Repository: UIHistories Project: UI Library School Alumni Newsletter - 28 [PAGE 8]

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University

of Illinois Library

School

"In addition to his services to the University as librarian and Libra* * i S 4 director, Mr. Windsor, as a member of the University Senate and Co, * , ' ' actively participated in determining policies and practices both for t h e ; ' ^ ' tional program and the administration of the University. His services " > • the bodies have been held in high esteem due to his calm judicial temper hi? * business judgment, his high standards of scholarship and personal i l ^ his sympathy and understanding of the problems of youth. Recognition $$> value to the University in extra-library matters is evidenced by appointn,!! ^ to numerous important committees. Notable among these is the Budget Commit! on which as one of three members he served for some years, planning the h ' ,en nial budget for the entire University; also the famous Committee of fl- " special Senate Committee which under President Chase in 1931-1932, wasl u authoi ized to make a thorough investigation of the organization and efficiency^U University with a view to drafting a constitution for it. His work on this com I mittee helped greatly to strengthen the independence of the University and to clarify the strong position a university library must occupy if it is to develoo simultaneously with the institution. The statutes in the constitution pertaining to the library are models. As a member of this committee he was able, through sub-committees of faculty and library staff, to study the cultural influence of a state university library and the broad implications for its future growth. Recommendations of these sub-committees have provided support for administrative reorganization and new appropriations. Out of it all has developed on the pan of faculty and student body, a new and tremendously significant appreciation of the place a library should, and at the University of Illinois does, fill in an educational institution. "Mr. Windsor's influence on state wide library progress in Illinois will long outlive him. From its formative years to the present he has generously shared his experience and wisdom with the Illinois Library Association. To him should be given a goodly share of the credit for piloting the I. L. A. to a ranking position among state agencies. Twice he was president of the association—in 1912 and in 1934. And to many other presidents of the Association he has served as a mentor, especially in times of difficulty. "It is probably true that every important useful library law passed in Illinois since he became librarian of the State University, bears the imprint of his advice and encouragement. Many of these laws were largely drafted by him, and his strong influence with legislators helped to secure their passage. Among these may be mentioned that which established a library extension service in Springfield, later called the State Library Extension Division. In this connection it may be recalled that as librarian of the University of Texas, before coming to Illinois, he was largely responsible for drafting the bill which created the Texas Library Commission. The impression he left upon the libraries ot Texas during those early days of his career was deep enough to span the more than twenty-five years he has been away and is well illustrated in a recent letter from a group of Texas librarians in which they write, 'You helped to get the Texas Library and Historical Commission established and we need your help today in fitting it into changing times . . . . as chairman of the Illinois Library Planning Committee you will have much to give to the Texas group Always actively in support of certification, as Chairman of the Board for several years he has accomplished much toward raising the standards ot librananship throughout the State. He has also helped to raise and maintain these standards by providing in the Library School professional training courses* not only for those with college education, but also f £ th o s e ^ with limited edu-

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officials, and by readers from every walk in life. Thfev 1 ^ " V i«n* yea* is of experience that he, the librarian of the State v S Z S ^ J ^, die rfs tfa Jd i s interested in their problems and that he will provide n ee h e l n t h" h hI ' Jtn ha* c never failed them. P «y need. « *

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