James Humphry III, Former H.W.
Wilson Vice President, Dies at 90
New York, New York, January 17, 2007
The H.W. Wilson Company today announced the death of former Vice
President James Humphry III on January 11, 2007.
Mr. Humphry served as Vice President from 1968
until his retirement in 1982, helping to see H.W. Wilson through
major changes in the library reference industry, including the
Company's entry into electronic publishing. He also served on the
H.W. Wilson Board of Directors from 1965 until his recent passing,
and was chairman for several years of the American Library
Association Reference Services Division Committee on Wilson Indexes.
Mr. Humphry was widely regarded as one of the
country's leading library administrators. Before joining H.W.
Wilson, he served for a decade as Chief Librarian of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; planner of its acclaimed
Thomas J. Watson Library. Mr. Humphry was also Chief of the Map
Division at New York Public Library.
A champion of library education, Mr. Humphry
served as Library Director and Professor of Bibliography at Colby
College (Waterville, Maine); as instructor at Columbia University's
School of Library Service and Pratt Institute's School of
Information and Library Science; on advisory committees for the
library schools of C.W. Post and Queens College (City University of
New York); and as President and Board Member for the H.W. Wilson
Foundation.
He was a frequent contributor to professional
journals, and also compiled The Library of Edwin Arlington
Robinson: A Descriptive Catalogue (1950), as well as (with the
late Professor Carl J. Weber) Fitzgerald's "Rubaiyat" (1959).
He conducted many notable surveys of libraries and systems.
Mr. Humphry's involvement with the library
community included work as President of the Association of College &
Research Libraries; President of the Maine Library Association (and
Editor of the Association's Bulletin); President of the New
York Library Club; President of the Westchester Library System; 1967
Conference Chairman for the Special Libraries Association; Member of
the American Library Association; and numerous other professional
affiliations and activities.
He was also in demand as a lecturer, consultant,
advisor, coordinator, and trustee by colleges, library agencies, and
industry publications, and earned the SLA Publishing Division Role
of Honor Award in 1981.
Called to military service in World War II, Mr.
Humphry served his country in Europe, and then again in the Korean
War, retiring as Lieutenant Colonel.
Mr. Humphry began his career at the New York
Public Library, after earning degrees from Harvard College and
Columbia University. He was predeceased by his twin brother, John A.
Humphry (who also achieved prominence in the library industry, as
Assistant Commissioner of Libraries of the State of New York). He is
survived by his wife Priscilla Eaton Humphry and daughters Susan
Zolnier and Elizabeth Schnabel.
Photograph available.
Contact:
Roseward Sky
Phone (800) 367-6770, x2272
Email:
rsky@hwwilson.com
Frank Daly
Phone: (800) 367-6770, x2312
Email: fdaly@hwwilson.com
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