A year ago at this time the New Hampshire library community lost a dear friend, Ann Geisel. This year in September, we suffered once again with the passing of our dear friend, Dick Pantano, Director of the Shapiro Library at New Hampshire College. Dick spent his entire career in New Hampshire, in fact all of it at New Hampshire College.

Dick was a friend to many of us in New Hampshire. But to almost as many he was also a mentor. Dick was a mentor to young librarians before it was fashionable, before it was a buzzword. When I moved to New Hampshire in 1981, to work at Merrimack Valley College, he was the first person to call me and extend a welcome. He offered to buy me a cup of coffee and tell me what was happening in the New Hampshire library community. I took him up on his offer and traveled across the river to New Hampshire College. True to his word he gave a full rundown of what was going on in New Hampshire. From that moment forward he was always there when I wanted to talk about something or needed advice.

The general wisdom on free advice is that it is worth what you pay for it. In my case, Dick's advice was always priceless, I could rely on him to give me well reasoned counsel. I will certainly miss that, but like all of us, I will miss a close collegial friend. What was so endearing about Dick was his wit and tremendous sense of humor. His ability to liven up a meeting was legendary, we will all miss that. New Hampshire College has dedicated a gallery in the Shapiro Library in his honor. It is my hope that his friends in the library community will also find a way to honor his memory in a similar fitting tribute. I have not listed all of Dick's accomplishments here; my hope is that we can create an electronic Festschrift asking all of his friends to contribute. If you have ideas, please contact me at the State Library.

Michael York, State Librarian