Dennis T. Clark, 10th librarian of Virginia (Photo by Jay Paul)
Dennis T. Clark is returning to Richmond as the 10th librarian of Virginia, beginning his work later this month. He succeeds Sandra Gioia Treadway, who retired after 16 years of leading the Library of Virginia, the state’s oldest institution dedicated to the preservation of Virginia history and culture. Most recently at the Library of Congress, Clark also helped lead the $50 million renovation and expansion of VCU’s James Branch Cabell Library. He spoke with Richmond magazine about his career and the role of libraries in the 21st century.
Richmond magazine: Since beginning your career in libraries, you’ve bounced from Arkansas to Washington, D.C., and now to Richmond for the second time. Which experience was your favorite and why?
Dennis T. Clark: Working at the Library of Congress — dealing with libraries and their communities at a broad level, answering directly to Congress, thinking about creating a national collection in the largest library in the world and providing research services for people both locally and globally — it’s one of those wonderful, utopian moments for a librarian. But the work that I had the most delight in, regardless of where I’ve been in my career, is when I’m able to actually see the results of what I’ve been able to do as a librarian. And that might have been when I was a music librarian, or when I was at VCU helping design and build a library that is such a heart on that campus. So regardless of where I am, it’s where I actually can see and feel the impact of what I’m able to do.
RM: What are some lessons you’ve learned from your prior positions, specifically your most recent one at the Library of Congress, and how do you plan to apply those to your new role?
Clark: One is patience, because governments run slower than universities and the level of accountability is more significant. In the National Library at the Library of Congress, for example, you are making decisions that are going to be around for hundreds of years after us — even small things can have an effect down the line for a researcher or a collection that people may not be using for 100 or 200 years. Every day we will be looking at decisions that our predecessors made here at the library, however long ago it may be, and if they had made the decision a little bit differently, then I wouldn’t be making a decision like this today, and so we have to think about the long view when we make those kinds of decisions.
RM: You are one of 10 people to oversee the state library in 200 years, with each making their mark in their own way. How do you hope to set yourself apart and leave your own impact on the library?
Clark: Isn’t that amazing? In the 200 years of the Library of Virginia, there’s only been 10 people who have ever led it. It’s a little hard to get my head around. My immediate predecessor, Dr. Sandra Treadway, is probably the ideal that I would want to follow in that position, given everything that she has done and how thoughtful and forward-thinking and really kind she was about her way of managing a library and its staff with a real mindset toward how the library affects every corner of the commonwealth.
RM: In an era when so much information is accessible online, and even more so in the growing age of artificial intelligence, how do you aspire to reach the people of Virginia?
Clark: One caveat: Of the 130 million items that are currently residing in the Library of Virginia, less than 5% have been digitized or are available in digital form. We want to be at the forefront of helping libraries around the state manage that kind of information in its digital form, but just because it’s available online doesn’t mean someone is thoughtful about how we’re going to keep that online. Anybody who’s visited a webpage that was 10 or 15 years old knows that the information that used to be there isn’t always there because no one has the mindset or the mandate to keep information available. But the state library does. We’re thinking about access for all Virginians, thinking about global access and trying to make sure that it is as easy as possible, and not presuming that just because it’s online, it will always stay online.
RM: You’ve helped lead two major renovations. Do you have any aspirations that you’re bringing with you to the Library of Virginia?
Clark: The Library of Virginia has been doing some internal thinking and planning about its physical space, though the building that was built in 1997 at 100 E. Broad St. is terrific. I do know there’s been some thought given by leadership in the state and the library about how best to use that space. So I would expect that those discussions will continue after I get there, and I certainly will want to be able to bring my experiences from other institutions and libraries to make sure that the physical spaces that we have for the people of Virginia are high quality, accessible and designed as universally as possible, and free to access for all.
RM: Virginia has seen book banning attempts double in the last year, with Hanover County being a particular hot spot for this. What role does the librarian of Virginia have in molding policy or influencing the public?
Clark: The Library of Virginia doesn’t have the actual authority over any municipality, so I think it’s incumbent upon me and the Library of Virginia to simply encourage best practices, to continue to evolve and to be responsive to the needs of their communities, and have rationales for why a particular book is on the shelf. Residents should also have a well-reasoned and well-thought-out ability to challenge why a book may or may not be on the shelf. I think those processes should be clear and transparent for their communities. At the very core of any library is having as little restriction to information or reading material as possible.
RM: What is a book that you think everyone should read in their lifetime, and why?
Clark: Well, I wouldn’t want to tell anybody what to read right now, but the book that I have most recently picked up, which I find to be really challenging, is “The Rabbit Hutch” by Tess Gunty. It was recently awarded the National Book Award for Fiction. And I’m kind of consumed with that right now. My background is in music and a little bit of history, so I often like to read nonfiction and anything by Virginia authors or about Virginia, and I’m trying to get up to speed. I will say that Dr. Treadway has written books about bridging Virginia history, and I hope to read everything that she has written, so I can make sure that I’m as good of a steward in the opportunity to be the librarian of Virginia.
RM: Is there anything else you’d like to add or that you think people should know?
Clark: The library is about to begin its third century, and it’s one of the oldest state libraries in the country. The mission is really to collect stories of resilience. I think there was one point where the library gathered stories of famous Virginians, and thankfully over the last 25, 50 years that has changed to wanting to uncover the stories of ordinary men and women, people in Virginia who for so many centuries have been unheralded and unnoticed. But that is a full part of our story, and wanting to bring that into the public arena and the public mindset is an important part of what the library is about and will continue to be about.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
