The Wyndham Robertson Library at Hollins University has been accepted into the Oberlin Group of Libraries, a selective nonprofit consortium dedicated to enhancing the quality of library services, fostering collaboration, and promoting the values of liberal arts education.
Comprised of 88 leading U.S. colleges, including all of the top 25 private liberal arts schools in the country (as rated by U.S. News & World Report), the Oberlin Group focuses on library and scholarly publishing issues and related services that support liberal arts missions.
Hollins joins the University of Richmond, Hendrix College, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and Muhlenberg College as new members of the Oberlin Group this year.
Kristen Eshleman, 2023-24 Oberlin Group president and the vice president for Library and Information Technology Services at Trinity College, said, “We are thrilled to welcome the diverse perspectives and unique legacies of academic excellence that these five institutions bring to the Oberlin Group. Growing our consortium strengthens our collective capacity to address new challenges and advance the role of our libraries in transformative liberal arts education.”
The Oberlin Group boasts 16 of the 22 recipients of the Excellence in Academic Libraries award in the college category, given annually by the Association of College & Research Libraries. Hollins received the award in 2009.
“The group’s dedication to the principles of the liberal arts is particularly appealing to us. We know that liberal arts education is transformative, and we look forward to learning from other libraries who are strengthening the foundation of their liberal arts institutions,” said Luke Vilelle, university librarian at Hollins.
The Oberlin Group is currently focused on three strategic directions: diversity, equity, and inclusion; strengthening community; and universal access to scholarship.
“These goals are important to our library and our institution,” Vilelle said. “We have prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion, as seen in Hollins’ Leading EDJ conference and the library’s commitment to provide a welcoming environment. We are committed to open and accessible scholarship through support of open access initiatives and the dissemination of faculty and student work through our institutional repository, the Hollins Digital Commons.”
The Wyndham Robertson Library underwent a significant renovation in 2023 to expand its role as a resource and learning hub. The library also recently co-created an undergraduate certificate program for students interested in libraries, museums, and archives.
The library’s collections engage outside researchers and students alike, particularly with unique Special Collections such as the Margaret Wise Brown papers and medieval manuscripts.
