Elizabeth "Liz" Salzer served as University Librarian at Santa Clara University from 1985 until her retirement in 2011. During this time, she oversaw the transition from the old Varsi Library building to the Harrington Learning Commons, Sobrato Technology Center and Orradre Library building in 2008.

Salzer earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1966 from the College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, and her MLS in 1967 from the University of Michigan.

Salzer worked from 1967 to 1975 in a variety of positions with the University Libraries of the State University of New York at Albany. At SUNY Salzer’s two most recent posts included serving as department head of Government Publications, then head of Reference Services. From 1975-1985, she was head librarian for the J. Henry Meyer Memorial Library at Stanford University.

Salzer was president of ACRL’s California Chapter, and held the Olga Meyer and Alice Meyer Buck chair at Stanford.

Santa Clara University was founded in 1851 by the Society of Jesus as Santa Clara College and is California’s oldest operating institution of higher learning. It was established on the grounds of Mission Santa Clara de Asìs, the eighth of the original 21 California missions. The college originally operated as a preparatory school and did not offer courses of collegiate rank until 1853. The institution became known as the University of Santa Clara in 1912, when the schools of engineering and law were added. For 110 years, Santa Clara University was an all-male school. In 1961, women were accepted as undergraduates and Santa Clara University became the first coeducational Catholic university in California. The number of students and faculty tripled over the next decade and the university began the largest building program in school history with eight residence halls, a student union, and an athletic stadium. In the early 1970s, the Board of Trustees voted to limit the size of the undergraduate population, an action that was intended to preserve the character and ensure the quality of the university for generations to come. In 1985, the university adopted Santa Clara University as its official name.

The Varsi Library served as the home of the University Library from 1931 until the collection was moved into the newly constructed Michel Orradre Library in 1965. The Michel Orradre Library was torn down in 2006, and the new Harrington Learning Commons, Sobrato Technology Center, and Orradre Library complex was built in the same location. During construction, the University Library served the campus community from three temporary service points on campus. The University Library reopened in its new home on March 31, 2008.Bibliography: Santa Clara University. “About SCU – History.” www.scu.edu/about/history.cfm (Accessed Nov. 23, 2010) McKevitt, Gerald, S.J. The University of Santa Clara: A History, 1851-1977. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1979.