07/28/2026
The Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA) Board of Directors announces that Joni Blake, Executive Director of GWLA since 2007, will retire at the end of October after nearly two decades of distinguished leadership.
Since joining GWLA, Dr. Blake has guided the consortium through a period of sustained growth, innovation, and national impact. During her tenure, membership expanded from approximately 31 to 42 leading research libraries, while GWLA strengthened its reputation as a catalyst for collaborative innovation in scholarly communication, resource sharing, digital collections, and shared research infrastructure.
Among her many accomplishments, Blake helped lead the expansion of the Western Waters Digital Library, GWLA's co-founding of the Technical Report Archive & Image Library (TRAIL), the landmark Student Learning Outcomes Project involving more than 42,000 students across 12 research universities, and the development of Occam's Reader, a groundbreaking platform for interlibrary lending of e-books among academic libraries. She also advanced collaborative initiatives in scholarly communication, open access, digital infrastructure, and resource sharing that continue to benefit research libraries across North America.
"The Board is deeply grateful to Joni for her outstanding leadership and unwavering commitment to GWLA over the past 19 years," said Mimi Calter, Chair of the GWLA Board of Directors. "Her vision, collaborative spirit, and dedication have strengthened the Alliance and positioned it for continued success. We thank Joni for her remarkable service and wish her every happiness in retirement."
The Board also announces its selection of Gwen Evans as Interim Executive Director. Evans will serve in the role for the coming year while the Board conducts a thoughtful and deliberate search for GWLA's next permanent Executive Director.
Evans brings more than three decades of experience in academic libraries, including leadership in library consortia, scholarly publishing, and consulting. She previously served as Executive Director of OhioLINK from 2012 to 2020, where she helped launch Affordable Learning Ohio, an initiative that saved students more than $14 million during its first 18 months.
"We are delighted to welcome Gwen as Interim Executive Director," Calter said. "Her extensive experience leading library organizations, her collaborative approach, and her deep understanding of the evolving needs of research libraries make her exceptionally well suited to lead GWLA during this transition."
The GWLA Board will initiate a national search for its next Executive Director in the coming months. The Board looks forward to building on GWLA's strong foundation as it begins its next chapter of leadership.
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