Marilyn Moody, dean of the Albertsons Library from 2006 – 2012, died in November 2022.
In her time at Boise State, Moody created the university’s institutional repository ScholarWorks, a collection of services designed to capture and showcase scholarly output by the Boise State faculty, staff and students.
With her colleagues, Peggy Cooper and Nancy Rosenheim, she also first made eBooks available to the campus community. The collection was established in 2011 with $42,000 and 52,000 electronic titles. At the time, the same books would have cost $5.2 million dollars if they had been purchased through traditional methods. The team used a new financial and access model, Demand Driven/Patron Driven Acquisitions, to purchase the eBooks without any financial burden to the library or the university. Rather than purchasing books for patrons “just in case” they used them, the new model allowed the library to invest in a diverse collection and only pay for the books that were actually used. In contrast, this model shifted the focus to materials that were available “just in time.”
Beth Allen, the library’s web and tech support specialist, remembers Moody as “an intelligent library advocate with a vision of just ‘going for it.’ Marilyn moved the library forward with technology and innovation. She thoroughly researched her ideas in order to make important decisions easily, and with consensus.”
Allen also recalls Moody’s giving spirit, donating a saxophone to a Boise School District high school student in need. The musician went on to play in college, with the very same instrument.
Please visit her obituary to share condolences with her family.