On September 15th, Trey Shelton will assume the responsibilities of Chair of Academic Research & Consulting Services (ARCS) for the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida. In this position, he will oversee the ARCS team — https://arcs.uflib.ufl.edu/ — that offers unique expertise and services to support research activities including artificial Intelligence and research metrics and impact, among other services.
“Mr. Shelton’s recruitment as its first chair will position the department to better meet the growing demand, and his leadership will ensure its increased visibility and recognition. He will play a key role in filling current and future vacancies with highly qualified team members,” Associate Dean for Research and Health Sciences Emily McElroy said.
Shelton received his Master of Arts in Library & Information Science from the University of South Florida and a Bachelor of Arts in Family & Consumer Science from the University of Montevallo. Trey started his career at the University of Florida in 2010, eventually serving as the Acquisitions Department Chair of the Smathers Libraries beginning in 2016 and was granted tenure and promoted to the rank of Associate University Librarian in 2018. In 2021 Trey accepted the position of Head of the Acquisitions & Serials Department at the University of Georgia.
Trey’s professional responsibilities have focused primarily on leading and managing teams responsible for acquisition and collection strategy, materials budget oversight, and e-resource management and discovery. Trey also has extensive experience with publisher negotiations for both business and licensing terms. Trey’s scholarship focuses on the effectiveness of acquisition methods, collection assessment, and e-resource management. Trey has authored or co-authored multiple peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, conference proceedings, and conference presentations and posters.
The ARCS Department provides expert information and data services to discipline-diverse researchers at all levels (students, staff, and faculty). ARCS department members and affiliates offer expertise in artificial intelligence, bioinformatics, data management, geographic information systems, reproducibility, research compliance and metrics, systematic reviews, scholarly communications, and other publishing-related activities. ARCS faculty also partner with the libraries’ liaison librarians, and subject specialists assigned to specific UF departments, colleges, and other units. The goal of the ARCS team is to support the UF community throughout the research life cycle—from project conception, through data collection and analysis, to publication and beyond. The ARCS department’s tenure home is Research and Health Sciences, with the primary faculty physically located in the Health Science Center Libraries.
Michele Tennant, University Librarian, served as Interim Senior Director of ARCS from January 1, 2021 – May 5, 2023.