After 45 years at Stanford, Jonathan Lavigne is retiring. Jon arrived on campus in 1968 as a graduate student in English. He began working full time at the libraries in 1978 as a library assistant. In 1984, Jon became a technical writer with the Research Libraries Group, which at the time had its offices at Stanford. In 1995, as the World Wide Web was emerging as a communications and publishing technology with great potential for higher education, Jon joined Stanford's library systems division and developed Stanford's first library website. Jon also worked on the first web version of Socrates, the libraries' online catalog. In recognition of his pioneering role, Jon became known as the Stanford Libraries' first and only Web Sovereign.

In the years since, Jon has played a critical role in the support and development of SUL's online systems. He worked on the first version of the Stanford Digital Repository, re-engineered the library website multiple times, and continues to support and develop innovative new systems. 

During all his years of service at Stanford, Jon has shown an unwavering commitment to supporting patrons and his colleagues in the libraries, and has long been an anchor for SUL's online systems. Please join me in thanking Jon for his service and in wishing him the very best in his retirement.