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Ken Varnum, Senior Program Manager for Discovery, Delivery, and Library Analytics at the University of Michigan Library, has been appointed as the new editor of (ITAL), the Library and Information Technology Association's refereed, open access journal. His term will run through June 30, 2020.

"Ken stood out among a truly outstanding pool of people who expressed interest in the position," said Michael C. Witt, chair of the ITAL Editor Search Committee. "In addition to his wealth of experience and scholarship related to library technology, Ken has a genuine enthusiasm for LITA and a vision for the future of our journal that resonated with the Committee," Other members of the Search Committee include Mark Dehmlow, Thomas Dowling, and Mary Beth Weber.

In his position at the University of Michigan Library, Varnum is responsible for the library's discovery interfaces (the "MLibrary" single search tool, ArticlesPlus, Search Tools, etc.), delivery interfaces, and the library's evolving and emerging analytics infrastructure. He received a master's degree from the University of Michigan's School of Information and his Bachelor of Arts from Grinnell College. Over his two decades working with public-facing technology in academic, corporate, and special libraries, he has gained a deep appreciation and understanding of the need to tailor systems and interfaces to the local user base. A frequent speaker and author, Ken presents and writes about discovery systems, library analytics, and technology.

Varnum chaired the 2014 LITA Forum Planning Committee, co-chaired the 2016 Forum Assessment Task Force, and most recently served on the LITA Board from 2015-2017. In addition to numerous articles and chapters, he wrote "Drupal in Libraries" (2012), compiled the LITA Guide "The Top Technologies every Librarian Needs to Know" (2014), and edited Lorcan Dempsey's "The Network Reshapes the Library" (2014). His most recent book, "Exploring Discovery: The Front Door to Your Library’s Licensed and Digitized Content" was published by 91´«Ã½ Editions in 2016. He blogs at and can be found on Twitter at .

"I am honored to have been appointed as Editor of ITAL," said Varnum. "As a decades-long reader of the journal, contributor, and member of the Editorial Board since 2013, I deeply value the journal's contributions to the profession. With ITAL's 50th anniversary coming in 2018, this is an auspicious time to reflect on the journal's past and build on that solid foundation for the next 50 years. I look forward to working with my colleagues in LITA and beyond in the years to come."

Information Technology and Libraries publishes material related to all aspects of information technology in all types of libraries. Topic areas include, but are not limited to, library automation, digital libraries, metadata, identity management, distributed systems and networks, computer security, intellectual property rights, technical standards, geographic information systems, desktop applications, information discovery tools, web-scale library services, cloud computing, digital preservation, data curation, virtualization, search-engine optimization, emerging technologies, social networking, open data, the semantic web, mobile services and applications, usability, universal access to technology, library consortia, vendor relations, and digital humanities.

Established in 1966, the is the leading organization reaching out across types of libraries to provide education and services for a broad membership of nearly 2,700 systems librarians, library technologists, library administrators, library schools, vendors, and many others interested in leading edge technology and applications for librarians and information providers. LITA is a division of the . Follow us on our , , or .

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