Carolyn Walters served as the Ruth Lilly Dean of University Libraries and associate librarian at Indiana University. Walters oversaw day-to-day operations at the IU Libraries, managing tech services, collection development, public services, and archives. She was involved with facility projects like the construction of the Information Commons, the Learning Commons, Auxiliary Library Facility (ALF) Module 2, the move of Archives to Wells Library and the collection to ALF, and the renovation of the Business/SPEA Library, among others. As the founding executive director of IU's Office of Scholarly Publishing in 2012, Walters fully integrated the IU Press into library operations, establishing a sustainable framework to deliver national leadership in the evolving environment of open access scholarship. She was also instrumental in expanding the IU Libraries' partnership with University Information Technology Services.
During her tenure, Walter has laid the groundwork for radical transformations that have increased access to information, tailored services to user needs and created spaces designed especially for faculty and students. She led in the creation of the Information Commons at the Herman B Wells Library, one of the nation's first such projects integrating information technology services and library resources in an academic setting. She spearheaded IU's participation as the first library selected for the Google Books Project; providing oversight and support for the expansion of the IU Libraries Auxiliary Library Facility, which added space for 3.5 million library volumes; and developing effective partnerships between the IU Libraries, UITS and academic units, such as the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and the College of Arts and Sciences.
With a number of publications on topics ranging from designing research commons to staff recruitment, Carolyn remains active on a local and national level through groups including the Bloomington Faculty Council, the American Library Association, the Indiana Library Federation, and Committee on Institutional Cooperation.
Walters received the IU Bicentennial Medal in August 2019 in recognition of her distinguished service as the Ruth Lilly Dean of University Libraries at Indiana University.
