It is with great excitement that The Penn Libraries announces the selection of recent University of Oregon PhD Jacob Levernier as our new Bollinger Fellow in Library Innovation. The Bollinger Fellowship in Library Innovation helps the Penn Libraries think creatively about our future and recruit some of the most talented recent graduates with interests in a wide-array of topics that intersect with libraries. The appointment of Jacob is no exception.

Levernier is a psychologist well versed in the study of cognition, with undergraduate minors in neuroscience, philosophy, and classical studies. He has a vested interest in the future of libraries and data management. Levernier’s current research interests include morality mining, data management education, moral advancement throughout the lifespan, open-source and open-access development and education, and the evolution of imagination.

Levernier will carry these interests into his work with the Libraries’ Technology Services division. Here, he will collaborate with collection curators, metadata specialists, business analysts, and IT developers to study fundamental challenges in discovery, content delivery, assessment, and information presentation.

Joe Zucca, Penn Libraries’ Director of Strategic Initiatives & Library Technology Services describes the scope of the Bollinger Fellow’s contribution in this way, "The Penn Libraries host a vast archive of data that reveal the interactions of scholars with information, that provide a unique lens on the research interests and behaviors of information consumers. The job of the Bollinger Fellow will be to mine these data for signals and patterns that inform acquisitions, service provision, and new strategic directions for the Library."

During his two year fellowship, Levernier will be uniquely positioned to interact with Penn Libraries’ systems, users, and vast archives of data. These interactions will lead to applied research that may influence catalogs and cataloging practice, researcher profiling systems, human interface design, repository tools, and the use of social media to understand information-seeking behavior and the use of data.