Russell E. Bidlack (1920-2003)

Acting Chair of the Department of Library Science 1967-69
Dean of the School of Library Science 1969-84

Russell Bidlack was born on May 25, 1920, near Manilla, Iowa. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army on the Manhattan Project. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in English from Simpson College in 1947. 

Subsequently, he received a master’s degree in history from U-M in 1950 and was one of the first students to earn a doctorate in its Department of Library Science in 1954. He spent his entire academic career with that department, which elevated him to the rank of full professor in 1965.

In 1967, Bidlack became acting chairman of the department, when the previous chair, Wallace Bonk, stepped down for medical reasons. He then oversaw the transition from a department to a separate academic unit within the university. In 1969, after a national search, Bidlack was appointed the first dean of the new School of Library Science.

Widely published in the field of librarianship, Bidlack was an acknowledged authority on professional accreditation in that field. He served as chair of the American Library Association's Committee on Accreditation, as well as of a subcommittee charged with the writing of the standards for accreditation in library education.

During his career, he was honored by his colleagues with the highest awards the profession has to offer, including the Beta Phi Mu Award for Distinguished Service to Education for Librarianship, the Melvil Dewey Medal for Recent Creative Professional Achievement of a High Order and the Joseph W. Lippincott Award for Notable Achievement in Librarianship.

He retired from his position in 1984. His retirement years were busy with his research, lecturing and writings about Ann Arbor history and genealogy, notably his Sparks Quarterly newsletter for the Sparks Family Association, a group he co-founded in the 1950s. Bidlack died on Sept. 18, 2003.