The Board of Directors of the Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN) is pleased to announce the re-appointment of Ms. Clare Appavoo as the organization’s Executive Director for a further five year term, effective January 1, 2018.
Since joining CRKN in December 2012, Clare has proven to be a strong leader, with a deep knowledge of the library sector, leveraging her ability to create and maintain relationships within the consortia and in the broader library and heritage sectors.
During her first term as Executive Director, Clare led the organization through the development and extension of a strategic plan with a new focus on collaboration to advance digital scholarship. Under her direction, CRKN has increased collaboration both nationally and internationally; developing the CRKN-Érudit partnership, the Canadiana Heritage project, developing the Canadian National Digital Heritage Index (CNDHI), collaborating to develop ORCID-CA, and participating in the Leadership Council for Digital Research Infrastructure. Demonstrating an innovative approach and openness to new opportunities has led to the participation with other organizations on the Library and Archives Canada led National Heritage Digitization Strategy (NHDS), which looks to a future of improved access to, and creation of, digital heritage resources in Canada. Clare has also helped to increase CRKN’s profile internationally particularly through CRKN’s participation in SCOAP3 and through her participation as Chair of the Executive Committee of SCOAP3.
Under her leadership, CRKN has increased engagement with members ensuring that their evolving priorities are understood by staff and continue to be well-served by the organization. She has overseen the enhancement of services provided to members such as Journal Value Analytics, enhanced foreign exchange services and undertaking the Journal Usage Project (JUP). In addition she has led the organization through an external review of negotiation effectiveness, a transition from a former license cost sharing model to a new banding structure, an overhaul of the CRKN model license and most recently through the exploration of a merger opportunity with Canadiana.org.
“We are delighted to have such a capable and visionary leader,” state Alan Shepard, President of Concordia University and Chair of the CRKN board and Gwen Bird, Vice-Chair CRKN, University Librarian and Dean of Libraries, Simon Fraser University, “particularly as CRKN undertakes an organizational evolution.”
Prior to joining CRKN, Clare held the position of Director, Sales and Strategic Support for Ingram, Coutts Information Services where she worked closely with university libraries across North America to provide collections and acquisitions services for monographic content. Clare earned a BA in General Studies from Simon Fraser University, with minors in English, Women's Studies, and Fine and Performing Arts, and she continues her education in leadership through various programs such as the Schulich Executive Education Centre at York University.
“I look forward to leading CRKN through the next five years,” remarks Clare “as we continue to innovate and evolve the organization, increasing our contribution to digital research infrastructure in Canada.”
Working with members, the Board, and the staff of CRKN, Clare will continue to improve upon the past successes of CRKN, focusing on serving the CRKN member community in meeting their research and teaching objectives while maintaining a sustainable organization.
About CRKN
The Canadian Research Knowledge Network is a partnership of Canadian universities, dedicated to expanding digital content for the academic research enterprise in Canada. Through the coordinated leadership of librarians, researchers, and administrators, CRKN undertakes large-scale content acquisition and licensing initiatives, currently amounting to almost $125 million annually, in order to build knowledge infrastructure and research capacity in 75 of Canada’s universities.