UAH welcomes Reagan Grimsley to the M. Louis Salmon Library

Reagan Grimsley, the new Head of Special Collections and Archives at the UAH M. Louis Salmon Library.

Michael Mercier | UAH

Reagan Grimsley is the new Head of Special Collections and Archives at The University of Alabama in Huntsville's (UAH) M. Louis Salmon Library. He began his duties in June.

"I am pleased to welcome Reagan into the position as Head of Special Collections and University Archivist," said David Moore, Director of the M. Louis Salmon Library and a university faculty member. "His extensive knowledge and experience about the preservation and management of historical documents in an academic setting will be a great asset for the library. I look forward to working with him as we improve and enhance the collection.

"Initially Reagan will be analyzing all of the collections and making decisions about organization and access and working with donors," Moore said. "Going forward he will take on a more 'big picture' role which will include seeking grant funding as well as marketing our special collections to the UAH and Huntsville communities and beyond."

"I am excited about the opportunity to help build on the success of Special Collections and Archives at UAH," Grimsley stated. "We strive to provide access to unique materials which support the research needs of our faculty, staff, and students, as well as academic researchers from across the nation." In addition to the UAH Historical Collection, the facility collects materials related to space history, history and politics of the Tennessee River Valley, and science fiction.

Grimsley has fifteen years of academic work experience in archives and Special Collections. Most recently he served as an Assistant Professor of History at Auburn University where his duties included teaching archival studies courses and serving as the Program Officer for the Archival Studies Certificate Program. Prior to that he was a member of the library faculty at Columbus State University, where he directed the Columbus State University Archives. For the past nine years Grimsley scored exams for Educational Testing Service (ETS) as a Reader/Table Leader for the Advanced Placement United States History Examination.

Grimsley's publications include the monograph Enriching Lives: A Pictorial History of Columbus State University, a recently published book chapter "Reorienting the Piney Woods: Rural and Urban Change in South Mississippi, 1865-1910" in Rural-Urban Relationships in the Nineteenth Century: Uneasy Neighbors and several articles in academic library and history journals. From 2006-2008 he also edited the archival journal Provenance.

A recipient of numerous honors and awards, while at Auburn he garnered a Auburn University College of Liberal Arts Community and Civic Engagement Project Support Grant and an Auburn University College of Liberal Arts Summer Grant. At Columbus State University he was the recipient of the Faculty Research and Scholarship Award, a Faculty Development Grant, and a Historic Columbus Foundation Preservation Award. While a graduate student at Southern Miss, he was the recipient the Alfred Bell, Jr. Travel Grant from the Forest History Society and a summer fellowship at the Stonewall Jackson House.

He serves on the Executive Committee of the Society of Alabama Archivists and is a member of the American Library Association, Alabama Association of College and Research Libraries, and Society of Mississippi Archivists. He is a former member of the Alabama State Records Commission and Alabama State Local Records Commission.

Grimsley earned an undergraduate degree in History, M.L.I.S. in Library and Information Science, and M.A. in History all from The University of Southern Mississippi. He is currently finishing his dissertation for the PhD in History from Georgia State University.