Emily Lynema leaves the Libraries

After nearly 17 years with the Libraries, most recently as Head of Information Technology, Emily Lynema is moving on. All one needs to do is read the many emotional messages from co-workers on Emily’s farewell kudoboard to understand how much she has meant to the Libraries both professionally and personally.

When Lynema arrived at NC State as a Libraries Fellow in 2005, the online search used the same information system that old-fashioned wooden cabinets full of 3x5 cards used. Lynema led the effort to reinvent search with user-focused ideas from e-commerce and web retail in the groundbreaking Endeca catalog, launched in 2006. The following year, she earned a “Movers and Shakers” award from Library Journal. More recently, she was recognized with the EDUCAUSE 2016 Rising Star Award for her body of work at NC State, which includes the Endeca catalog project as well as leadership in the development of the Hunt Library's technology-rich spaces.

“I was working at Chapel Hill when NC State’s Endeca catalog was released, and word was spreading about this awesome new librarian from NC State—Emily Lynema,” Jill Sexton, Associate Director for Digital & Organizational Strategy, said at Emily’s farewell gathering. “There’s not much in the realm of library catalogs that can be said to be revolutionary, but Emily’s work was. NC State’s faceted catalog made such a splash! Every library was talking about it, and within a few years, everyone had a faceted search catalog. It became the new standard.” 

Emily acknowledges that Endeca was an incredible project for a new Fellow, and is thankful for its success affording her the opportunity to meet and collaborate with librarians across the country, but she sees Endeca as the first of many team accomplishments that she looks back on with great satisfaction. “There are so many projects I have worked on here at the Libraries, and I am proud of every success we have achieved working together (and even the failures we've tried to learn from),” she says. “I'm very happy about the outcomes of the Hill renovation project, including the Visualization Studio, as well as the ongoing evolution of the high-tech spaces at the Hunt Library. It was a pleasure to be closely involved in the planning for and successful creation of the Blacklight-based TRLN Discovery tool to replace the old TRLN catalog that was my first project.”

Sexton also recalled the development of Hunt’s tech spaces at the farewell event. “It became Emily’s responsibility to shepherd the Hunt Library AV installation project to completion,” she said. “I think many people either have already or wish they could wipe the Hunt AV installation from their memories, but this project was not finished until June 2017, 4.5 years after the project was due. That it was even possible for this project to drag on for over 5 years is a pretty good indicator of its scope and complexity. I really don’t know of anyone else who would have had the patience to see that through to the end, yet Emily did, with her characteristic calm and methodical approach, soaking up knowledge like a sponge the whole time.”

Emily is leaving North Carolina for Michigan to be closer to family. She plans to take a bit of a break to reset and get settled before looking for her next opportunity.

“I will miss my colleagues and our working relationships profoundly!” Emily says. “I can hardly imagine a workplace with a more positive group of collaborators. Professionally my next role is sure to be a big change, and I will take some time to build new trust relationships. I will also miss NC State, the university; I'm proud of our institution and its commitment to the state of North Carolina.”

Her co-workers here will miss her too. Perhaps Rob Rucker’s note on Emily’s kudoboard expresses this best: “I recall you presenting in the Assembly Room years ago on something (Endeca?), and it was so clearly an amazing project with brilliant impacts for our users. I remember thinking that, rather than ending with a moment of light applause, it would be more appropriate if it had more like at the end of an opera in Italy, and we were all throwing bouquets of roses at you, everyone standing and stomping their feet and cheering wildly.”

“Picture me doing that as I bid you the fondest of farewells.”