Miriam Drake to Retire - Brief Article

Information Outlook, March, 2000

After seventeen years of dedicated service, Miriam A. Drake, Dean and Director of the Library & Information Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology, will retire on January 1, 2001.

In addition to handling the operation and management of library and information services, Drake currently serves as the Institute's archivist and records manager. She is responsible for the Georgia Tech Electronic Library (GTEL), full text information systems, digital libraries and multimedia products, information training and consulting services for faculty and students. After receiving a BS degree in economic analysis and an MLS from Simmons College, Drake completed graduate work at Harvard University. She spent fourteen years in the private sector as a management consultant, transportation economist and marketing research analyst before becoming Assistant Director for Library Support Services at Purdue University. She signed on with Georgia Tech in 1984.

Drake is the author of more than one-hundred journal articles and conference presentations and serves on several editorial and advisory boards for publications and universities throughout the nation. Upon retirement, Drake will continue to serve as the editor of the second edition of the Dekker Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. She received the American Library Association/Hugh Atkinson Award for innovation and risk taking in 1992 and she received the first Allen Kent/Mecklermedia Award for lifetime achievement. She also holds an honorary doctorate of human letters from Indiana University and an honorary doctorate of library science from Simmons College.

Drake is past president of the Special Libraries Association.