On Wednesday, December 19, 2018, Joe Hewitt passed away leaving a legacy of inspired leadership at multiple TRLN member institutions. Joe served as the University Librarian at UNC-Chapel Hill (“UNC-CH”) from 1993-2004 after having served as Associated University Librarian for Technical Services for nearly 20 years.
During his career at UNC-CH Joe led several significant initiatives that strengthened the bonds between academic libraries, scholars, and students. Key achievements included the launch of Documenting the American South, one of the nation’s pioneering digitization projects; the renovation of the Undergraduate Library; and the establishment of the Carolina Academic Library Associates (“CALA”) program.
Joe’s vision and leadership were particularly instrumental in the formation of TRLN as we know it today. In December 1977 he wrote the “Proposal for Funding to Support Cooperative Library Development Programs Between Duke University, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, Raleigh” (North Carolina Central University had not yet joined the consortium).
A list of other papers and presentations Joe composed about TRLN between 1975 and 1987 is available here. These works attest to how influential his support was in the evolution of the consortium’s activities and services. The original papers and presentations are held in the UNC University Archives.