FROM THE DESK OF THE STATE LIBRARIAN...

JOHN McCORMICK RETIRES AFTER
TWENTY-FOUR YEARS AT THE STATE LIBRARY

For almost a quarter century, John McCormick has served the citizens of New Hampshire from his post in the reference department of the N.H. State Library. John started working at the State Library in January 1980 just as the state was embarking on studies to determine the feasibility of statewide library automation. He was a key person in the automation of the N.H. Union Catalog. The solid foundation established by John and those who built NHAIS means the system today serves the library community very well.

Librarians in New Hampshire have relied on his expertise to assist them in providing information to their patrons. John's knowledge of New Hampshire resources has made him the person within the library that librarians turn to for assistance on such matters.

Since 1995 John has supervised the van delivery system that has come to be recognized by most New Hampshire librarians, along with the union catalog, as the cornerstone of resource sharing in the state. He has worked hard to be sure that the system serves all libraries, if possible libraries receive multiple deliveries within the week. The delivery system now handles more than 250,000 items a year for libraries across New Hampshire. As with everything that John has undertaken, the delivery system has improved under his supervision. This happened because, as with all other services, John is most concerned with customer service. His goal has been that librarians get accurate and speedy service for document delivery.

John will be missed, not just by his colleagues in the State Library, but also by the library community as a whole. John established a standard of service that is a model for the librarians at the State Library. It is a standard of which we are proud and which we will maintain.

-Michael York, State Librarian