Obituary of Keith Doms , 89

Keith Doms, 89, passed away on Sept. 26, 2009, at Foxdale Village in State College. Born April 24, 1920, in Endeavor, Wis., his father was a banker, and his mother was a homemaker who had taught in a one-room schoolhouse in her late teens.

Keith attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and graduated with a BA in French and a BLS (Bachelor of Library Science). While there, he met Margaret (Peg) Taylor, a fellow student, whom he married on April 1, 1944. During WWII, he was sent to Harvard University for intensive training in Mandarin Chinese, and then served in the U.S. Army Signal Corp Intelligence Service.

Keith enjoyed a distinguished career in public library administration, including assistant, associate, and director roles for the public library systems in Concord, N.H.; Midland, Mich.; Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Upon his retirement in 1987, he became the executive director of the Urban Libraries Council.

Throughout his career and after retirement, he provided consulting services for public libraries nation-wide in planning and construction of new and renovated libraries. He also bridged his entry into retirement with a six-year term as a board member for the OCLC Online Computer Library Center. In one particularly fascinating career experience, Keith was commissioned by the U.S. Department of State to conduct a seminar on public library development in Karachi, Pakistan. He never forgot the sunburn he suffered while riding a camel!

Keith was the president of several professional associations, including the Pennsylvania Library Association (PLA), the American Library Association (ALA), International Association of Metropolitan Libraries (INTAMEL), and the library honorary society Beta Phi Mu. He served as a board member of other professional associations, most notably the ALA's Freedom to Read Foundation to which he assigned particular importance. He fought censorship of reading materials throughout all of his years as a public library administrator.

In acknowledgement of his leadership and accomplishments, Keith was the recipient of many awards for his professional work, chief among them being the Joseph W. Lippincott Award bestowed by the American Library Association in 1982 and a Distinguished Service Award from the Pennsylvania Library Association in 1976. The former cited his "exceptional qualities of leadership and delicate diplomacy", "extraordinary strength and insight", and "boundless energies". The latter proclaimed that he was "nationally and internationally renowned for (his) achievements as a librarian and for (his) contributions to libraries and to the profession of librarianship".

Since moving to State College in 1991, Keith volunteered his talents to several organizations, including serving as chairman of the board for the State College Friends School, as well as co-chair of its building committee which oversaw the design and construction of the new school which opened in 1996. He was also president of the Foxdale Village Residents Association, and was later a member of the Foxdale Village board of directors. He served as a board member for C-NET, which televises local government proceedings in State College, and was an active member of the State College Friends Meeting.

Prior to his years in State College, Keith served in other volunteer roles as an 18-year member of the Pennsylvania State Board of Education (1975-1993), president of the United Mental Health Association in Pittsburgh, and member of the board for WQED-WQEX, also in Pittsburgh. In Philadelphia, Keith and his family were hosts for many visiting Chinese scholars.

Keith is survived by his wife of 65 years, Margaret Taylor Doms; two sons, Peter and David; a grandson, Luke; step-grandchildren Andrew and Aisling Hunt and Tiffany Ray; step-great grandson Cameron Ray, and surrogate daughter Cui Wei Jie. A memorial service will be held at Foxdale Village at 2 p.m. on Oct. 24, 2009. Memorial contributions may be made to the State College Friends School (1900 University Drive, State College, PA, 16801) or the Foxdale Village Community Fund (500 E. Marylyn Avenue, State College, PA, 16801).