Alumni Updates
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Nancy Magnuson
M.Lib, 1978
Nancy Magnuson, college librarian at Goucher College, retired June 30, 2017. The college honored her 30 years service in that position with the John Franklin Goucher Medal. Her 40-year career included positions at Haverford College, the Free Library of Philadelphia, and King County Library System. She served on many ALA and ACRL committees and was honored as a notable alumna of the University of Washington iSchool in 2011. Other accomplishments include the Goucher Athenaeum, honored by Library Journal in 2012 as its No. 1 New Landmark Library, and development of the Peirce Center and other initiatives to promote the use of the college's special collections.
James Murray
M.Lib, 1978
James retired on December 26, 2014. For the past 17.5 years he worked for the Ninth Circuit Library headquartered in San Francisco, California, with his duty-station located in Spokane, WA, as the Branch Librarian assigned to work with judges and court staff within the Eastern District of Washington.
He retired with more than 40 years of training, experience, teaching, and practice as a member of the Washington State Bar Association and as a law librarian. Prior to his work for the Ninth Circuit, he worked at the University of Texas at Austin as a Reserve and Reference Librarian, at Washington University in St. Louis as the Associate Law Librarian, at Gonzaga University School of Law as the Director of the Law Library, and as the director of the East Bonner County Free Library District in Sandpoint, ID. His retirement plans include travel, volunteer work, and expanding upon his knowledge of automation and computers.
Linda Pierce
M.Lib, 1978
Linda works as an Associate Professor and Collection Development Librarian at Gonzaga University. In 2013, Linda was Gonzaga's first librarian to be elected by the faculty to serve a three-year term as a Faculty Regent.
Bob Pringle
M.Lib, 1978
After 35 years of service with Washington State University, in June 2015 Bob will retire from his job as the Director of Nursing and Spokane Academic Library Services at WSU.
Rivkah Sass
M.Lib, 1978
Rivkah is executive director of the Sacramento Public Library. Its Design Spot and Library of Things were prominently featured in the New York Times in September 2015 in an article titled "These Public Libraries Are for Snowshoes and Ukeleles."
Kathleen Sidwell
MLIS, 1978
Kathleen was retired as of 2023. She reports: "Thanks to the UW iSchool (in my time the Library School) for giving me the skills that helped me stay employed with interesting jobs. From editing, research and database work in real estate appraising offices to writing and editing policies and procedures in a hospital, and starting my own copyediting company, I always enjoyed my work and felt valued by employers. I am now retired, but still have projects to work on."
Maryruth Storer
M.Lib, 1978
After 40 years as a professional law librarian, Maryruth retired in August 2018. For the past 30 years, she served as the Director of the Orange County Public Law Library in Santa Ana, California.
Joanna Trefethen
M.Lib, 1978
Joanna retired from Seattle Public Library in 2015, after 36 years of service in her first job out of library school. At SPL she worked primarily in the branches, specializing in children's and young adult services.
Dan Trefethen
M.Lib, 1978
Dan retired in 2016 from the Boeing Company, where he worked as a special librarian and knowledge manager. He also worked as a corporate librarian and archivist for companies in architecture and engineering, and natural resources economics. In 2013, he received the John Cotton Dana award from the Special Libraries Association for lifetime service to the profession.
Richard Brzustowicz
M.Lib, 1977
Richard is a human subjects review administrator for the University of Washington Human Subjects Division.