Tamar Evangelestia-Dougherty

Tamar Evangelestia-Dougherty is an American librarian and cultural heritage administrator. An archives and special collections expert, Evangelestia-Dougherty was the executive director of the Chicago-based Black Metropolis Research Consortium from 2011 to 2013 and the director of collections and services at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture from 2013 to 2015. From 2021 to 2024, she was the first director of the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, the world's largest museum library system. She currently serves as Deputy Commissioner of Visual Arts for the City of Chicago.

Early life and education

Tamar Evangelestia-Dougherty was raised on the West Side of Chicago by a single mother, Rochelle Weaver.

Evangelestia-Dougherty attended the University of Houston, graduating with a bachelor's degree in political science in 1996. She worked in the law libraries of DePaul University College of Law and South Texas College of Law Houston as an undergraduate. She earned her Master of Library Science degree in 2003. Her work at the Black Metropolis Research Consortium contributed to the organization earning the Distinguished Service Award from the Society of American Archivists in 2013.

She took on the role of director of collections and services at New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in 2013, providing leadership for collection and programming of five curatorial divisions, serving in that role until 2015. The Smithsonian Libraries and Archives comprises 21 branch libraries serving the various Smithsonian Institution museums, with 3 million volumes, 44,000 cubic feet of archival materials, and 137 staff members. She stepped down from the role, effective October 1, 2024, after serving since December 6, 2021.

In December 2024, Clinée Hedspeth announced that Evangelestia-Dougherty would become Chicago’s Deputy Commissioner for Visual Arts in the city's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

She has taught in several organizations, including teaching as an adjunct professor at Dominican University from 2007 to 2013 and teaching a course titled "Developing and Administering Ethnic and Cultural Heritage Collections" at the California Rare Book School, where she also serves on the advisory committee. She was the 2021–2022 Director at Large for Digital Scriptorium, a consortium of American libraries and museums providing access to collections of pre-modern manuscripts, and served on the board of trustees of the American Printing History Association from 2021 to 2024.

She is an advocate for the use of primary source literacy in K-12 education and has worked to promote feminist bibliographies. Evangelestia-Dougherty's work administering African American collections and around the concept of "second space" (community-based organizations and individuals with collections focused on non-traditional subject matter and formats pertaining to African Americans) has inspired other archivists working with Black collections.

Personal interests

Evangelestia-Dougherty is a Food Allergy Awareness Advocate through Food Allergy Research & Education and has contributed to Allergic Living magazine.