Author Guild names attorney, former Library of Congress official as its executive director

Copyright attorney and former Library of Congress digital director Mary Rasenberger has been named executive director of the Authors Guild.

The Guild, which represents thousands of published writers, announced the change Thursday. She succeeds longtime head Paul Aiken, who has been diagnosed with ALS.

Rasenberger will begin Nov. 3, with Aiken staying on as a consultant for two years.

Rasenberger is a partner in the law firm Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard and has an extensive background in intellectual property and technology. The guild has been involved in numerous copyright battles, including a lawsuit against Google over the search engine's program of scanning snippets of published material.

Aiken announced last year that he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. He said in a statement that Rasenberger is a "perfect fit" for the Guild.