Constance Organ, 87, former librarian for the University of Iowa's psychology library in Iowa City, died May 10. 

Sara Fuchs began as digital content coordinator May 14.

May 14 Rebecca Hayes began as editorial assistant for the Media and Reference sections of Booklist.

Ruth Murray, instructor in the Graduate School of Education library media program at Portland (Oreg.) State University, was named 2012 Librarian of the Year by the Oregon Library Association becoming the first school librarian to receive the distinction. The award was presented for her "exceptional service and her many contributions to serving libraries and youth." 

In July Eva Poole becomes chief of staff at District of Columbia Public Library. 

May 23 Rebecca Graham begins as chief information officer and chief librarian at University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. 

May 1 Scott Garrison began as dean of the library, Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Michigan.

Lisa Farrell becomes director, library services, East Central College in Union, Missouri, July 1.

May 14 Melinda Cervantes began as director of Pima County (Ariz.) Public Library.

Ellen Krupar, librarian for the Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, is the 2012 recipient of the university's $2,000 President's Award for Excellence based on her "extensive and selfless services as a community volunteer, specifically to the Virginia Tech Police." She is co-founder of the Campus Police Support Group, an organization established to support logistical needs to the department during crisis and emergency situations. 

Valerie Hotchkiss, director of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was named the second Andrew S. G. Turyn Endowed Professor April 27, The honor is offered on a five-year rotation basis to full professors of library administration who are pursuing innovative research in scholarly areas. 

Nancy Perlow retires as director of Newton (Mass.) Free Library in May.

Rita Orr begins as CEO and chief librarian at Gravenhurst (Canada) Public Library in May.

In May, Robena Kirton retires as CEO and chief librarian at Gravenhurst (Canada) Public Library.

Roly Keating was named chief executive of The British Library in London.

May 12 S.D. Harris began as assistant director of  Norwalk (Conn.) Public Library System.

In May, Reta Erickson retires as city librarian of Mohall (N.D.) City Library. 

Russell M. Smith, 93, retired archivist at the Library of Congress, died April 21 from Alzheimer's disease. He oversaw the presidential papers collection and helped transform the the archive of documents related to the presidency of George Washington to Calvin Coolidge into a modern resource for scholars. Smith cataloged, indexed, and transferred the documents, many stored in shoe boxes, into microfilm. He also contributed to the library's Great Americans collection.

Joseph A. Rosenthal, 81, retired university librarian at the University of California, Berkeley, died April 7. He also worked as New York Public Library and served as principal investigator on numerous grants from the Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Rosenthal also served on the boards of the Center for Research Libraries, the Public Affairs Information Service, the Association of Research Libraries, and the Research Libraries Group. He held several positions of responsibility for ALA and its divisions—on the board of the former Library Resources and Technical Services Division; president of the former Information Science and  Automation Division; and as a member of ALA's governing Council. 

Jeanne Kircauldy Wood Reid, 83, retired reference librarian at Ardsley (N.Y.) School District Library, died May 7.