February 14, 1994

Contact: Barbara Bryant (202) 707-9197

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Library of Congress Appoints Beverly Gray New Chief of African and Middle Eastern Division

On Feb. 6, Beverly A. Gray assumed her new position as chief of the African and Middle Eastern Division at the Library of Congress. Ms. Gray will be responsible for the overall administration of the division and its three sections, Near East, Hebraic, and African. The division is responsible for reference, acquisitions, bibliographic, and special project activities concerning the geographical area. Each year, the three sections handle more than 25,000 reference inquiries from researchers in person or by correspondence. The subjects of requests illustrate the tremendous diversity of scholarly interest in the area, ranging from educational television in the Ivory Coast to the published works of the Ayatollah Khomeini, and from Yom Kippur prayers to the nuclear capability of South Africa.

Ms. Gray joined the Library in 1972 as a senior reference librarian and an area specialist in the African Section. She was promoted to head of the African Section in 1978 and has served as acting division chief on several occasions, most recently for nine months in 1993.

Ms. Gray holds a bachelor's degree in Social Sciences from Simmons College, master's degrees in Political Science and Library Science, and a certificate in African studies, all from Columbia University.

Ms. Gray has written numerous bibliographies and reports on Africa. She is also an active member of several library and area studies organizations, including the African Studies Association and its African Libraries Council and the Cooperative Africana Microform Project.

She serves on several advisory boards for projects relating to Africana. At the Library, Ms. Gray has served on the Goals Organization and Planning Task Force, the Intern Committee, the Foreign Newspaper Working Group, and the West African Survey Team.

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PR 94-035
2/15/94
ISSN 0731-3527