Abigail Swingen appointed Executive Director of Lewis Walpole Library

Dr. Abigail Swingen will join Yale Library on October 5 as the W. S. Lewis Librarian and Executive Director of the Lewis Walpole Library. A scholar specializing in British history, Swingen is expected to lead the library in its mission as a research center for 18th-century British studies.

In her new role, Swingen will also act as a leader within Yale Library’s special collections community, which encompasses the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, the Yale Center for British Art, and the Yale University Art Gallery.

Swingen joins Yale from Texas Tech University, where she has served as an associate professor of Early Modern British and European history since 2015 and previously held the role of Associate Vice President for Research. Her academic work focuses on the origins of the British empire, political economy, and the consequences of economic change.