| About
the Friends of American University Library
Friends | Committees | Gifts | Funds
| Donald
D. Dennis
|
| Born
in France in 1928, Mr. Dennis was educated at Bowdoin College
in Maine and received his master’s degree in library
science from the University of California, Berkeley. After
serving as director of the Cedar Crest College library in
Allentown, Pennsylvania, Mr. Dennis became Head of Reference
at the National Library of Medicine before accepting the directorship
at American University Library in 1971.
Mr.
Dennis is particularly remembered for his leadership in three
areas: the university library building, the introduction of
information technology in the library, and the founding of
the Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC). Through
these efforts and others, he positioned the library to enter
the “Information Age.”
|
Donald
D. Dennis |
During the early to mid-seventies, Mr. Dennis led the complicated
planning process for a new library building through several
dramatically different architectural iterations. After selecting
the most practical plan, he guided the three-year construction
and design process to the opening of the Bender building in
January, 1979. With his usual foresight, he included work areas
that would accommodate computer mainframe “terminals”
which were being used in libraries for the first time. He also
planned an entire new department for “non-print media”
because he recognized the growing importance of making available
not just films, slides, and microforms, but also the “new”
VHS and Beta products that were just emerging on the market.
Even before the building was constructed, Mr. Dennis invested
in technologies that increased staff efficiency and enhanced
user services. He headed a project team that designed and implemented
an early serials control program, a computerized method of maintaining
records for magazine and journal subscriptions. To this day
the library receives requests for the computer printout that
was a by-product of that unique, in-house program. Mr. Dennis
helped the library become an early adapter of OCLC, an international
bibliographic database that enables libraries to share cataloging
and to exchange interlibrary loan requests. He introduced the
library’s first automated circulation systems and oversaw
the migration from a basic “System 7” to a more
sophisticated CLSI system. When personal computers arrived on
the market, the library was one of the first university offices
to acquire two of the new machines. And when the graduate student
association made a special donation to the library in 1988,
Mr. Dennis allocated the gift for the library’s first
bibliographic databases on CD-ROM.
Mr. Dennis’ understanding of the potential of the emerging
new information technologies reached beyond the university level.
He realized that shared technology could vastly enhance access
to the research collections of the Washington metropolitan area.
In 1984, he drafted the working paper that describes what is
now the Washington Research Library Consortium. He worked long
and hard with other university library directors and administrators
to implement the WRLC. Mr. Dennis also led the effort to select
the first shared catalog system for the WRLC; ALADIN is the
result of that effort. His vision was not, however, limited
to the technology of a shared catalog. Almost immediately the
WRLC initiated shared borrowing for all students and faculty,
joint planning for collections, and special arrangements for
interlibrary loan. Today the WRLC continues to be a progressive
library organization which can be attributed in part to Mr.
Dennis’ inspired planning in the early nineteen-eighties.
In addition to his Civil War interests, Mr. Dennis also enjoyed
many other pursuits. He used to sail the Chesapeake Bay in his
own craft, and he used his computer knowledge at home to build
a computer from a kit. He also built furniture and radios from
kits.
The Donald D. Dennis American History Fund appropriately unites
one of Mr. Dennis’ avocations with his professional career.
The library is pleased to honor Mr. Dennis in a way that simultaneously
reflects his love of history and his tireless dedication to
American University Library. The Donald D. Dennis American History
Fund will ensure that his legacy continues in yet another meaningful
way. Tribute
written by Pat Wand
|
|
About
Friends