Sarah Thomas

Who is Sarah Thomas?

Sarah Elizabeth Thomas is a librarian best known for her leadership position in a number of research libraries. In May 2013 it was announced that she has been appointed vice president for Harvard University Library, taking up the post in August 2013.

Thomas was raised in Haydenville, Massachusetts, United States, and graduated from Smith College in 1970. She qualified as a professional librarian at Simmons College in 1973 and received her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1982 for a thesis on the Austrian author Hugo von Hofmannsthal and his relations with his publisher.

Between 1996 and 2006, Thomas held the positions of Adjunct Professor of German and Carl A. Kroch University Librarian at Cornell University. Between 2007 and 2013, she held the office of Bodley's Librarian and Director of the Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford. As Bodley's Librarian, she was responsible for the operation of the largest university libraries in the United Kingdom, and one of the major research libraries in the world.