OU Libraries Timeline: librarians
1961: Czetong Song
Mr. Czetong 'Tom' Song, a researcher with the Association for Asian Studies, UM, was named assistant librarian. Song, an American of Korean ancestry born in Tokyo, held a master's degree in philosophy from UM and received a Master's degree in library science from UM in 1962. He was a graduate of Dartmouth College and spoke six languages. He departed Kresge Library for a position at WSU in 1964.1971: Librarians acquire faculty status
The Board of Trustees voted to give librarians faculty status.
Minutes of the Meeting of the Oakland University Board of Trustees January 9, 1971
1972: George Gardiner
George Gardiner became Dean of the Library in 1972, and held the position until 1983. He held an M.A. from the University of Chicago, and had previously served on the staffs of the Fisk University Library in special collections, the University of Chicago Library in reference, the American Library Association in the Library Administration Division, Illinois State University in reference, and as director of the library of Central State University, Ohio. He published articles in the areas of collective bargaining, Black studies, and reference services, among others.1976: Indra David
Indra David became a librarian at Kresge Library, at the rank of assistant professor. She held a B.A. from the University of Madras, India, and a Masters in Library Science from Syracuse, and had previously worked as a librarian at Queen's University. She later earned her doctorate at Wayne State University in 1990. She became Associate Dean of the library in 1985, and served as Interim Dean in 1998-99.1977: Bibliographic Retrieval System
The library began to offer computer-assisted literature searching using the Bibliographic Retrieval System. The databases which were available on BRS at that time provided bibliographic citations to the literature of medicine, agriculture, chemistry, physics, education, management and administration, electrical technology, electronics, computers and control engineering, environment and psychology. Three librarians were initially trained to perform searches in these databases for students and faculty, a complex process which could take several hours, and cost an average of $25 per search. In the first year, 41 such searches were performed.1984: 25th Anniversary celebrations
October 22-23, 1984: As part of the university's 25th anniversary celebration, a special exhibit of OU faculty research was organized by the library, and included demonstrations by library faculty of new computer search services.1985: Term paper clinic
The library offered a 'Term Paper Clinic' (half-hour one-on-one meetings with a librarian) to assist undergraduates with their research and writing.2007: Gaylor Collection
The Robert Gaylor Collection, devoted to materials focusing on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and issues, was dedicated. Mr. Gaylor, who retired from the Oakland University Library in 2003 after 37 years of service as a librarian, assembled this collection over a period of 40 years.
Photos courtesy of the Oakland University Archives.