Clements Library's New Director to Speak Thursday at U-M Club at DoubleTree
J. Kevin Graffagnino, Former Vermont Historian, Visits Bay City First Time
May 24, 2009
By: Dave Rogers
Dr. J. Kevin Graffagnino, speaker at U-M Club here Thursday night.
J. Kevin Graffagnino, director of the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan, will speak in Bay City next Thursday.
The University of Michigan Club of Bay City is the sponsor of the event, its annual dinner, beginning with cash bar at 5:30 p.m. Cost is $21 per person and reservations may be made with club treasurer Dave Huiskens, 88 Tobico Beach, Bay City.
Dr. Graffagnino was named to succeed John Dann as the fourth director of the famed library of Americana in Ann Arbor.
The library and the basis of its collection was donated to the university in 1923 by Mr. Clements, president of Bay City's Industrial Works.
Dr. Graffagnino previously was executive director of the Vermont Historical Society, a post he held since 2003. Under his leadership, the society received a national medal for public service from the Institute for Museum and Library Services.
"What William Clements created in the 1920s and what the staff and University of Michigan have accomplished with the library since then have made it a remarkably important depository of American history," he said upon assuming the post in Ann Arbor. "I'm eager to work with the curators and administrators at the University of Michigan to maximize the library's potential. It's a professional dream come true."
From 1999-2003, Graffagnino served as executive director for the Kentucky Historical Society. Prior to that, he was director of the library for the Historical Society of Wisconsin.
Throughout his career, Graffagnino has built a stellar reputation as a dynamic speaker, giving more than 600 public talks during the last two decades. He has authored/edited 16 books, including, "All the Good Books: Quotations for Bibliophiles," published in 2006.
Graffagnino has written more than 60 articles and contributing chapters to books. His work has appeared in the American National Biography, Antiques, History News, Manuscripts, The William and Mary Quarterly.
In 1976, he received a Bachelor of History and English degree from the University of Vermont, and two years later earned a Master of History from U of V. In 1993, Graffagnino received a doctorate in history from the University of Massachusetts.
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