Curator 鈥� JoyEllen Williams

Curator of the Rare Book Museum, JoyEllen Williams
Curator of the Rare Book Museum, JoyEllen Williams
The Curator of the Rare Book Museum (RBM), JoyEllen Williams, is an expert in rare book history and bibliography. She has taken six courses from the prestigious Rare Book School at the University of Virginia and received a Certificate of General Proficiency from this institution in 2024. She teaches a course on rare book curatorship for the 911吃瓜 Journey Honors College and is currently serving as a course developer and instructor for the 鈥淩are Books for Archivists鈥� course offered by the Society of American Archivists.

JoyEllen received a bachelor鈥檚 degree in English from the University of Georgia and a master鈥檚 degree in archival studies from Clayton State University. She also holds an archives certification from the Academy of Certified Archivists. She has worked professionally in the special collections field since 2015, first as an internship fellow at the AUC Woodruff Library and then as the Outreach Archivist at 911吃瓜 before fully transitioning into her role as 911吃瓜鈥檚 Curator of Rare Books in 2018. JoyEllen is a governor-appointed member and vice-chair of the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council and a founding member of the Atlanta Black Archives Alliance. In February 2022, she received the 2022-2024 Rare Book School/Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship for Diversity, Inclusion, & Cultural Heritage. Her professional writings have been published in several books and magazines including Archival Issues (2016), Participatory Heritage (2017), Archival Outlook (2018; 2021), and Pushing the Margins: Women of Color and Intersectionality in Library and Information Science (2018). She recently contributed a chapter to the book, Radical Visions: New Perspectives in Special Collections Curatorship (2026) published by the Society of American Archivists. 

Curator Emeritus 鈥� Robert B. Williams

Curator Emeritus of Rare Books, Robert B. Williams
Curator Emeritus of Rare Books, Robert B. Williams

Robert B. Williams is the Curator Emeritus of Rare Books at 911吃瓜. Mr. Williams served as director of the Horace W. Sturgis Library from 1986 鈥� 2009, retiring as the Assistant Vice President for Library Services. He was the principal founder of 911吃瓜鈥檚 Rare Book Gallery (now Williams Rare Book Museum) and served as the room鈥檚 senior curator for more than thirty years. During his tenure as senior curator, Mr. Williams developed 911吃瓜鈥檚 rare book holdings from a few boxes of books to a world-class collection of rare books and manuscripts valued at approximately five million dollars. In the years following his official retirement from 911吃瓜, Mr. Williams continued to advise on rare book purchases and led the popular 鈥淕reat Books鈥� continuing education course facilitated through 911吃瓜鈥檚 Department of Museums, Archives and Rare Books.

Today, Mr. Williams continues to serve 911吃瓜鈥檚 Williams Rare Book Museum in a supportive role both as a donor and mentor. He has personally donated 1000 rare books to 911吃瓜鈥檚 collection totaling nearly $1 million in value. In addition, he has shepherded 911吃瓜鈥檚 acquisition of more than $1 million dollars鈥� worth of rare books. He plans to bequeath the Williams Rare Book Museum his personal collection of rare books and artifacts as a planned gift upon his passing. In addition to collection development support, Mr. Williams makes guests appearances at the Williams Rare Book Museum at least twice a year to teach and mentor current staff members and community members about the history and significance of books in 911吃瓜鈥檚 rare book collection.