After 36 years of service, John Rawlings is retiring from Stanford University Libraries. While we're sad to see John go, we're excited that he'll be able to devote more time to his many interests in natural history and outdoor pursuits.

Join us in celebrating John's long Stanford career, Thursday, March 6th, from 4-6 in the Rotunda of Green Library.

John began his tenure at Stanford in 1978 in the Collection Development Program in Green Library. Transitioning to a role as a Subject Librarian and Bibliographer, John’s initial assignments were Linguistics, followed by French and Italian Studies.

In the 1980s, John transferred to the General Reference Department, and ultimately to the Humanities and Social Sciences Resource Groups, where he has held a variety of selection responsibilities, including area studies concentrations in Africa, Middle East, SE Asia, and South Asia, and departments such as Anthropology, Classics, Communication, Philosophy, and Religious Studies. In addition to these areas and disciplines, John has long selected materials for a variety of critical interdisciplinary areas, including Medieval Studies, Celtic Studies, Environment & Population, and Travel & Exploration.

As a subject librarian and bibliographer, John has ably served generations of Stanford faculty and student researchers--he was an early adopter of the web for library guides and instruction and also produced three books and two exhibits over a ten year span related to Stanford history, with a particular interest in the Stanford Alpine Club.  He also initiated a pre-Google Books Project, text scanning project emphasizing sources and reference works for Medieval Studies (Medieval and Modern Text Project: standish.stanford.edu).  John has also been a leader in fund-raising for his respective areas, especially in the area of Medieval Studies, most notably through his long-term stewardship of the Smart Family Foundation.

In addition to his accomplishments in SUL, John has been a steadfast steward of the environment at Stanford; in this realm, he helped Engineering Professor Ron Bracewell complete his guide to Stanford campus trees, published by the Stanford Historical Society, and has created and maintains the website Trees.stanford.edu. John is also an affiliate of Stanford's Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve.

Please join us in celebrating John's long Stanford career next Thursday (March 6th) afternoon from 4-6 in the Rotunda of Green Library, where we'll also be inaugurating a new exhibit of secular medieval manuscripts.  We wish him well in retirement!