Obituaries J
Jenkin Morgan Griffiths
enkin Morgan Griffiths - bu farw cyn Llyfrgellydd Sir Gwynedd yn 92 oed. Yn frodor o Benuwch, yng nghefn gwlad Sir Aberteifi, roedd ei dad yn saer maen ond fel dyn ifanc dewisodd Jenkin cwrs tra gwahanol. Gosodwyd sylfeini ei yrfa pan ymunodd â staff ei wasanaeth llyfrgell lleol fel Cynorthwywr Llyfrgell dan lygad barcud ei bennaeth gweithgar – Alun R Edwards. Gyda chefnogaeth ei fentor roedd yn un o fyfyrwyr cyntaf y ‘Coleg Llyfrgellwyr Cymru’ (CLW) oedd newydd ei sefydlu yn 1964 ac yno cymhwysodd fel ALA. Ar ôl ychydig flynyddoedd yn ei sir enedigol fel Llyfrgellydd Plant ac Ysgolion, ac aelod brwd o’r Gymdeithas Llyfrgellwyr Cynorthwyol, cafodd ddyrchafiad pan symudodd i ardal y llech- faen yn Sir Gaernarfon. Yno bu’n Gynorthwyydd i Lyfrgellydd Sir brwdfrydig arall, Elwyn Griffiths. Pan sefydlwyd Sir ‘newydd’ Gwynedd yn 1974 fe’i penodwyd yn Ddirprwy Lyfrgellydd Sir i Geoffrey Thomas cyn dod yn Llyfrgellydd Sir ei hun yn 1981 – un o’r myfyrwyr ‘CLW’ cyntaf i ennill amlygrwydd o’r fath. Ymhlith y prosiectau cyntaf bu’n goruchwylio fel Llyfrgellydd Sir oedd darparu’r Llyfrgell Gyhoeddus newydd i Gaernarfon a agorwyd yn 1982 – nid oedd y ffaith i’r adeilad hwnnw ennill gwobr genedlaethol am ei garegwaith yn gyd-ddigwyddiad. Roedd yn gefnogwr brwd o Wasanaethau Plant ac Ysgolion ac yn arbennig hyrwyddo’r defnydd o lyfrgelloedd cyhoeddus ac ysgolion ar y cyd mewn ardaloedd gwledig. Yn ystod ei gyfnod o ddeng mlynedd fel Llyfrgellydd Sir, roedd yn eiriolwr brwd dros ‘gyfrifiaduro’ gwasanaethau llyfrgell a sicrhaodd fod Gwynedd yn ymuno â’r BLCMP fel yr awdurdod cyntaf yng Nghymru i ymuno â’r drefn cydweithredol honno. Roedd wrth ei fodd pan osododd y Gwasanaeth ei ‘ficrogyfrifiaduron’ mynediad cyhoeddus cyntaf - ddegawd cyn dechrau’r cynlluniau ar gyfer ‘Rhwydwaith y Bobl’. Bu’n aelod gweithgar o Gymdeithas Llyfrgelloedd Cymru a chynry- chiolodd Cymdeithas Prif Lyfrgellwyr Cymru wrth gefnogi gwaith Cyngor Llyfrau Cymru ac yn arbennig felly yn ei ymdrechion i sicrhau digon o adnoddau Cymraeg ar gyfer llyfrgelloedd cyhoeddus. Ar ôl trideg a thair blynedd o wasanaeth llyfrgelloedd cyhoeddus
bu’n rhaid iddo ymddeol yn gynnar oherwydd afiechyd – daeth yn eiriolwr cadarn dros waith Sefydliad Prydeinig y Galon. Roedd ffydd Gristnogol Jenkin yn gonglfaen i’w gymeriad a bu’n Ysgrifennydd a Henadur ei gapel lleol ‘Capel y Cysegr’ am flyny- ddoedd lawer. Cefnogodd Gymdeithas Deillion Gogledd Cymru ac roedd ei gyfraniad i’w gweithgareddau yn cynnwys darllen ar gyfer cyhoeddiad sain ei bapur cymunedol lleol ‘Eco’r Wyddfa’. Bu hefyd yn cynrychioli’r gymdeithas ar Gyngor Deillion Cymru gan wasanaethu am gyfnod fel cyfarwyddwr ar ei bwrdd. Parhaodd â’i gefnogaeth i Gyngor Llyfrau Cymru trwy ymuno â’i ‘Gyfeillion’ a gwasanaethu fel Ysgrifennydd, roedd hefyd yn aelod brwd o’r gymdeithas lenyddol leol.
