Patrick Yott

Library Associate Dean Patrick Yott Retires After 15 Years

Patrick Yott
Patrick Yott

The Northeastern University Library is bidding a bittersweet farewell to Associate Dean for Digital Infrastructure Patrick Yott, who is retiring at the end of the year.

Yott has served the Northeastern University Library for the past 15 years and the imprint he leaves will be long-lasting. An expert on digital scholarship, he founded and led a number of related library departments and spearheaded several initiatives that advanced the state of the art in applying digital technology to academic endeavors.

“Patrick has been a leader when it comes to the way that innovative technology can improve the nature of research,” said Dean of the Library Dan Cohen. “He has envisioned a major evolution in library practice, and helped shape the direction of digital scholarship at Northeastern University.”

Yott oversaw Library Technology Services, the Digital Scholarship Group, Research Data Services, Digital Production Services, and adjacent staff and projects. He also spearheaded the creation of the new Centers for Digital Scholarship as a place where new forms of scholarship from many subject areas can thrive and interact together.

Patrick Yott and Provost David Madigan at a retirement reception

He also directed a number of major grant-funded initiatives focused on using digital technology to advance research and teaching, including funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Mellon Foundation, and Sloan Foundation.

Yott previously worked at the University of Virginia and Brown University.

“Patrick will be greatly missed, both professionally and personally,” Cohen said. “The way he united digital infrastructure, library processes, and scholarly thinking was unique, and led to many new and good ideas.”

With his retirement, Yott is eager to focus on two of his passions: photography and fly fishing. “We wish him all the best in his next stage,” Cohen added.

Announcing: Two Key Library Hires

Distinguished librarians Amira Aaron and Patrick M. Yott are joining Northeastern University Libraries in April 2010.  These hires are part of the Library’s ambitious vision to advance scholarly communications and expand the University’s digital initiatives, building on its institutional repository and digitization of special collections. Amira Aaron will begin April 1st as the Library’s Associate Dean for Scholarly Resources.  In this role she will oversee and direct the development of the Library’s collections and information resources including digital initiatives and technical services.  She will also be a member of the senior administrative group, which develops and implements the mission, goals, budget, and broad policy directions of the library.  Amira will bring to Northeastern over thirty years of experience in information resources, systems, and technical services.  Most recently she was the Director of Information Resources at Brandeis University and prior to that she was Manager for Digital Content & Access Services at Harvard University.  Amira holds a Master’s degree in library science from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Bachelor’s degree from Boston University. Patrick M. Yott will join Northeastern on April 15 as Digital Library Manager. In this role he will build the institution’s digital library program, providing vision and leadership in the creation and delivery of digital content.  Patrick developed and led Brown University Library’s Center for Digital Initiatives and directed its Digital Technologies division.  Prior to his time at Brown, he was Director of Digital Services Integration at the University of Virginia.  Patrick holds Master’s degrees in both library science and education from Rutgers University and a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the University of New Hampshire. Both Amira and Patrick have extensive experience presenting, publishing, and advancing the library profession at the national level. Welcome Amira and Patrick!

Amira Aaron

Patrick Yott

Patrick Yott

Read the full release here.