Office of the Dean

Message from the Dean

Dean Sue Polanka

Welcome from the Dean

Hello! My name is Sue Polanka and I am the Dean of the Appalachian State University Libraries. I came to Appalachian State from Ohio, where I’ve been a librarian for over 30 years, and chose App State because of our outstanding libraries, increasing enrollment and the many opportunities for growth.

For me, the academic library is a partner with the greater campus to support the success of our faculty and students. We support success in a number of ways, first by providing full and equal access to resources - resources like books, journals, special collections, digital content, technology, study areas, and a variety of services.

Teaching is also central to our mission and vitally important given today’s culture of media bias and misinformation. We instruct students on the research process, evaluation of content, the bias of sources, and the use of technology, and we assist them in all forms of creative research activities, from topic development to the final print or multimedia product.

We have a history of building campus and community collaborations focused on prioritizing the needs of our patrons. Many of our stories and accomplishments from the year are highlighted in this report, demonstrating the efforts of our outstanding team. Our team consists of 84 faculty and staff, as well as approximately 125 student employees.

As Dean, I hope to build on the strong foundation in our libraries and work with the faculty, students, and campus administrators to move our libraries into the future together. I invite you to follow our progress through our annual reports, social media, and our website news feed.  Thank you for your support of the University Libraries.

Read more about the new Dean of University Libraries in Appalachian Today

Organizational Chart

Office of the Dean Directory

Faculty & Staff

Dean Sue Polanka
416 Belk Library and Information Commons
(828) 262-2801
414 Belk Library and Information Commons
(828) 262-6725
250A Belk Library and Information Commons
(828) 262-7974

Contact Georgie about: collections + scholarly publishing | facilitation + community engagement | strategy + finance + equity + org culture | development + relationships | dismantling white supremacy culture | biodynamic agriculture + beekeeping

410 Belk Library and Information Commons
(828) 262-6536
174 Belk Library and Information Commons
(828) 262-8688
418 Belk Library and Information Commons
(828) 262-6535