Gail McMillan is a professor at Virginia Tech’s University Libraries and Director of Scholarly Communication. Before joining the faculty at Virginia Tech, she earned two master’s degrees (MLS, MA) at the University of Maryland, College Park, and was an Archivist at the Smithsonian Institution.
Virginia Tech set the standard for ETDs and Gail played a significant role in this initiative beginning in 1995. Under her direction, Scholarly Communication developed the ETD-db software that managed ETD workflow from online submission to graduate school approval, public access, and distributed digital preservation. Gail also helped draft ETD MS (metadata standards for ETDs) and led the ETD preservation strategy with the MetaArchive from its beginnings in 2004. In 2011 Virginia Tech’s digital repository, VTechWorks, was established under Gail’s direction to host and make publicly available the university’s scholarship and research, including ETDs. Scholarly Communication has spawned many new library units including those focused on digital imaging, preservation, and publishing. Today Gail provides guidance on intellectual property issues, oversees VTechWorks, and manages the VT Open Access Subvention Fund, among other things.
Gail is a founding member of the NDLTD and served on the original Steering Committee and later the Advisory Board when the NDLTD incorporated in 2003. She was the first NDLTD secretary, serving through June 2009. In 2007 the NDLTD awarded her its Leadership Award.
