Obituaries Margaret Keeling D
orothy Margaret Keeling died on 27 March. Prior to her retirement in 2004, Margaret held senior positions in the public library services in Staffordshire and Essex, finishing her career as Head of Libraries, Information, Heritage and
Culture in Essex.
Margaret Keeling’s first permanent appointment in Staffordshire was as Mobile Librarian in Lichfield from September 1986. She held a number of positions after that and she was appointed as County Librarian in 1998. Margaret arrived at Essex from Staffordshire in Septem- ber 2001, having come down early for a couple of days in August to help steer the service’s response to a Best Value Review report. The way in which Margaret was able to steer the potentially difficult situation which the report might have resulted in, by agreeing with its findings and simultaneously putting together a coherent and positive plan to take the service forward, set the tenor for her work and leadership in Essex.
Margaret was very much a leader with a clear vision for the future and a firm idea of how to achieve this. She worked hard and expected her colleagues to do the same. Fools were not suffered but she always placed the welfare of staff very much to the fore.
There was an enjoyable retirement party at the Essex Herbert Steele H
erbert Frederick Steele (Bert) died on 4 April at the age of 91. He was born in London in 1926. On finishing grammar school, he served with the King’s Own Scottish Borderers from 1943-1948, ending in West Africa.
In 1951, Bert graduated as a Fellow of the Library Association and worked as a Senior Assistant at Islington Public Library in ref- erence services and prison library assistance. He then relocated to a Swindon public library post with his wife (librarian Pamela Steele) and two sons.
By 1958, he was the Chief Librarian in Nottingham at Carlton, in charge of staff, two
branch libraries and a mobile library. Here he started the children’s library services.
In 1963, Bert and Pam and their now three children made the huge decision to emigrate to Canada where
they both had positions awaiting them with the Sudbury Ontario North Central Regional Library Services. Bert now handled the distribution of books across Sudbury and Manitoulin districts while Pam was at home with their fourth child.
Sudbury was a harsh city to adapt to for the Londoners, and a final move was made in 1965 to Guelph, Ontario where Bert accepted the role of Regional Librarian with the Ministry of Correctional Services. His scope covered western Ontario’s jails, detention centres, training schools and correctional facilities; work in which he took great satisfaction until his retirement in 1987. Bert completed his BA at the University of Guelph and was an active Masonic Lodge member with Wyndham Lodge. He enjoyed his 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. He was the consummate gentleman and never wavered in his commitment whether it be to work or home.
Marion Steele Daughter
Record Office in September 2004, where many of her past colleagues from public libraries gathered to wish her well. Whilst she was in Essex Margaret stayed in a Chelmsford flat but after retirement she returned to Staffordshire and her family before a move to Woodbridge in Suffolk, where her funeral took place on 20 April 2018. Margaret was a lifelong Christian and, while in Essex, worshipped at the Central Baptist Church in Chelmsford where she is still remembered. She served for several years as the fifth President of the Librarians’ Christian Fellow- ship. In this role, she chaired conferences, wrote articles, and contributed to the review group which led to the organisation’s name change to Christians in Library and Information Services in 2014. Margaret was also involved in the work of the Christian Book Promotion Trust and its Speaking Volumes scheme in which grants were made towards Christian books for libraries of all kinds. Our thoughts go to Margaret’s husband, Brian, and members of her family at this sad time of bereavement.
Geoff Elgar, formerly of Essex Libraries Alan Medway, Library Service Operations Manager, Staffordshire Library and Information Service Graham Hedges, Secretary, Christians in Library & Information Services
54 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
September 2018
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