Baylor Alumnae to Discuss Leading Texas Libraries

Gloria Meraz, director and librarian of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, and Mary Marlow Woodard, president of the Texas Library Association (TLA), will be interviewed by Lori Fogleman, Assistant Vice President for Media and Public Relations at Baylor University on March 31, at 2:30 p.m. CDT at the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum. Conversation and a reception will follow. This event is free and open to the public, and available both in-person and via Zoom Webinar.

Meraz and Woodard, both Baylor alumnae, hold the two highest positions in librarianship in Texas. Through the two organizations, their reach extends into all 254 counties and every metropolitan and rural area in the state.

Baylor librarian Kathy Hillman, who has worked with both women through TLA, adds, "Mary and Gloria represent the best of our university and the best of our profession. For them to serve simultaneously is a first for Baylor since the fledgling Texas Library Association helped establish the state library and archives in 1909."

Woodard graduated from Baylor in 1985 with degrees in Elementary Education and English and earned her library science degree from Texas Woman’s University in 1987. She served in the Mesquite Independent School District for 35 years as a school librarian, technology facilitator and director of library services. In 2022, Woodard was elected president of TLA, the largest state library association in the United States.

Meraz completed her Museum Studies degree in 1990. As a Baylor student, she interned in the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum. Several years after completing her library science degree at the University of Texas at Austin, she became Director of Communications for TLA, a position she held for 17 years before becoming the Assistant State Librarian in 2016. She was named Director and Librarian in 2021.

"Libraries play a vital educational role in our local communities, regional colleges, and universities," said Jeffry Archer, dean of the Baylor Libraries. "The fact that two Baylor alumnae are concurrently leading the conversation about libraries and archives at a statewide level is truly amazing and demonstrates the value of Baylor’s mission to educate students for leadership and service in communities in Texas and around the globe."

More information about this event is available at baylor.edu/library/leadingtexaslibraries.