Biography
Dr. Erik Nordberg is Dean of the Paul Meek Library at the University of Tennessee at Martin. A professionally trained librarian and archivist, he brings over three decades of experience in libraries, archives, and public humanities.
Prior to his current role, Dr. Nordberg served as Dean of Libraries at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Executive Director of the Michigan Humanities Council, Director of the Reuther Labor Archives, and Assistant Dean of Libraries at Wayne State University. He spent 18 years at the Michigan Technological University Archives, where he significantly expanded archival collections and public history programming.
Dr. Nordberg’s scholarly work examines management, leadership, and fund development in academic libraries and archives. This has led to service opportunities at the national, state, and local level, including his current role as co-chair of the Library Leaders and Managers Interest Group and treasurer of the Library History Round Table, both within the American Library Association. Additional scholarship focuses on industrial history and heritage. He is a past president of the Mining History Association and a former board member of the Society for Industrial Archaeology. He currently serves on the board of the Jackson Purchase Historical Society and the editorial board of the University of Tennessee Press.
He earned his graduate degrees in library science and archival administration from Wayne State University, and his Ph.D. in industrial heritage and archaeology from Michigan Technological University. His doctoral research examined the early collection of business, industry, and technology records at four major American archival institutions. His current research explores the industrial history of West Tennessee.
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy, Industrial Heritage and Archaeology, Michigan Technological University, 2017
- Master of Science Library Science and Certificate of Archival Administration, Wayne State University, 1992
- Master of Philosophy – Anglo-Irish Literature, University Of Dublin, Trinity College, 1988
- Bachelor of Arts (Honors) in Combined Humanities, University Of Ulster at Jordanstown, 1987
Awards & Recognitions
- Institutional Recipient of a 2017 State History Award from the Historical Society of Michigan for restoration and installation of the 1937 WPA Walter Speck labor history mural at Walter P. Reuther Library, Wayne State University.
- Rodman Paul Award from the Mining History Association for outstanding contributions to mining history, 2013.
- Charles Follo Award from the Historical Society of Michigan for outstanding contributions to the preservation and promotion of Upper Peninsula history, 2011.
- Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History for the “Interior Ellis Island” ethnic immigration web project, 2007.
- John Townley Award from the Mining History Association for the best article in the Mining History Journal, 1999.
Selected Publications, Articles & Presentations
- “Breaking Barriers and Forging Collaboration: One University Library’s Experience with Non-academic Partners,” Tennessee Libraries, Issue 74: Number 3, October 2024.
- “Professional Identity during COVID-19: Experiences of Academic Library Leaders in the United States,” peer reviewed book chapter in Managing Crises in the Academic Library: Past, Present, and Future, edited by Doris Van Kampen-Breit (Chicago, IL: Association of College and Research Libraries, 2023).
- “Personality Over Policy: A Comparative History of the Founding and Early Development of Four Significant American Repositories of Business, Industry, and Technology.” Dissertation for Doctor of Philosophy, Industrial Heritage and Archaeology, Social Sciences Department, 2017.
History of libraries at UT Martin
Industrial history
History of clay mining in West Tennessee
History of aviation in West Tennessee