IN MEMORIAM
As this issue was going to press, we heard the sad news of the deaths of two highly respected leaders in the area of cataloging, training, and writing on multimedia material. We delayed the Newsletter briefly, in hopes of garnering tributes for both of them. In only one case (Jo) did we become aware of a completed tribute. In Ann's case, we were not aware of a tribute and did not want to rush anyone unduly by asking for one. Therefore, we have simply provided an obituary for Ann and the tribute for Jo. Anyone who wishes to contribute brief memorial statements for either of these women or provide a full tribute for Ann, please contact the Editor, for prospective inclusion in the next issue.
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** ANN SANDBERG FOX **
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Obituary from the St. Albans, VT, Messenger:
"ANN M. (SANDBERG) FOX
FAIRFAX -- Ann M. (Sandberg) Fox died peacefully at her home Thursday, Aug. 21, 2003. She was born in Providence, R.I., daughter of the late Silas N. and Cecilia M. (Flynn) Sandberg and was raised in Norwich, Conn.
Ann received her Ph.D in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign in 1972. She worked at the Library of Congress and retired after 20 years of service. Ann also taught at the University of Illinois, The Catholic University of America, and the University of Maryland. She was actively involved in professional library associations until her death.
She is survived by her husband Robert of Fairfax, her son Thomas of New York City, her sister Patricia Bosanko and her husband William of Calif.; a special cousin, Mary Carrol Fitzgerald of Norwich, Conn.; and two nieces and a nephew.
[…]
Memorial contributions may be made in Ann's memory to Franklin County Home Health and Hospice, 3 Home Health Circle, St. Albans, Vt. 05478, or the charity of one's choice."
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Further information, taken from an internal announcement at LC, was forwarded to the OLAC List by Angela Murphy-Walters:
"Condolences can be sent to her husband Bob at 34 Broadstreet Road, Fairfax VT 05454."
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** JO DAVIDSON **
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Though Josephine Davidson ("Jo" to everyone) has not been active in OLAC for several years, she was active during its formative years, a loyal fan and supporter of all things OLAC. She was a member of the Cataloging Policy Committee, worked on many task forces and subcommittees, struggled diligently with the thorny problem of interactive multimedia, attended conferences and did all the things necessary to foster the positive development of OnLine Audiovisual Catalogers. She has been a friend to many, a quiet, sweet, Southern accent in a sometimes harsh landscape of cataloging change. --Verna Urbanski
Josephine F. Davidson, Principal Nonbook Cataloger and former Head of Nonbook Cataloging at the University of Georgia Libraries, died August 25th in Athens, Georgia, after a courageous fight against cancer that lasted more than five years—five years in which, among many other triumphs, she managed to take a cruise to Alaska and enjoy the arrival of her second grandson.
Jo held a BS in Library Science from the University of Southern Mississippi and a MALS from Florida State University. She was a member of several academic honorary societies, including Phi Delta Rho, the first women's honorary society, and Phi Kappa Phi. She began her library career at the University of Georgia Libraries in 1958, and returned to UGA in 1985 after holding a number of supervisory cataloging positions in several academic and public libraries elsewhere in Georgia (Savannah and Augusta), and in Wisconsin (Eau Claire). After her return to Athens, she was twice named Woman of the Year by the Classic City Charter Chapter of the American Business Women's Association (ABWA), in 1988 and 1993. She also served as president of the Athens ABWA chapter in 1992-93. Retiring from the UGA Libraries in March of 2002, Jo continued to work part-time until May 2003.
Among her contributions to the profession, Jo was a member of ALA's ALCTS/CCS/CC:DA Interactive Multimedia Guidelines Review Task Force, which in 1994 produced the ALA Guidelines for Bibliographic Description of Interactive Multimedia. While the useful life of that long-awaited publication was shortened by the sudden advent of the WWW, many of the issues that it brought to the forefront were prescient, and ultimately applicable to the brave new world of cataloging remote-access (and of course, in many cases, highly interactive!) computer files. Another major project of which Jo was particularly proud was her work at the UGA Libraries as supervisor of the bibliographic control segment of the Georgia Newspaper Project, part of the United States Newspaper Program (USNP), from 1987-1990, which provided an outlet for several of her personal and professional interests, particularly Southern history and bibliographic access to microform serials. It is also in no small part due to Jo's dogged persistence over the years that we own many of the major microform sets at the UGA Libraries that we do—and that we have also purchased and edited for local use many sets of catalog records to provide proper access to those holdings. Jo never tired of reminding the UGA Libraries administration that, "this stuff isn't all on the Web, nobody else in Georgia holds it, and if we buy it and don't catalog it, nobody will be able to find or use it!"
Jo's fight against cancer remains an inspiration to us all here. She has always been one of the most positive and upbeat persons any of us has known. She was rarely down, even when the news of her condition was not good—Jo was certainly a believer in the power of positive thinking, and proof of its efficacy. Her cornball, down-home humor was something we all treasured even as we groaned at it—and the bigger the groan she would elicit, the brighter the twinkle in her eye would become. She loved the jazz of George Duke, the rockabilly of Hank Williams Sr., the stories of A.A. Milne, gourmet pizza in any style, and—more than any of the aforementioned—her chosen profession of librarianship.
Jo is survived by her husband, Ken Davidson, of Eau Claire, WI; sons John Davidson of Houston, Texas and Steven Davidson of Atlanta, Georgia; daughter-in-law Lisa Davidson and two grandsons, Will and Jake Davidson, all of Houston, Texas.
Jo will be greatly missed as a friend and colleague.
Ann J. Hope
Head, Cataloging Department
University of Georgia Libraries
and
Neil R. Hughes
Head, Music Cataloging Section
Cataloging Department
University of Georgia Libraries
OLAC members who knew Jo may send messages of condolence to her husband Ken Davidson at:
J. Kenneth Davidson, Sr.
1305 Nixon Avenue
Eau Claire, WI 54701
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Last updated: September 3, 2003
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