Dan Burgard leaves UNT Health with happy memories and impressive legacy
As new students arrive at UNT Health Fort Worth they settle in at Lewis Library like
it’s an alternative living room where they study, collaborate, socialize — and have
access to thousands of scholarly resources. By the time they graduate, they will have spent hundreds of hours in the library.
But the person who’s spent the most time here is university librarian Dan Burgard,
whose official start date at Lewis Library was June 1, 2000.
At that time, he was hired as an instructional services librarian, providing resource support to staff, faculty, and community members. Over the years, however, Burgard’s business card has had to be updated to reflect multiple roles during his past 25 years at UNT Health, including associate director, public services; senior director, public services; acting executive director, Lewis Library; director, Lewis Library; director, Network of the National Library of Medicine Region 3; and vice provost for scholarly information management and university librarian.
At the recent retirement party honoring Burgard, Dr. Amber Smallwood said she wasn’t sure what he meant when he first told her, “I am not your typical librarian.” Thinking immediately about Muppet nomenclature, she wondered if this meant that Burgard was a “Chaos Muppet” vs. an “Order Muppet.”
Burgard’s retirement speech provided the answer. He announced that he is a “happy person.” Many at UNT Health would agree with this assessment. Burgard is known for his easygoing manner, a leadership style that puts his staff above his own need for recognition, and a wry sense of humor that puts people at ease.
“You know, I chose to be happy a long time ago. I sort of go through life with happiness on one shoulder and amazement on the other,” Burgard said. “I’m amazed at the human condition. So being able to be part of a team and working hard to support everybody in that and doing the work I love in a library has just been incredible.
It's been about 17 years now and every day I walk up and I'm excited and looking forward to what I'm going to get to work on that day because my job's quite varied. You might see me crawling under a study table to fix something or using WD-40 on squeaky doors, and then talking to the director of the NNLM or meeting with the senior vice president and provost.”
“Because they [library staff] are so organized, they let me be me.”
Burgard “being me” means that continuous guidance and support of his staff was a priority.
“I think, by far, the biggest impact I’ve made is bringing people on board, creating that culture where people have high expectations of each other, and then getting them all the support they need so that they have the resources and they have the work environment that allows them to be the best they can,” Burgard said.
Burgard “being me” means knowing when to step away and bid adieu.
“If I’m so happy, why am I retiring? What we’ve got going on now: amazing, awesome. The library’s at a perfect place for new leadership. We’ve got amazing people who are very well-versed in the new set of issues that are coming down the road, but I know that the team right now--being led by Ramona on an interim basis to start with—they have all the skills and ability to conquer all of those big challenges.
I’m ready to stop, after 17 years. I’m going to watch with great interest and I’m 100% confident that the library will keep providing awesome service to UNT Health, but also do amazing things around the region and across the country.
Dr. Smallwood formally announced the leadership change in an email to the campus community:
“Following Dan's retirement, Ramona Holmes-Spayde will serve as interim university librarian.” This change will take effect beginning on September 1, 2026.
At Dan’s retirement party, Dr. Smallwood closed her speech to honor Dan by sharing that she finally recognized which Muppet he most symbolizes in his actions and impacts across the campus and nation, and over so many decades that have made him beloved, respected, and a true friend to many.
Smallwood said, “I know now, Dan is definitely a Kermit.”
Below are some of the things Burgard’s colleagues had to say about him.
Kalei Malczon-Dorris, business manager:
One of the things that really stands out to me about Dan is that he's kind of the epitome of a person who is a leader as opposed to a manager. That is because he is a person who sees something in you before you see it in yourself, and he's always the person who's going to take credit last.
Elizabeth Speer, associate director of digital experience:
Dan provides what I call quiet approval. He knows who his experts are across the library and just quietly routes people across campus to the right person in the library. You know you have really grown when someone emails you and says, “Dan said you will know the answer.”
Dan “being me” means that he was invested in diversifying funding of the library and its services, as well as expanding its impact across the region and nationally.
In 2016, Lewis Library was added to the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, a library network operated by the National Library of Medicine. The library applied for and received its first grant from the NLM worth $6.2 million over a five-year period. This funding supported the Regional Medical Library which became housed at the Lewis Library, serving 7 states encompassed by Region 3.
Dan also helped pave the way for an agreement with the JPS Health Network in Fort Worth to create a new model for the on-site library at the hospital. The joint endeavor for the John S. Marietta Library launched in 2016, with access to information resources paid for by JPS and on-site assistance provided by Lewis Library staff.
Brandy Klug, clinical library director, John S. Marietta Library at JPS:
Dan has been an incredible source of support, always helping ensure that the JPS Medical Library team has the tools and resources we need to support the outstanding clinicians and staff who care for some of the most vulnerable members of our community.
Dan “being me” is wanting our students to have a physical space and library resources suitable for a modern tech learning environment. And that meant moving boldly to help envision and, eventually, recast the Lewis Library as a commons space for multiple needs: social, learning, collaboration, research and scholarly discovery.
Dan was integral to the work of planning the library of the future.
Ramona Holmes-Spayde, director, Gibson D. Lewis Library:
“When he [Dan] became the library director in 2009, he set out to modernize a medical library. This meant removing books and migrating space from shelving to study space. At that time, there was much talk about "library as a third space." This meant a separate space from your home (first space) or school/work (second space) where you are comfortable and safe. Over the next 17 years, Dan tweaked areas to evolve this third space. The full renovation in 2024-2025 truly completed his vision from removing books to creating this amazing, well used library space.”
Michelle Whitehead, associate director, strategic evaluation:
“He was among the first to be brave enough to take what had been a traditional place [library] and flip it upside down. Culling the print collection – going more digital. Other people might not have been brave enough to make this move. And he’s recognized among his peers (other library directors), who are modeling what they do based on what Dan has done.”