Annie Wu

Annie Wu, head of Metadata and Digitization Services (MDS) at University of Houston Libraries, has been awarded the Ambassador Kenneth Franzheim II and Mrs. Jorgina Franzheim Professorship, effective March 1.

The Franzheim Professorship was established in 2006 to support a full librarian in the MD Anderson Library at the University of Houston. The candidate must have exceeded the requirements to achieve the rank of full librarian, and must be recognized as an individual who has advanced their discipline and whose opinions are highly regarded.

“Annie Wu’s appointment reflects her singular influence in the field of librarianship,” said Athena Jackson, dean of UH Libraries and Elizabeth D. Rockwell chair. “The breadth and intention of the Franzheim endowment provided with this professorship mirrors the potential Ms. Wu will have to expend the funds in ways that advance the Libraries’ mission through her enterprise-wide scope of work that entails rich, meaningful, and inclusive descriptions of all our collections. I am very pleased that we will now have the opportunity to support Annie, and UH Libraries, through this appointment.”

In her role, which she has held since 2013, Wu is responsible for strategic direction, initiatives and planning for MDS. She has published and presented on various topics relating to information organization and discovery, digital systems, linked data, digital preservation policies and programs, metadata practices and standards, and staff competences, training and orientation. Wu has served on local, state, and national library association committees and task forces including serving as councilor-at-large of American Library Association (ALA). Wu is a fellow of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Leadership Fellows Program as well as the ARL Leadership and Career Development Program. Wu served as the co-principal investigator for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)-funded “Bridge2Hyku Toolkit: Developing Migration Strategies for Hyku” grant project. Prior to UH, Wu served as the operations manager at the Technical Information Center at Corning Inc., and as cataloging supervisor at University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Wu holds a master’s degree in Library and Information Studies (MLIS) from University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Kenneth Franzheim II was a Houston oilman and philanthropist. He served as ambassador to New Zealand, Western Samoa, Tonga and Fiji from 1969 to 1972. Franzheim was also a friend and supporter of UH Libraries, with a strong belief in higher education. His father was the prominent Houston architect whose best known building was the downtown Foley’s Department Store, and whose collection of rare architecture books is preserved in the Kenneth Franzheim II Rare Books Room at the William R. Jenkins Architecture, Design, and Art Library.