Obituaries Lindsay Mary Newman L
indsay Mary Newman (known to many as “LMN”), Subject Librarian and Rare Books Curator at Lancaster University Library from 1966 to 2000 died on 27 May 2019 following a long illness. Lindsay was born in Dulwich in 1934, the daughter of Muriel and Paul Bouvet. She spent her childhood in Essex, then in 1953 went to King’s College London to read Modern Languages, and graduated with an Upper Second in 1956.
Lindsay took an intensive secretarial course and in 1964 a postgraduate qualification in librarianship. From 1965-66 she was Librarian at the Institute of Germanic Studies, University of
London. When her husband accepted a post in Lancaster in 1966, she was appointed Assistant Librarian at the newly-established University of Lancaster. She built up the modern languages, classics and English collections there and later theatre studies, visual arts and music. Lindsay was a “scholar librarian”. Her knowledge of her subjects and their bibliographic resources, all printed in those pre-internet days, was extensive, and she was greatly respected by the academic staff with whom she worked. Lindsay also took on the task of building up the Library’s Special Collections, including rare books and private-press material. When the Library’s large extension was built in 1997, Lindsay ensured that proper provision was made for the Library’s now increasingly important rare-book collections.
As Rare Books Curator she organised, thoroughly researched and professionally presented exhibitions to showcase these collections, notably her 1989 exhibition, presented in collaboration with David Steel, on Jacques and Gwen Raverat’s paintings and wood engravings. She pub- lished a catalogue and collaborated with Joanna Selborne to publish Gwen Raverat: wood engraver (British Library and Oak Knoll, 2003).
Lindsay had a lifelong interest in acting and the theatre, and in 1957 took the two-year Stanislavski course at The Questers Theatre in Ealing, appearing in several plays. Later she researched extensively the life and work of the influential stage designer Edward Gordon Craig, completing her Lancaster University PhD thesis in 1985 on the correspondence between Craig and Count Harry Kessler. Lindsay was the literary executor of Yves Hervouet of the French Studies Department at Lancaster University and ensured that the manuscript of his final work The French face of Joseph Conrad was published (Cambridge University Press, 1990).
Lindsay retired from Lancaster University Library in Sep- tember 2000 after 34 years’ dedicated service. She moved to Surbiton to continue her research and academic interests, and volunteered at the St Bride Printing Library. Lindsay was first and foremost an academic with an extremely strong work ethic. All duties were undertaken with great speed, efficiency and fierce concentration. Dedicated and punctilious, she went to extraordinary lengths to provide the information her readers wanted, requiring great effort and detective skills before searchable databases. She was greatly respected by all colleagues, and many were in awe of her. Her extensive personal library revealed her wide-ranging interests. She adopted and cherished stray cats, and was also fascinated by peacocks, feeding those that roamed the campus, compiling a moving elegy in memory of “Pollux” on the bird’s death. A woman of fierce intellect and many talents, Lindsay leaves a legacy of specialised publications. A very private person, she was very kind, loyal and generous to those to whom she gave her friendship and with whom she shared her dry wit. She will be much missed.
Winnie Clark,
formerly Sub-Librarian, Lancaster University Library, with additions from Jacqueline Whiteside, formerly University Librarian, Lancaster University
Gordon Maxim. Gordon, known as Max, was Deputy Librarian of Battersea College of Advanced Technology. An obituary will follow.
Eileen Barnett. Eileen (née Mullins) was Chief Assistant Librarian at Maidstone Library before a Local Government reorganisation saw it come under the control of Kent County Council. An obituary will follow.
For obituary submissions and guidance please email
infopro@cilip.org.uk or write to us at 7 Ridgmount Street, London, WC1E 7AE.
54 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL October-November 2019
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