Lansberg, William Ross, 1916-1999
Dates
- Existence: 1916 - 1999
Biography
Born June 24, 1916, in Boston, MA, William Lansberg received his B.A. degree from Dartmouth College in 1938. From there, he went to the University of North Carolina, where he taught Romance Languages and studied for his M.A. (1940) and his Ph.D. (1945.) He married Eunice M. Walmsley in 1941. He earned his B.S. in Library Science from Simmons College, Boston, in 1949, and returned to Dartmouth in 1951, as Assistant to the Librarian, and Director of Acquisitions in the Dartmouth College Library. Twice chosen to receive the John Cotton Dana Publicity Awards (1953, 1954) Lansberg began the popular "Baker Bookman" newspaper column, and WTSL/WDCR radio programs in 1958. At one time, fourteen New Hampshire and Vermont newspapers carried Lansberg's column.
In 1960, Lansberg left Dartmouth to become Director of Library Services at Elmira College, Elmira, New York. From there he went on to serve as Librarian at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York (1963-1967) and Director of Libraries, Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois. He was also, for a time, Editor-in-Chief of Kennicat Press, Port Washington, New York. In 1970, he joined the University of Arizona's School of Library Science faculty, where he taught a popular seminar on library architecture.
After the death of his wife, he remarried, and settled permanently in Arizona. William Ross Lansberg died March 16, 1999 at Tucson, Arizona.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
William Lansberg papers
William Lansberg (1916-1999), librarian. Contains typed radio scripts of the bibliographically themed "Baker Bookman" which aired over WTSL radio, Hanover, NH during the years 1958-1960. Also contains newspaper clippings from numerous sources which carried the print column "Baker Bookman."