Date: November 29, 2006
Contact: Lindsay Gladstone
Governors State University
Phone: (708) 534-7090
Fax: (708) 534-8399
Email: l-gladstone@govst.edu
For Immediate Release
University Park, Illinois November 29, 2006 - It was a great event for the Governors State University library and the people who support it. More than 100 people attended an open house in November to establish the Friends of the Governors State University Library, to honor its first director, and to recognize the extensive work of the library.
“Membership in the newly formed Friends organization will help the university library expand its already extensive resources and service,” said Diane Dates Casey, Dean of Library Services and Academic Computing at Governors State University. “We are very encouraged by this great response.”
The library currently has an extensive collection of volumes, back files, and documents as well as audiovisual materials, serial subscriptions, databases and journal indices. The facility also serves as a research and educational resource for both students and the community.
The Friends of the GSU Library will elect officers, draft a mission statement, and establish by-laws at its first organizational meeting in February.
“Support from the Friends of the GSU Library will provide direction for the generosity of our donors,” explains Lydia Morrow-Ruetten, professor of Library Science and current coordinator of the Friends. “We have been overwhelmed by the support and enthusiasm we have already received for our new Friends organization.”
In addition to the creation of the Friends, the library open house also provided the opportunity to recognize the contributions made by Dr. Richard Vorwerk, the library’s first director. Vorwerk of Oak Brook Terrace was a long-time resident of Homewood. Vorwerk was awarded a plaque by the newly formed Friends of the GSU Library and the Richard J. Vorwerk Society was established in his name.
As the library’s first director, Vorwerk helped bring together the core of the library’s collection, hired staff, and provided services to the new Governors State University and the surrounding community. As the university expanded, so did the library. Vorwerk was instrumental in the library’s move into its permanent, current location. He was the library director until 1978 and a university professor in the College of Business and Public Affairs until he retired in 2002.
For more information about the Friends of the Governors State University Library, call (708) 534-4116 or visit www.govst.edu/library/friends.
