\ Introducing Samuel Lazerow,

Essays of an Information Scientist, Vol:1, p.374-375, 1962-73
{
Introducing
Current Contents, #44, November 1, 1972
Samuel
Vice president
needs no inLazerow
to the library and in-
Samuel
troduction
formation
science
He is the only
Lazerow,
IS1@’s
for Administration
J
November 1, 1972
Agricultural
Library in 1947 as
Chief of its Acquisitions Section.
In 1952, he was appointed
communities.
man who has held
\
tor of the Acquisitions
DirecDivision
top-level
administrative
posts in
each of the three national libraries
of the United States–the
Nation~
Library
of Agriculture,
the National
Library
of Medicine,
and
of the National Library of Medicine. As it turned out, Lazerow’s
the Library
quired one day that he look in on
the medical indexing project spon-
A
of Congress.
native
an honors
Hopkins
of
Baltimore,
graduate
University
of The
and
he
is
Johns
of
the
Columbia
University
School
of
Library Service. A year at the
Enoch
Pratt Free Library
in
Baltimore was followed by 4 years
service at NLM was to be significant for 1S1. I first met Sam when,
in 1952, his duties at NLM re-
sored
by
NLM
at
the
discuss my views of the project’s
with the U.S. Army in World War
II. I+s last assignment was as Chief
Library
Officer
Theater
of Operations.
in the European
In 1947, Lazerow
began the 25
years of creative administrative
work that the Librarian of Congress called “a distinguished and
extraordinary
tems
achievement
in sYs-
development
and manage-
ment . . . “
Lazerow joined
the National
Welch
Medical Library at Johns Hopkins.
I was a staff member on this project; our first meeting there to
Samuel Lazcrow
374
goals was the beginning
of an unusually stimulating
professional
and personal relationship.
In
1965,
Library
Lazerow
of
the
and
was
Congress,
successively
Catalog
joined
Assistant
Chief of the
Maintenance
Publications
and Catalog
Division
and Chief
of
to a more
effective
national
li-
brary system in the United States.
Sam’s
professional
activities
have been many–too
many to list
here. A few must suffice: Chairman of the Task Force of the
FederaI Library Committee
on
Procurement of Library Materials;
the Serial Record
Division.
This
latter
assignment
involved
the
processing
of a backlog of a halfrnillion
serial items,
in addition
President and Board Chairman of
the United States Book Exchange;
member of the Group of Experts
to an annual input of 1.5 million
For this
he received
a
items,
System;
and member
of
PAHO Advisory
Committee
Superior
the Regional Library of Medicine
for Latin America.
Service
Award.
At LC, Lazerow
also served as
on the International
As Vice President
tration
Sam Lazerow
ble for
personnel,
vices. It is unfortunate,
subscription
Task
Force’s
work,
I think,
of the
and of IAZ-
ation
of
all
the
for
for Adminis-
Chairman of the U.S. National
Libraries Task Force on Automation and Other Cooperative ,Serthat the full importance
Serials Data
is responsipurchasing,
fulfillment,
and oper-
financial
systems—
crow’s leadership, is not realized
due to the frequent omission of
and he furnishes valuable guidance
in meeting
the needs of our most
important
customers, libraries and
the words
scientists.
“and
Other
Coopera-
tive Services.” The work on automation was substantial and dramatic, but it was Lazerow’s emphasis
perience
another
vantage
on
dustry.
“other
which
cooperative
has helped
point
services”
the way
375
Sam
Lazerow’s
ex-
and foresight give 1S1
strong competitive
adin the information
in-