From barley field to academe
By: Robert H. Blackburn
Publisher: University of Toronto Press; University of Toronto Library
Published: 2014
Place of publication: Toronto
Language: eng
Number of pages: 294
ISBN-13: 9780772760951
Subjects: Academic librarians; Biography; Employees; University of Toronto. Library; University of Toronto
Description: "This memoir tells the compelling story of Robert Blackburn, who for almost thirty years between 1954 and 1981 was the Chief Librarian at the University of Toronto. In a life that spans almost a full century, it chronicles Blackburn's early upbringing in Alberta, living through the Great Depression and his many other experiences (including three years in the Royal Canadian Air Force) before he began his thirty-four-year career at the University of Toronto. It was a time of tremendous growth and change in higher education, and at U of T he oversaw an amazing expansion and reorganization of book collections, services, and procedures. He played a key role in the construction of the largest academic library building in the world, one that continues to attract international visitors. Much of this book has to do with libraries, but Blackburn's entire life has been full of fascinating personalities and events, problems and the resolutions."--Publisher.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 289-294) and index.
Table of contents: title: Two sheaves of oats and a field of barley: A short introduction; title: Hard sledding; title: Radio and other events; title: Victory school; title: The last six grades in four schools; title: Coming through the barley to university; title: California, Here I thumb; title: The English department; title: Preparation for a career; title: Enlistment, military and marital; title: Navigation instructor, Portage la Praire; title: Calgary Public Library, and Hail Columbia; title: Beginning at the University of Toronto Library; title: Abraham Flexner and his gift of travel; title: Working with Wallace; title: Staffing the library; title: Promoting the library at the university; title: Catalogues and computers; title: Foreworks, 1959 to 1969; title: A sabbatical year; title: Retirement; title: Gardens and fields.