content available without barriers drives me,” Gore says. She has spent her career developing digital libraries so more people can access valuable materials that might require extensive travel to view. Her passion is evident as she works on expanding Georgia’s digital resources.

When Gore began her career, libraries mainly focused on physical items like books. But she always aimed to remove hurdles to knowledge. As technology evolved, so did her role. She moved from managing websites to building online portals that provide easy access to library materials.

“Digital libraries combine my love for technology and primary source material,” she explains. Her interest in genealogy and history allows her to appreciate documents like photographs and newspapers, and she enjoys creating systems that put these types of resources online.

Over the years, Gore has played a significant role in national projects, like the Digital Public Library of America and the Digital Preservation Network. She helped create rightsstatements.org, a global standard for copyright representation in cultural heritage, now used in over 15 countries.

At UGA, her expertise directly benefits faculty and students. Through the new UGA Open Scholar repository, researchers can easily share their work, fulfill federal compliance needs, and manage their data efficiently. This portal helps boost collaboration across the UGA community.

Gore emphasizes the importance of connecting with faculty. “Hearing about their needs helps us shape library services,” she says. She chairs the Research Data Management Advisory Council, working closely with various university groups to enhance library offerings, including open access publishing.

UGA Libraries has made strides in signing agreements with major journal publishers. This allows faculty and students to publish their research freely in over 7,000 journals. Gore notes, “Interest in open access has surged. It increases research visibility and citations, making scholarship available to everyone, not just those with deep pockets.”

Gore also contributes to preserving Georgia’s rich history through her roles on various advisory boards, including the Digital Library of Georgia. While her work is mostly digital, she enjoys interior design, having transformed a study area in the McBay Science Library to create inviting physical spaces for study.