Russell Shank

Russell Shank (September 2, 1925 – June 26, 2012) was an American librarian. Shank studied electrical engineering at the University of Washington and earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1946. He went on to receive a bachelor's in librarianship in 1949, also from the University of Washington. Shank went on to receive a master's in business administration from the University of Wisconsin and a doctorate in library science from the Columbia University School of Library Service.

Key Information

Russell Shank
Shank in 1968
President of the American Library Association
In office 1978–1979
Preceded by	Eric Moon
Succeeded by	Thomas J. Galvin
Personal details
Born	(1926-09-02)September 2, 1926 Spokane, Washington, US
Died	June 26, 2012(2012-06-26) (aged 85) Irvine, California, US
Alma mater	Columbia University
Occupation	Librarian
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Shank served as an assistant university librarian at the University of California Berkeley from 1959 to 1964 and was a member of the faculty of the Columbia University library school. Shank was the first director of libraries at the Smithsonian Institution from 1968 to 1977.^[1] Among his achievements was hiring Johannes (John) Hyltoft, Chief of Conservation at the Folger Shakespeare Library, to set up and oversee the Smithsonian’s new rare book and document conservation laboratory. In 1977, he was named chief librarian at the University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA) until he retired from that position in 1989.^[2] He was succeeded by Gloria Werner. Shank was also a professor emeritus in UCLA's Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.^[3]

Shank served as President of the American Library Association from 1978 to 1979.^[4] Shank was instrumental in forming FEDLINK (the Federal Library and Information Network) and advocated to make Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights part of the American Library Association's policy.^[5]

1. ^ Dougherty, Richard M. (August 14, 2012). "Russell Shank: Memories". Library Journal. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
2. ^ Lee, Cynthia (July 16, 2012). "In Memoriam: Russell Shank, former UCLA University Librarian". UCLA Newsroom. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
3. ^ McLellan, Dennis (July 14, 2012). "Russell Shank dies at 86; former head librarian at UCLA". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
4. ^ O'Brian, Liz (August 27, 2012). "In Memorium of Russell Shank". Smithsonian Libraries. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
5. ^ "Library Giant Russell Shank Dies". American Libraries. July 2, 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
6. ^ "Roll of Honor: Russell Shank". Freedom to Read Foundation. Retrieved 15 February 2016.

Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by Eric Moon	President of the American Library Association 1978–1979	Succeeded by Thomas J. Galvin

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