Julie Tanaka

Associate Dean of University Libraries for Distinctive Collections

Julie Tanaka is the associate dean for Distinctive Collections. In this position, she leads both the Special Collections and International Studies units.

Julie's career spans a range of institutions both public and private. She has taught undergraduate courses in History, Humanities, and Latin at West Coast institutions, including in the Pacific Northwest at the University of Puget Sound. She began her academic library career as Western European History Librarian and Curator of Special Collections at the University of Notre Dame. She then became Interim Head of Distinctive Collections and Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts at Arizona State University and just prior to returning to UW, Julie was Director of Special Collections and College Archives at Occidental College in Los Angeles, CA. In all of these roles, her priorities have focused on student success, accessibility, user services, outreach, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. In addition to special collections and archives, she has experience in instruction, collection development, exhibitions, and digital preservation.

Julie holds a BA in Humanities: European Civilizations from San José State University, a MA in Classics from the University of California, Irvine, a PhD in History from the University of California, Berkeley, and a MLIS from the University of Washington.

Contact info: Staff Directory