Anne Kenney first joined Cornell University Library in 1987 as associate director in the Department of Preservation and Conservation. She became the associate university librarian for instruction, research and information services in 2006. Kenney served as the interim university librarian in 2007 and was selected the following year as the 11th Carl A. Kroch University Librarian. She retired in 2017.

Kenney was renowned internationally as a trailblazer in the field of digitization, developing standards that were adopted by libraries and organizations around the world as early as the 90s. She was also a prolific scholar, publishing more than 50 articles and reports and co-authoring three award-winning books on the preservation and digitization of library materials.

For her contributions to librarianship, Kenney received the Hugh C. Atkinson Award in 2014, a top honor from the American Library Association.