Kaser, David, 1924-....

Distinguished Professor of Library and Information Science, Indiana University; library building consultant.

David Kaser, born March 12, 1924, in Mishawaka, Indiana, was active in high school theater and musical groups and in varsity sports. After serving in the army overseas during World War II, he graduated from Houghton College in New York in 1949. While at Houghton, he worked in the cataloging department under the supervisor Jane Jewell, whom he married in 1950.

He completed an MA in English at the University of Notre Dame and received his AMLS and PhD from the School of Library Science at the University of Michigan. His first professional position from 1952-1954, was as serials librarian and instructor at Ball State Teachers College in Muncie, where one of his early courses was The History of Books.

From 1956 to 1960, he was chief of acquisitions and later assistant director of libraries for technical services at Washington University in St.Louis. In 1960, he became director of the pioneering Joint University Libraries at Vanderbilt University and professor of library science at George Peabody College, both in Nashville, Tennessee. At Vanderbilt, he was instrumental in obtaining the addition of a major wing to the main library building and instituted a significant collection development program.

In 1968, Kaser became director of the Cornell University Libraries and continued to teach, this time at Syracuse University. A festschrift in his honor from his colleagues in 1973 cited him for leadership during change and for providing inspiration for professional growth and individual development among Cornell librarians and staff. He also was a leading advocate of the concept of strategic planning in the area of library management.

In 1973, Kaser came "home" to Indiana, assuming the position of professor at Indiana University, where he was able to devote his time to teaching, research, and consulting.

He has twice been elected American Library Association Councilor by the members of the ALA and has been president of the Association of College and Research Libraries, Beta Phi Mu, and the Tennessee Library Association. He is one of only five Guggenheim Fellows selected from the library profession, and he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1969.

Kaser was recognized as Distinguished Alumnus at the University of Michigan in 1970 and received the Distinguished Teaching Award at Indiana University in 1981, as well as its Distinguished Professor designation in 1986. He retired from Indiana University, School of Library and Information Science in 1991. His published works, totaling 14 monographs and more than 200 articles, has been primarily on historical subjects as well as on literary, administrative, and architectural topics. Four of his books are listed in the Harvard guide to American History, and he has served on the editorial boards of four journals.

Kaser has advised on the development of more than 220 college and university library buildings and information centers. This work has taken him throughout North America and also to Asia, Africa, and the Middle East and has involved him in projects ranging in size from 3,000 to 750,00 square feet of floor space. Several of the buildings on which he has worked have won awards.