Gretchen Trkay to become Carleton’s next college librarian

Following a national search, Gretchen Trkay has been named Carleton’s next college librarian. Trkay comes to Carleton from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University (CSBSJU), where she has served as director of libraries since 2023. In this capacity, she oversees three library facilities and archives across two institutions, managing a $3 million annual budget and a team of 20 professionals. She will begin her work at Carleton on June 1, 2026. 

Trkay’s career is defined by intentionality and deep institutional commitment. Before joining CSBSJU, she completed a 19-year tenure at the University of Texas–Arlington (UTA). Her trajectory there from instruction and information literacy librarian to department head for experiential learning and undergraduate success, and finally to associate university librarian, reflects a career-long focus on how libraries can evolve to meet modern student needs. It was during her time at UTA that she determined a small liberal arts college setting was the environment that enabled her to have the maximum impact on student learning, which eventually led her to her current role at CSBSJU.

Trkay describes her “librarian superpower” as the ability to see what is possible when it might not be apparent to others. This visionary approach is backed by a track record of tangible results. While at UTA, she led a fundamental change in the libraries’ instructional program, embedding librarians into courses to broaden the library’s role in student success. She was also a primary proponent of establishing a “creative ethos” in the libraries, securing a $400,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to launch a pedagogical approach to the inclusion of making in the curricula that helped to shape the growth of the library’s 16,000-square-foot makerspace. Her leadership in this area is nationally recognized; she served as co-principal investigator for the “Maker Immersion” project from 2019 to 2023 and co-authored “Teaching and Learning Through Making” in the 2020 volume, Maker Literacies For Academic Libraries.

At CSBSJU Libraries & Archives, Trkay has established a new energy that encourages innovation and the development of programs benefiting both students and faculty. She remains deeply connected to the student experience as term faculty, teaching a section of Integrations 105, a college success course for first-year students. Her leadership style is authentic and supportive; she focuses on setting clear expectations and goals, then clearing barriers so her team can achieve them. She finds great professional fulfillment in being a mentor and a champion for those she leads.

Trkay holds a BA in anthropology from Ripon College and completed her master of library science at Texas Woman’s University in 2004. Her professional development includes completing the Information Literacy Institute Immersion Program—Teacher Track through the Association of Colleges and Research Libraries, as well as graduate research in the information science PhD program at the University of North Texas. Currently, she serves as the co-chair of the Oberlin Group Membership Committee, a member of the Oberlin Group Salary Survey Committee, and a member of Minitex’s Minnesota Department of Health eHealth Advocacy Group.