Nancy Elizabeth Gwinn, an internationally recognized library leader with a passion for service, passed away on April 29, 2024 after a spirited two-year fight against cancer. She was 78.
Gwinn was born in Sheridan, Wyoming and graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1967. She attended the University of Oxford on a Fulbright scholarship and earned a master’s degree in library science from the University of Michigan in 1969. In 1996 she earned a Ph.D in American civilization from George Washington University at the age of 51.
Gwinn began her library career in 1969 in the Legislative Reference Service at the Library of Congress where she met John Y. Cole, her husband. Before joining the Smithsonian Libraries as an assistant director in 1984, she worked at the Council on Library and Information Resources and the Research Libraries Group, where she was instrumental in creating a model for research library collaboration in preservation microfilming.
As director of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries system from 1997 to 2020, Gwinn’s many accomplishments included leading the establishment of the Biodiversity Heritage Library; establishing the first Libraries Advisory Board and mounting an aggressive fund-raising program that raised $20,000,000 for the system of 21 libraries; and launching the Libraries’ exhibition and outreach program, the digital Cultural Heritage Library, the Education Program, and a Digital Imaging Center.
Over the course of a distinguished career that spanned 51 years, Gwinn was an active leader in the American Library Association and the International Federation of Library Associations and the recipient of many awards. She was the author or editor of four books and numerous articles about preservation, research libraries, and the history of the Smithsonian Institution.
Gwinn channeled energy and resources into numerous initiatives to foster career development among young professionals, and she was an active member of P.E.O., a philanthropic organization dedicated to the advancement of women. According to her P.E.O. sister Ann Gordon, Gwinn served in numerous leadership roles in support of the organization, including multiple stints as chapter president, D.C. State President, and as a trustee for Cottey College. Other P.E.O. sisters describe her as “an amazing woman” and a “beautifully bright star.”
In addition to her husband John Cole, Gwinn is survived by her brother Don Gwinn and his wife Joanna (Evanston, IL), and their two sons and families: Peter and Emily Gwinn and their sons Emmett and Oliver (Chicago, IL), and Michael and Angela Gwinn and their twins James and Amelia (Austin, TX).
A memorial service will be held on June 8, 2024 at 11:00am at the Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church 1 Chevy Chase Circle Washington, D.C. 20015, where Gwinn was a member of the choir. The service will be broadcast remotely via a link available on the church's website: chevychasepc.org.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Elizabeth W. and Nancy E. Gwinn P.E.O. Scholar Award at the P.E.O. Foundation at www.peointernational.org, or to the Library of Congress Center for the Book John Y. Cole and Nancy E. Gwinn Fund at www.loc.gov/donate.
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