"Tony was the outstanding leader of all US AIR FORCE librarians." --Harry Franklin Brooks IV
Norman Eugene "Tony" Dakan (1926-2010)
(Picture from Find a Grave)
We thank Harry Franklin Brooks IV for submitting a tribute to Norman Eugene "Tony" Dakan.
Harry explains that "Tony was the outstanding leader of all US AIR FORCE librarians--all over the globe wherever there was a USAF base with a library. He did 2 great things in my humble opinion!!: He got official funding so any and every librarian who wanted to could attend his official training AND afterwards attend ALA conferences which were happening after his training."
Tony Dakan's obituary notes that he "had a long and successful career as a civilian librarian with the United States Air Force beginning as a Base Librarian at Ashiya AB, Japan. He retired on 1 May 1992 after 16 years as Director of the worldwide Air Force Library and Information System." He served on the executive board of the Annual Military Librarians Workshop during the 1980s (Schaeffer et al.,1985). He authored the Introduction to Katherin J. Harig's Libraries, the Military, & Civilian Life (1989) as well as the Armed Forces Section for the ALA Yearbook (1988).
We commemorate Tony for his service to patrons, the library profession, and his country.
Harry Franklin Brooks IV
Sources:
Dakan, T. (1988). Armed Forces Library Section. The ALA Yearbook of Library and Information Services, 13, 49.
Harig, K.J. (1989). Libraries, the Military, & Civilian Life. Hamden, Conn.: Library Professional Publications.
Schaeffer, R. H., Robb, I., James, A., & Maika, M. (1985). Proceedings of the Annual Military Librarians' Workshop (29th) Held in Colorado Springs, CO, on 9-11 October 1985.
Legacy Obituary: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sanantonio/name/tony-dakan-obituary?id=23299892. Click or tap if you trust this link." rel="noopener">https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sanantonio/name/tony-dakan-obituary?id=23299892
Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/53321230/norman-eugene-dakan. Click or tap if you trust this link." rel="noopener">https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/53321230/norman-eugene-dakan
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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