LHRT (Library History Round Table)

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The mission of the Library History Round Table (LHRT) is to encourage research and publication on library history and promote awareness and discussion of historical issues in librarianship.

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Bill Katz- Librarians We Have Lost- Sesquicentennial Memories -1976-2026

  • 1.  Bill Katz- Librarians We Have Lost- Sesquicentennial Memories -1976-2026

    Posted Oct 24, 2024 09:33 AM

    The recommenders of Foundational Books in Library Service included many memories of the authors.  I will post about some as we prepare for the 150th anniversary of the American Library Association. Please add as you think of people in our field who made a difference to you.

    William Armstrong
    William "Bill" Armstrong Katz was born on July 6, 1924, in Seattle, Washington. He received his B.A. in Journalism from the University of Washington in 1947. He received his M.A. in Library Science from the same school in 1956. He received his PhD from the Graduate Library School, University of Chicago in 1965.
    Katz served in the U.S. Army from 1942-1945 during World War II and received the Bronze Star.

    Katz was editor of the journal Reference Quarterly for 10 years, during which time he oversaw its transition from a short newsletter to a leading scholarly journal. He served as the editor for the Journal of Education for Librarianship from 1964 to 1972. He was professor at the School of Information Science and Policy (SISP) at the State University of New York at Albany where he would remain for the rest of his academic career.

     He was editor of The Reference Librarian in 1981 and The Acquisitions Librarian in 1987.

    Katz wrote more than 50 books and articles during his career. In 1969, Katz published his two-volume Introduction to Reference Work which quickly became a standard textbook in reference education. The 8th edition was published in 2002. He also created and edited the reference text Magazines for Libraries, first published in 1969, which is in its 29th print edition as of 2021.

    Katz also served as editor and compiler of over 40 works on various topics in library science, poetry, and the history of books. In 1991, he and his wife, Linda Sternberg Katz, published The Columbia Granger's Guide to Poetry Anthologies. Katz also published on bibliographic history, including Cuneiform to Computer: A History of Reference Sources (1998) and A History of Book Illustrations: 29 Points of View (1994).

    For more see: Maatta, Stephanie (2007-07-12). "William A. Katz: A Lifetime of Scholarship". The Reference Librarian. 47 (1): 9–15.



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    Kathleen de la Peña McCook
    Distinguished University Professor
    School of Information
    University of South Florida
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