PEOPLE


became Head of Libraries and Community Services for East Riding of Yorkshire Council until his early retirement in 2004. Mike’s major passion besides books was music: he took up the piano in his early teens but soon switched his energy and his prodigious lung-capacity to the bassoon, which he played first in the Manchester Youth Orchestra, then in his college wind quintet: towards the end of his life he resumed bassoon-playing and was working towards joining a local orchestra in Humberside, being hampered at this stage more by arthritic fingers than by any diminishing of his breath-control. His practical knowledge of how musicians play made him the ideal candidate to head up Youth and Community Arts projects in Manchester and Humberside, and he was passionate about the provision of music facil- ities for young people: towards the end of his life he sold his lovely bassoon for a low price to a child student of the instrument in the area.


After he retired from the library service he worked for a number of years as a professional reflexologist and as Clerk to the Governing Body of Hull College, as well as researching the Godwin family tree as far back as he could trace it. Mike was a larger-than-life character in every way: exuber- ant and outgoing in company, witty and eloquent on paper and devilishly good at creating his own greetings cards for family and friends. His appetite for the good things of life – books, music, laughter, family and food – knew no bounds and his funeral was a blend of sadness and laughter as we reminded each other of what a force of nature we have lost. He is survived by a son, Tom, daughters Emma and Imi, and grandchildren Daphne, Felix, Alex and Rafa.


Dr John Godwin (brother) and Brian Stevenson (colleague)


Michael Head M


ichael (Mike) Head who died aged 85 on Christmas Day 2021 was, for quarter of a century, Senior Lecturer at the School of Librarianship at Robert Gordon University (formerly RGIT) and was Presi- dent of the Scottish Library Association 1982-83. Michael Cashen Head was born in Essex in 1936 where he was also educated. In 1958, he married Eileen Rice at Epping, and their union lasted nearly 50 years until Eileen’s death in 2007. In 1964, they moved to Leeds where he worked in the Ref- erence Department at the Central Library. Their son, Iain, was born during their time in Leeds. Mike studied at the Open University and, later, with his move north, his Masters dissertation ex- amined nineteenth century libraries in Aberdeen with


Mechanics’ Institutes being a particular interest. After six years at Leeds, they moved to Aberdeen, Mike having been appointed as a lecturer at the recently estab- lished School of Librarianship at Robert Gordon’s Institute of Technology. He quickly advanced to senior lecturer and remained there until his retirement. In teaching, Mike found his metier. His area was bibliographic services but his interests were broad. He was equally at home teaching early printing, contemporary reference sources or hands- on tutorials formulating fiendishly long and complex search strings for Dialog or Datastar. His lectures on Wyn- kyn de Worde, or the Copyright Act of Queen Anne will


September 2022


be long-remembered but so too will be the shock in class when he destroyed an old book to demonstrate conserva- tion techniques. In tutorials, he would ask questions and then just sit patiently, with his beaming smile, waiting for the answers to come.


Mike soon became involved in the work of the Scottish


Library Association and in 1976 was appointed its Secretary, holding the post for four years. In 1982 he was became the (first English) President of SLA. His colleague and great friend Jimmy Orr, Head of the RGIT School, would also hold the SLA Presidency in 1986, and a number of his former students would later become Presidents of CILIPS. Mike, together with Douglas Anderson and David Andrews, formed the pivotal cornerstone of the Library School at RGIT with Douglas and Mike being joint Acting Heads of School for a time. They were a formidable, humorous and generous double-act, much loved by their students and their colleagues. Mike took early retirement in the summer of 1995 but continued to supervise doctoral students for a further few years. Mike and Douglas met regularly with lunches at the Prince of Wales pub featuring strongly. On the news of his death, his former students recalled his supportive generosity, his wisdom and kindness, and his strong sense of professionalism. Many recalled his genuine interest in his former students, often being astounded that he remembered them decades after they had completed their studies. Through his teaching, his professional work, and his generosity, Michael Head made an incalculable contribution to the library world in Scotland and beyond. He is survived by his son Iain, daughter-in-law Anna- belle, and granddaughter Aimee.


Professor Peter Reid, Robert Gordon University INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 51


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