PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 4, 2006

CONTACT: Jennifer Hanna
301/405-9336
jhanna@umd.edu

UM Libraries Appoint Sharon Epps Head of Access Services

College Park, MD – The University of Maryland Libraries have appointed Sharon Epps Head of Access Services, Dean of Libraries Charles G. Lowry announced.

Epps comes to Maryland from the University of Delaware, where she served as Associate Librarian and Coordinator of Circulation and Reserve in the Access Services Department for eight years. She earned a bachelor's degree, and a master's degree in library and information science, from the University of South Florida. Epps also holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Delaware.

The University of Maryland (UM) is the only nationally-ranked public university in the Baltimore/Washington area. With a total student enrollment approaching 40,000, the University is supported in its academic endeavors by the University of Maryland Library System, which is comprised of eight libraries and more than three million volumes. The UM Library System is the largest library system in the state.

The UM Libraries have an annual budget of about $23 million, of which ten percent is dedicated to electronic resources. The Libraries currently hold 247 licensed databases, 230 open-access databases, 17,000 full-text e-journals and 107,000 full-text e-books. The Special Collections at the UM Libraries provide access to a broad array of extraordinary research materials.