Calling her "an asset for Nevada," Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs Director Michael Fischer announced the hiring of Daphne Arnaiz-DeLeon as the division administrator of the Nevada State Library and Archives on Friday.
"The Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs conducted an exhaustive national search in order to find the best candidate to head the State Library and Archives," Fischer said. "I am pleased that Daphne Arnaiz-DeLeon will be joining our team. Her skills and experience will be a great asset to the state."
Arnaiz-DeLeon is the Archives and Historical Services Division director for the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives. She is expected to assume her new post in early July.
"I am incredibly excited to be taking on the position of administrator for the Nevada State Library and Archives," said Arnaiz-DeLeon. "I look forward to working with the talented staff there to implement programs that will take the agency into the next generation."
Arnaiz-DeLeon fills the position vacated by Sara Jones, who left to become the director of the Carson City Library system late last year. State Archivist Guy Rocha has been serving as the administrator in the interim and will return to his position as assistant administrator for archives and records.
Part of the reason for Arnaiz-DeLeon's selection was her work to implement technology that makes information more accessible, a major goal for Nevada's library and archives in the coming years.
"What we are looking at is how do we manage information in the digital age. It's not just books anymore," Rocha said. "What we need is a 21st-century digital manager and (Arnaiz-DeLeon) can handle those challenges."
In accepting the job, Arnaiz-DeLeon will oversee the library and archives building as well as the archives themselves. She will also act as the gatekeeper for the federal Library Services Technology Act funds, which distributes millions of dollars to libraries statewide.
"She will have a lot of say in what resources libraries have and how their technology is updated," Rocha said. "She is essentially managing Nevada's version of the Library of Congress and the National Archives."
Arnaiz-DeLeon received her bachelor's degree in history with a minor in French and her master's degree in history with a subspecialty in archival management from the University of California at Riverside.
She has been a member of the Academy of Certified Archivists, Society of American Archivists, and division director for the New Mexico Archives and Historical Services Division.
• Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.