Timothy D. Murray served as a Special Collections Librarian for over forty years. He has worked in the Special Collections departments of the University of Buffalo, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Delaware. He served as Head of Special Collections at Delaware from 1987 to 2022. A specialist in 20th century literary collections, Murray has curated exhibitions, written, taught, and lectured on figures such as Samuel Beckett, Paul Bowles, Kay Boyle, Ernest Hemingway, Abraham Lincoln, Hugh MacDiarmid, Ishmael Reed, and Tennessee Williams. From 2008 to 2009 he served as the University of Delaware’s representative on the Delaware Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

Murray has been active and held leadership positions in the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of the American Library Association and the Society of American Archivists. In 2011, he was inducted as a fellow of the Society of American Archivists. In his award statement he was celebrated for his work as a mentor to students and young librarians, his expertise as an archivist and Special Collections librarian, and for his ability and willingness to bridge the gap between archives and librarianship.