Kimberly Burke Sweetman Named Dean of the UNH Library

The University of New Hampshire Library is thrilled to announce that Kimberly Burke Sweetman, who has served as Interim Dean since January 2024, will assume the permanent role of Dean on July 5, 2025. 

In sharing the news, Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Cyndee L. Gruden said, “Kim has served as Interim Dean and Associate Dean of the UNH Library with exceptional dedication, a collaborative spirit and a forward-looking vision. Throughout her tenure, she has earned the respect and trust of colleagues across campus. Her deep understanding of the library’s essential role in advancing teaching, research and student success has consistently guided her work.”

“This permanent appointment is a recognition of Kim’s outstanding contributions, her strong communication and leadership skills, and her steadfast commitment to the mission of UNH,” Gruden continued. “I am confident that, under her leadership, the University Library will continue to thrive and evolve to meet the needs of our students, faculty and broader community.”

In celebration of her appointment, we asked Dean Sweetman to tell us a little about herself and her vision for the library.

What brought you to the UNH Library?

I have been a librarian for almost 30 years, spending most of my career at New York University. After spending five years abroad for my spouse’s job, I knew I wanted to come back to New England, where I am from, and was fortunate to be hired as Associate Dean of the UNH Library in 2016. I have loved my time at UNH and am happy that I will be serving in this new capacity.

What or who inspires you? 

I am inspired by the ideals of librarianship—helping students and faculty become efficient, effective consumers and creators of all types of information; protecting user privacy and the right to read; and providing equitable access to information.

What are your priorities as the library's leader?

My vision for the UNH Library is quite simple: to provide a library that meets campus needs through the expertise, resources and services it provides. I am looking for ways that we can refresh some of our spaces and working to build campus awareness of who we are and what we do. As a leader I have been very clear about this vision and have a collaborative and transparent approach.

What opportunities for growth or reimagining do you see for the library?

I can see some opportunities for making the library a more vibrant space through programming and partnership with other departments on campus. This is something I have spent a lot of time on lately.

What are some challenges for the library and how do you plan to tackle them?

Budget constraints are always a challenge, as is the aging physical library infrastructure. I have learned that we have to be ready when an opportunity to make improvements, no matter how large or small, presents itself—and we have learned to make our own opportunities. In the library we are fortunate to have a very talented and dedicated team, which is our best asset.

What UNH Library service or resource do you wish were better known? 

We provide an amazing collection of resources to the students, faculty and staff at UNH. Every year we spend millions of dollars on specially curated resources, more than two-thirds of which are electronic so they can be accessed from anywhere. More importantly, we have librarians who are experts in information literacy, data management, metadata, information discovery, scholarly communication, specialized subject research, digital humanities, archival curation, rare books curation and student success. And our whole job is being here to assist the campus community!

Do you have a favorite space in the library?

If I need to get reading or other quiet work done, I often relocate from my office to the Addison or Hubbard rooms. Their aesthetic (and silence!) helps me to concentrate when I need to. But for a library space that feels alive, nothing beats the second floor of Dimond! Throughout the semester it positively buzzes with activity, and seeing so many engaged students reminds me why I do this work.

Do you have a favorite item in the collection?

This is a hard question. For sheer quirkiness, I love Maisie, the former living Wildcat mascot now preserved in the Milne Special Collections and Archives. Actually, that whole collection is pretty amazing, and includes everything from a first-hand account of an alien abduction to the papers of Elizabeth Virgil, the first Black woman to graduate from UNH, to the files of student organizations dating back 100 years. However, the part of the collection that I use every day is the online New York Times subscription provided by the library to the campus community. I am addicted to the Games app, and do the crossword, Wordle and Connections daily.

What are you most excited about as you assume this role? 

I’m excited to work with excellent colleagues at the UNH Library and across campus to provide an approachable, useful, helpful and expert library for everyone.