Hilary Davis leaves the Libraries

On September 28, staff gathered to say a fond farewell to Hilary Davis, Department Head of Collections & Research Strategy, as she moves on to a new position after serving in several roles at the Libraries for 18 years.

She will be joining a small librarian team at the nonprofit Underwriters Laboratories Research Institutes (ULRI). The team will be designing and building a virtual research library and research services portfolio—from scratch—for the researchers associated with ULRI.

“The organization is relatively young and they are hiring researchers who focus on topics like AI, global climate change, chemical and fire safety, and materials to support a sustainable future,” Hilary says. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and one that I am incredibly excited to pursue.”

Hilary joined the Libraries in February 2005 as an NCSU Libraries Fellow in Collection Management, serving as a subject specialist for faculty and students of the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. As a Fellow, she made significant contributions to the planning and development of a digital repository and won the 2005 Marion E. Sparks Award for Professional Development from the Special Libraries Association.

Among many honors over the years, Hilary was named a Library Journal "Mover & Shaker" in 2008 when she was Collection Manager of Physical Sciences, Engineering, and Data Analysis. In 2009, Hilary participated in the American Library Association Emerging Leaders program which focuses on developing professional leadership.

Looking back on her legacy at the Libraries, it’s the work with her colleagues here that matters most to her. “The kind of work where I get to learn something with and from other people, where we get to try things out and experiment, and then see impact on our campus,” she says. “That's what stands out for me.”

Davis remembers lots of memorable projects:

• The publishing workshops piloted last April—a project with Bertha Chang, Silvia Sheffield, Cole Richard, Emily Cox, Hillary Fox, Shaun Bennett, Kristy Borda, and some colleagues at Elsevier. 
• The Fellows initiative "Raising the Profile of the NCSU Libraries’ Research Support Strategies & Engagement," with Colin Nickels. 
• The DMP Reviews service, DMPTool, Dryad, and the research data management guide— foundational work done through the Research Data Committee circa 2012.
• The first Data Science Short Course in October 2015, with Karen Ciccone, Bret Davidson, and Jason Casden.
• More general accomplishments like building partnerships with research administrators in the colleges and with the central Office of Research & Innovation and Increasing campus access to collections—work that largely goes unseen by anyone outside of C&RS and A&D, “but it's part of what makes this library so successful,” she says.

As much as these projects mean to Hilary, she will miss her colleagues the most. “I'm grateful to have had the chance to learn and grow here as a librarian and as a person for the last 18 years. Making the decision to leave NC State was not easy.”

“I consider you all fantastic colleagues with so many friendships, some newer, some older. The opportunity for me to move on came at a time when the work that I've been involved with is on really solid footing, the teams I've been on are engaged and doing meaningful work, and my colleagues are invested in supporting each other. When people leave a place, new doors open! I know that my colleagues will continue to thrive and step up to opportunities to make an impact.”

“Thanks to everyone for your patience and generosity over the years, and for helping me learn and grow. I'm still in the area, so I hope folks will reach out for a walk, coffee, or a chat.”