Library dean Michael Gorman plans retirement

Michael Gorman, dean of library services at the Henry Madden Library since 1988, plans to retire at the end of this year.

He will go on administrative leave in January 2007. When his leave comes to an end in summer 2007, Gorman will have arrived “three months short of the 50^th anniversary of the day I started work at Hampstead [London] Public Library as the most junior ‘junior assistant.’”

Prior to his service at Fresno State, Gorman worked for 11 years at the library of the University of Illinois, following a career established in libraries in his native Great Britain.  He has taught at library schools in Britain and in the United States, most recently at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Gorman has written extensively on library issues over the years and has won numerous awards for his scholarship and leadership.

But no professional recognition was greater than last year when his peers elected him president of the American Library Association.

 “Clearly Michael’s contributions to his profession have been significant, as have been his contributions to the development of the Henry Madden Library for the past 18 years,” said Provost Jeri Echeverria.

“During his semester leave and beyond,” she added, “we hope to enjoy his counsel as we move forward with the construction of the new wing of the Madden Library.”

 A search for a new dean will begin during the spring, said Echeverria.