Fresno State librarian emeritus Michael Gorman will be among the 10 inaugural inductees to the California Library Hall of Fame during ceremonies at the California Library Association conference Nov. 2-4 in San Jose.

Gorman joined the Fresno State faculty in 1988 and retired in 2007. As the leader of the campus’ Henry Madden Library, he expanded its use by the community as a research resource and also as a meeting place.

He introduced the library’s first automated catalog in 1992 and developed several special collections, including the Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, considered the premier facility of its kind in the Western United States.

His greatest achievement in the library world, says the Hall of Fame citation, was editing the “Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules” in 1978 and its 1998 revision.

Gorman oversaw the design and early construction phases of the Madden Library’s 21st century makeover.

The outdated north structure (erected in the 1950s) structure was razed and a state-of-the-art, much-bigger, architecturally striking four-story building rose in its footprint. The south annex of the Madden Library, which opened in 1980, was extensively renovated during the construction project.

The new Madden Library opened in early 2009. It has won awards for its Native American-inspired design and ecofriendly construction and furnishings. It is used for open-to-the-community exhibitions, meetings, awards ceremonies and receptions and has received increasing visitation each year.

Gorman lives in Chicago where he continues to be a prolific author of articles and books. In 2011, he published his memoir “Broken Pieces: A Library Life 1941-1978” (ALA Editions/$35). He is halfway through writing a novel set in his native Britain during early World War II.

“It is great to be in a big city again,” said Gorman, who grew up in London, “and to be near my younger daughter and her family and, in particular, to see our two ‘American’ grandsons frequently.” (Two other grandchildren live in London.)

“I am very gratified to be an inaugural member of this Hall of Fame, especially when I consider the company I am in,” said Gorman. “I particularly admire the work and writings of the late [UCLA Library School founder] Lawrence Clark Powell, whom I had the honor of meeting when he was in his mid-90s and we were attending the 100th birthday celebrations of another library luminary.”

For more information visit the California Library Association.

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