New UTA Libraries Advisory Council Holds Inaugural Meeting

The Libraries play an important role in the success of our nearly 43,000 students every day. Our students rely on the Libraries for everything from finding their next source to conducting research that could shape the future. Behind that work is a library system facing big questions about how to serve a growing university, support student success and strengthen research. 

The Libraries now have a new group helping think through those questions. 

The UTA Libraries Advisory Council recently held its first meeting on Sept. 11. The meeting brought together community leaders and university partners, along with Dean of Libraries John Wang and department leaders, for a closer look at the Libraries’ work, challenges, and plans for the future. 

The Council will serve as a strategic sounding board, offering outside perspective, guidance, and advocacy. Council members will not make operational decisions. Instead, they will ask questions, share expertise, open doors, and help identify opportunities that can strengthen the Libraries’ work across the university and the broader community. 

Wang opened the meeting by outlining two priorities at the center of the council's work. 

"We're really looking at two things," Wang said. "One is student success, and the other is research excellence." 

Those priorities span nearly every part of the Libraries’ work, from helping students navigate college and build the skills they need to succeed to providing faculty and researchers with the collections, expertise, and resources needed to advance knowledge. 

The Advisory Council came together to learn how the Libraries are turning those priorities into action. 

Wang began with one of the biggest challenges facing the Libraries: having the resources to keep pace with the demands of a major research university. The library fee, a significant source of funding, has remained at $15 per credit hour since 2004, while the cost of scholarly journals, databases, and other research materials has continued to rise. 

That pressure is especially evident in the Libraries’ collections budget. Associate University Librarian Peter Zhang explained that the Libraries spend roughly $6 million on collections, placing UTA near the bottom of its peer group. 

Meeting the needs of students and researchers will require the Libraries to look beyond traditional funding sources. Wang and library leaders discussed opportunities involving donors, community partnerships, grants, and other forms of support. 

The Council also heard how the Libraries are rethinking the way it connects students and faculty with its expertise. 

Jessica McClean, Director of Reference, Instruction, and Open Education (RIO), explained the Libraries' new student support model, which aims to connect students and faculty with the right library expertise at the right time. 

"It's not about doing more with less," McClean said. "It's about yielding more with what we're already doing." 

The model includes Research Mavs, which provides peer-to-peer research assistance, and a stronger emphasis on information literacy. 

"It's finding, organizing, and ethically using information," McClean said. 

That work also connects to student affordability.  

In spring 2026, about 23% of UTA course sections used low or zero-cost materials, which yields cost avoidance totals of more than $6.1 million. That means that students didn’t pay $6.1 million in textbook cost because faculty members chose to use these low or zero-cost materials. 

"The goal is not just to make things free," McClean said. "It's about quality and learning impact." 

Research and access to collections were also central to the conversation. 

Kera Newby, Director for Special Collections and Archives, discussed the department's mission to serve as the collective memory of the university and the region while making historical materials available for research and community use. 

"The most important priority is making our historical materials available for research and community use," Newby said. 

Since 2023, class sessions in Special Collections have grown from 30 to 112, a 273% increase. Newby described the challenge that comes with that growth as learning “how we manage success.” 

Council Member Brenda McClurkin, who spent 20 years with UTA Libraries and served as director of Special Collections from 2013 to 2022, stated she hopes the Council can help expand that work. 

"It is just my hope that this library council will offer some really exciting and innovative new directions for UTA Libraries," McClurkin said. "One of my particular interests is faculty research and maximizing the exposure to our marvelous special collections materials, not only to faculty but also to graduate and postgraduate students." 

Fellow Council Member Gerald Saxon, who spent 38 years at UTA with seven of those years as Dean of Libraries, reflected on the broader impact libraries can have on students and faculty. 

"I think that’s what libraries do. We shape and mold lives," Saxon said. "Hopefully we energize students and faculty to do research and to expand knowledge." 

The Council will convene twice a year, with the next meeting set for mid spring 2026. Their collective experience and expertise will be invaluable in charting the course for the Libraries’ future.