Ychydig cyn iddo ymddeol soniodd wrthyf ei fod yn synfyfyrio weithiau y dylai fod wedi dilyn llwybr ei dad i sicrhau gwaddol mwy parhaol, gan bod adeiladwaith saer maen yn para’n hirach na chyflawniadau llyfrgellydd. Eto i gyd, llwyddodd Jenkin i gario’r maen i wal mewn sawl maes yn ystod ei oes a hynny trwy ei gyfraniad gwerthfawr i’w broffesiwn ac hefyd ei ymroddiad egwy- ddorol i’w gymuned. Bydd gwaddol Jenkin yn sicr o goroesi yng nghof cyn-gydweithwyr, ffrindiau a chyd-addolwyr ond yn bennaf oll yng nghoffad ei deulu - mae ein meddyliau gyda’i wraig Glenys, a’i dri phlentyn - Siân, Aled and Dewi a’u teuluoedd.
Jenkin Morgan Griffiths, former County Librarian of Gwynedd, has died at the age of 92.
A native of Penuwch in rural Cardiganshire his father was a 48 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL April-May 2024
stone mason but as a young man Jenkin choose a different course. The foundations of his career were laid when he joined the staff of his local library service as Library Assistant under the watchful eye of its dynamic head - Alun R Edwards. With his mentor’s support he was as one of the first students at the newly established, College of Librarianship, Wales (CLW), qualifying as an Associate in the early 1960’s.
After a few years in his home county as Children’s and School Librarian, and a keen member of the Association of Assistant Librarians, he gained promotion by moving north to the slate county of Caernarfonshire. There he was Assistant to another dynamic County Librarian, Elwyn Griffiths. When the ‘new’ County of Gwynedd was established in 1974 he was appointed Deputy County Librarian to Geoffrey Thomas before becom- ing County Librarian himself in 1981 – among the first ‘CLW‘ students to achieve this status. Among the first projects he supervised as County Librarian was the provision of the new public Library at Caernarfon opened in 1982: the fact that that the building won a national award for its stonework was no coincidence. He was an ardent supporter of Children’s and Schools Services and in particular the promotion of joint-use school and public libraries in rural areas. During his ten-year period as County Librarian, he was an enthusiastic advocate of the ‘computerisation’ of library services and ensured that Gwynedd joined ’BLCMP’ as the first Welsh county to join the co-operative.
He was delighted when the Library Service installed its first public access ‘micro-computers’ - a decade before the plans were laid for the ‘People’s Network’ He was an active member of the Welsh Library Association and represented the Society of County Librarians in supporting the work of Welsh Books Council and in particular in its efforts to ensure sufficient Welsh Language resources for public libraries.
After thirty-three years of public library service ill-health necessitated his early retirement, in which he became a staunch advocate for the work of British Heart Foundation. Jenkin’s Christian beliefs were a cornerstone of his charac- ter and he was Secretary and Elder of his local chapel ‘Capel y Cysegr’ for many years. He supported the North Wales Society for the Blind and his contribution to its activities included read- ing for the audio version of his local Welsh Community News- paper ‘Eco’r Wyddfa’. He also represented the society on the Wales Council of the Blind serving for a period as a director on its board. He continued his support for the Welsh Books Council by joining its ‘Friends’ and serving as Secretary, he was also a keen member of the local literary society.
In retirement he once mused that he should have followed his father’s path to ensure a more permanent legacy, as stone con- structions would last longer than a librarian’s achievements. Yet what Jenkin ‘capped’ during his lifetime was a valuable contribu- tion to his profession matched by a principled dedication to his community. Jenkin’s legacy will surely survive in the affection of former colleagues, friends and fellow worshippers but most of all in the remembrance of his family – our thoughts are with his wife Glenys, his three children – Siân, Aled and Dewi and their families.
Hywel James
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