Melissa Stewart Takes on New Role as HathiTrust’s Member Relations Specialist

HathiTrust is pleased to announce that as of April 1, Melissa Stewart has moved into the new role of HathiTrust Member Relations Specialist. Melissa has been with HathiTrust since 2015, serving as the Assistant to the Executive Director, and for most of those years, has worked closely with members in a variety of capacities. During the pandemic, Melissa led the onboarding of more than 200 libraries to the Emergency Temporary Access Service, and currently administers the Accessible Text Request Service, as well as the elevated copyright access for designated individuals. She has seen the membership grow from 82 member libraries to 216 and will now help usher in a new era of collaboration with members to realize HathiTrust’s Strategic Vision.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to connect members with HathiTrust benefits and services, as well as to connect members with each other to strengthen our community,” Melissa shared.

In this newly created position, Melissa will promote meaningful relationships between HathiTrust and its supporting members. She will continue to be the primary point person supporting new members, and will regularly engage with new and continuing members to ensure they are well informed about HathiTrust programs and organizational plans and understand how HathiTrust services benefit their organizations and users. She’ll also work with the rest of the HathiTrust team in new ways to stay abreast of and offer input into service development and offerings, and to engage members in our decision-making processes.

“Melissa has shown over many years that she is here to support our members without whom we could not preserve and provide access to the digital library collection,” says Mike Furlough, Executive Director. “I’m thrilled that we have created a role dedicated to cultivating these important relationships. I know our members will appreciate her expertise and commitment to helping them make the most of their HathiTrust membership.”