Herbert Goldhor (February 8, 1917-March 29, 2011)
Dr. Herbert Goldhor's career as a librarian began in 1943 when he received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago's Graduate Library School where he completed a thesis on "The Selection of Employees in Large Civil Service and Non-Civil Service Public Libraries." After serving in Europe during World War II, he joined the Library School faculty of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where he remained for six years (1946-1951). In 1952, he moved to Indiana to become the chief librarian of the Evansville and Vanderburgh County Public Library. Dr. Goldhor then returned to Illinois to direct the Graduate School of Library Science from 1962-1978, during which time he also taught graduate courses and published numerous articles and two books. In 1975 he became director of the school's Library Research Center, a position he held until his retirement in 1987. Throughout his career, he believed strongly that public libraries, access to information and ideas, and continued learning were essential to a democratic society.
Awards:
1987 Librarian of the Year from the Illinois Library Association
1988 Melvil Dewey Medal from the American Library Association for "his contribution to
library education, his gathering and analysis of statistics, and his leadership in library administration and professional associations"
Selected publications:
Goldhor, Herbert. An Introduction to Scientific Research in Librarianship. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois, Graduate School of Library Science, 1972.
Wheeler, Joseph L., and Goldhor, Herbert. Practical Administration of Public Libraries. New York: Harper & Row, 1962.
More information:
Herbert Goldhor papers, 1939-1981. University of Illinois Archives.
Krikelas, James, and Bunge, Charles A. "Herbert Goldhor: A Tribute and Bibliography."
Library Trends 38(2): 295-312, Fall 1989.
Powell, Ronald R. "Problem Solving in Libraries: A Festschrift in Honor of Herbert Goldhor." Library Trends 38(2): 150-325, Fall 1989.
Submitted by Linda C. Smith, Professor Emerita, School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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In honor of the Sesquicentennial (150th Anniversary of ALA) in 2026, the Library History Round Table is hosting Librarians We Have Lost, Sesquicentennial Memories -1976-2026. This collage of tributes seeks to honor librarians who died between 1976-2026. The tributes are published to ALA Connect and a digital memorial on LHRT News & Notes.
We invite tributes from anyone about any library worker who passed away between 1976-2026. To submit a tribute, please use the form at https://lhrt.news/librarians-we-have-lost-sesquicentennial-memories-1976-2026-2/
For questions or comments, please reach out to Dr. Kathleen McCook (kmccook@usf.edu) or Brett Spencer (dbs21@psu.edu).
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Brett Spencer
Reference Librarian
Thun Library, Penn State Berks
He/Him/His
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