In memoriam: David Bishop
Former University Librarian David Bishop (1937–2023) was a wonderful colleague and a quietly transformational library director. You could call him a classic: a classic academic librarian, a classical musician, and a classy person. And in that classic mode, he had a major impact on almost every dimension of the Northwestern University Libraries.
David enjoyed a solid 42-year career in research libraries, working at top US universities—first as a librarian and manager at Maryland and Chicago, then as the director at Georgia, Illinois, and Northwestern. He served on boards and committees of the field’s most influential professional organizations: the Association of Research Libraries, the Center for Research Libraries, the Coalition for Networked Information, EDUCOM, and the Chicago area’s North Suburban Library System, a nationally known multi-type consortium.
Arriving at Northwestern in 1992, David introduced many firsts, keeping the Libraries abreast of rapidly evolving services and technologies. He ushered in the era of digital collections—not just the acquisition of digital materials but also an in-house digitizing program to increase access and preservation. He installed the first full-scale automated book scanner, worked with Big Ten library colleagues to start the major Google book-scanning project, and helped secure national grants for signature scanning projects, notably the Winterton photograph collection. Concurrently he shepherded significant growth in the print collections and brought in almost $30 million in new endowments for acquisitions and preservation. And in 2002 Northwestern became one of the first research institutions to incorporate its university press into its library organization.
David’s innovations in space usage included gaining access to a campus basement that became the Library Storage Facility; transforming the former card catalog space into the student-centric, computer-equipped Information Commons; partnering with campus information technology to reshape several library spaces for collaborative library-IT consulting and teaching; and welcoming the first library café.
Starting some new jobs can feel like an archaeological excavation to figure out the situation. David went out of his way to provide me with a smooth and well-informed transition as his successor. He invited me for several advance visits, introduced me to the senior librarians and key members of the Board of Governors, briefed me on current operations, told me about local neighborhoods, and took me to my first Northwestern football game.
It was a delight to become his friend and collaborator and to get to know his sparkling wife, Nancy. Their children wrote in David’s obituary of the devotion he showed Nancy over her years of illness before her death in 2022; this devotion and grace marked all of David’s life and work.