Kansas University has chosen a leader in copyright and scholarly communications to be the university’s next dean of libraries.

That’s important, the incoming dean and current employees say, because these fields ensure libraries transition into the future.

Kevin Smith, director of copyright and scholarly communication at Duke University, will take over as dean of KU Libraries in May, KU announced Wednesday.

From questions of copyright law to scholarly publications going digital to digitizing other library collections, scholarly communication is “changing dramatically,” Smith said.

KU has been a leader in these areas, Smith said, which is part of what attracted him to the job.

“It’s not so much that I’m coming to introduce them to these issues; they’ve been leaning on them for quite a while,” he said.

Kevin Smith

At Duke, Smith advises faculty, staff and students on issues of copyright, intellectual property licenses and scholarly publishing. He’s also helped coordinate online publishing, and he teaches.

“As we move into a digital world, the copyright issues have grown much more complex and a little bit scarier for libraries,” he said.

Libraries also are looking at ways to “change the system” when it comes to disseminating research, traditionally confined to subscription-based academic journals but growing to include free online publications.

In the area of scholarly publishing, he said, libraries have an opportunity to support the production of scholarship, instead of just being a place for people to consume it.

Smith has a law degree from Capital University Law School, a master’s degree in library science from Kent State University and a Master of Arts in religion from Yale University Divinity School, according to KU. Previously he was the director of Library and Instructional Resources at Defiance College and also worked as an instructor, reference librarian and assistant librarian.

“His multifaceted background and experience will provide new perspectives to the important and essential services KU Libraries offer the KU community and the state,” KU’s interim Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Sara Rosen said, in a news release. “I’m confident he also will continue to enhance KU Libraries’ reputation for innovation and progress.”

KU Libraries — the largest library system in the state — counts 1.6 million visits per year, more than 4.4 million print volumes in seven campus facilities and 110,000 full-text journal titles online, according to the university. Another point of pride for the system, according to KU, is becoming the first public university institution in the United States to adopt a faculty-led open access policy.

Former dean of KU Libraries Lorraine Haricombe was named vice provost and director of libraries at the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. Kent Miller and Mary Roach have served as interim co-deans since Haricombe’s departure.