As Director of the Zimmerman Law Library, Tom Hanley sets library policies, reviews librarian and staff performances, determines staff salaries, and oversees general library operations. He makes sure the librarians are able to do their jobs and help the students and patrons. “I act as chief administrator for the library,” he said.

Originally interested in becoming a pharmacist, Mr. Hanley says a “disastrous introduction to college-level chemistry” convinced him to change his major to political science. Studying law seemed like the logical next step, and following law school his wife, a librarian herself, persuaded him to pursue a Master’s of Library Sciences. After graduation, he became a law cataloger at the University of Kansas and then the Associate Law Librarian at the University of Missouri at Columbia.

He came to the University of Dayton School of Law in 1982. The position of director as well as the closer proximity to Indianapolis, where he has family, attracted him to the school. Mr. Hanley had the opportunity to provide substantial input in the design of the library spaces when Keller Hall, the law school’s current building, was built. He says the library has several distinctive features, including data ports at every seat; a large reserve area, where library materials may be used without the need to be checked out; and extensive hours. The library is open 102 hours per week during a regular semester, and hours are extended during exams.

A self-described “sports nut,” Mr. Hanley particularly enjoys watching soccer, ice hockey, and football. No stranger to the library, he loves to read. His favorite book is Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke, and he said he especially likes reading science fiction, history books, and alternate history novels. Of the latter, authors like Harry Turtledove describe what might have happened had a historical event taken place differently. Mr. Hanley also likes playing war board games and owns more than 100 of them.