Brenda Moon
Brenda Moon | |
---|---|
Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Staffordshire | |
Died | 7 March 2011 | (aged 79)
Alma mater | University of Oxford |
Known for | Librarianship, collections, archives, digitisation |
Brenda Elizabeth Moon (11 April 1931 – 7 March 2011) was Librarian to the University of Edinburgh from 1980 to 1996. She was the first female chief of a university library in Scotland, and one of the first female librarian chiefs of a major UK research university. During her tenure, she played a role in bringing Edinburgh University Library into the digital age.[1] Under her guidance, Edinburgh became one of the first major UK university libraries to tackle issues of automation at scale.[2]
Education
Moon was born in
Professional contribution
Moon was a co-founder of the
She had a lifelong personal research interest in writing about women travellers. While working at Edinburgh, she gained a MPhil (Leeds University) writing a thesis about Marianne North. After retiring, she attained a PhD (Hull) for a thesis on Amelia B. Edwards later published as a book, Most Usefully Employed: Amelia B Edwards, Writer, Traveller, and Campaigner for Ancient Egypt (2006).
Legacy
Following her death her extensive personal collection of books was shared amongst the libraries of Edinburgh and Hull universities with a significant proportion being sold for her favourite charity, Christian Aid.[4] The University of Edinburgh named a room in the library in her honour but this room was subsequently lost in a remodeling of the library space. On International Women's Day 2019, the university named the Boardroom in Argyle House in Edinburgh's West Port after Moon.[5]
References
- ^ a b Cannell, Sheila (4 April 2011). "Brenda Moon: University librarian who had a clear vision of the transformative effects of digitisation". The Independent. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
- ^ Law, Derek (31 March 2011). "Brenda Moon obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
- ^ "Obituary: Dr Brenda Moon, former university librarian, 80". The Scotsman. 22 March 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
- ^ "Library of Philip Larkin's muse sold for charity". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
- ^ "International Women's Day 2019 – recognising Brenda Moon". The University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 11 March 2019.