Our Faculty and Staff

Special and Area Studies is home to more than thirty staff and faculty who work across our collections to make them more accessible and approachable. We provide reference assistance, virtual access, as well as public services in our three reading rooms.

Scroll down to see more information about our faculty members and our public services personnel. Click the buttons below to view our organization chart or to jump to an alphabetical table of contact information.

Department Leadership

Associate Chair and HEad of the Map & Imagery Library

Carol McAuliffe


Areas of Specialization:
Geography and Maps

Telephone: (352) 273-2828
Email: carolmc@uflib.ufl.edu

Photo of Carol McAuliffe

Program Director & Curator, Panama Canal Museum Collection

John Nemmers


Areas of Specialization:
Panama Canal Museum Collection
Architecture Archives

Telephone: (352) 273-2766
Email: jnemmers@ufl.edu

Photo of John Nemmers

Collection Managers

For more information about the collections in SASC please visit our Collections Page

University Archivist

Sarah Coates

Areas of Specialization:
University Archives


Telephone: (352) 273-2817
Email: sarah.coates@ufl.edu

Photo of Sarah Coates

Curator of the PK Yonge Library of Florida History

Jim Cusick

Areas of Specialization:
Florida History
Artificial Intelligence Research

Telephone:(352) 273-2778
Email: jamcusi@uflib.ufl.edu

Photo of Jim Cusick

LACC Digital initiatives librarian

Melissa Jerome

Areas of Specialization:
Digital Projects
Caribbean Newspapers

Telephone: (352) 273-2637
Email: mmespino@ufl.edu

Melissa Jerome, LACC Digital Initiatives Librarian

Associate in Book Arts

Ellen Knudson

Areas of Specialization:
Artists Books
Letterpress Printmaking

Telephone: (352) 273-2787
Email: eknudson@ufl.edu

Placeholder image for cards

Curator of the popular Culture Collections

Jim Liversidge

Areas of Specialization:
Theater and Dance


Telephone:(352) 273-2759
Email:jimlive@ufl.edu

Photo of Jim Liversidge

Curator of the African Studies Collections

Dan Reboussin

Areas of Specialization:
African Studies



Telephone: (352) 273-2642
Email: danrebo@ufl.edu

Photo of Dan Reboussin

Literary Collections Archivist

Florence Turcotte

Areas of Specialization:
Manuscripts
African-American Studies

Telephone: (352) 273-2767
Email: turcotte@ufl.edu

Photo of Florence Turcotte

Curator of the Rare Book Collection

Neil Weijer

Areas of Specialization:
Medieval and Early Modern Studies
Printing History
Rare Books

Telephone: (352) 273-5743
Email: n.weijer@ufl.edu

Neil Weijer, Curator of Rare Books

Public Services

Our public services manage the operation of our three reading rooms. Unsure whom to contact? Use our reference form.

Public services coordinator – Grand Reading Room

Michele Wilbanks

For Reference Inquiries:
special@uflib.ufl.edu

Telephone: (352) 273-2819
Email: wilbanks@ufl.edu

Michele Wilbanks

Public Services Coordinator – Latin American & Caribbean Collections

Keith Manuel

For Reference Inquiries:
laccref@ufl.edu

Telephone: (352) 273-2540
Email: kmanuel@ufl.edu

Photo of Keith Manuel

Public Services Assistant – Latin American & Caribbean Collections

Lori Johnson


Telephone: (352) 273-2689
Email: ma.johnson@ufl.edu

Photo of Lori Johnson - LACC Public Services Assistant

Staff Directory (Alphabetical)

Contact information for all of our faculty and staff.

Name Title Phone # Email
Betsy Bemis Associate Curator of the Panama Canal Museum Collection (352) 273-2676 ehbemis@ufl.edu
Bridget Bihm-Manuel Florida History Coordinator (352) 294-1052 bmbm@ufl.edu
Ramona Caponegro Curator of the Baldwin Library of Historical Childrens’ Literature (352) 273-2623 ramonac@ufl.edu
Sarah Coates University Archivist (352) 273-2817 sarah.coates@ufl.edu
Pam Cunningham-Williams Library Assistant, Collection Services Unit (352) 273-2758 pamwill@uflib.ufl.edu
Jim Cusick Curator of the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History (352) 273-2778 jamcusi@uflib.ufl.edu
Caleb Del Rio Digital Services Specialist (352) 273-2756 jacob.delrio@ufl.edu
Jennifer Farrington Map Library Senior Archivist (352) 273-2826 jenfarr@uflib.ufl.edu
E. Haven Hawley Chair (352) 273-2765 ehh@ufl.edu
Steven Hersh Public and Support Services Assistant, Grand Reading Room (352) 273-2543 s.hersh@ufl.edu

Mailing Addresses

Department of Special & Area Studies Collections
P.O. Box 117005
205 Smathers Library
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-7005
Physical Address: 1508 Union Road, Gainesville, FL 32611-7005

Price Library of Judaica
P.O. Box 117010
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-7010

Latin American and Caribbean Collection
P.O. Box 117009
Smathers Library
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-7009

Map & Imagery Library
P.O. Box 117001
112 Smathers Library
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-7022

Governor’s House Library
University of Florida
48 King Street
St. Augustine, FL 32084