Table of Contents
Richard Bradley Moses
Education:
1960 BA Harpur College, State University of New York at Binghamton
1964 MLS Rutgers University
Positions:
1963–1965 Rochester Public Library, New York State, Young Adult services librarian
1965–1967 Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, Senior Youth services librarian, Community Action Program
1968–1969 University of Maryland School of Library and Information Services, Lecturer and Field Director/Instructor for “High John Project”
1969–1970 Pawtucket Public Library, Rhode Island, Regional Coordinator
1970–1971 Roger Williams College, Bristol, Rhode Island, Director
1971–1986 Oakville Public Library, Chief Librarian
Publications:
Moses, Richard B. (1965). “Just show the movies–never mind the books!” ALA Bulletin 59, no. 1 (Jan.): 58–60.
Moses, Richard B. (1965). “Revolution against poverty.” Top of the News, 22 (Nov.), 101–104.
Moses, Richard B. (1966). “Scouting the perimeter: A re-examination of the reluctant reader.” Maryland Libraries, 32 (summer): 4–8.
Moses, Richard B. (1967). “For the teens, interest comes first.” In Nancy Larrick and J. A. Stoops, eds., What is reading doing to the child? pp. 97–99. Danville, Illinois: Interstate.
Moses, Richard B. (1967). “Working with Neighborhood Centers.” Top of the News, 23 (Jan.): 142–145.
Moses, Richard B. (1968). “Jottings on High John.” ALA Bulletin, 62 (April): 377–380.
Moses, Richard B. and Mary Lee Bundy (1969). A New Approach to Educational Preparation for Public Library Service. College Park, Maryland: University of Maryland.
Moses, Richard B. (1970). “Detroit as drama or is the process the only payoff?” American Libraries 1 (Oct.): 841–842.
Moses, Richard B. (1970). “The Training of Librarians to Serve the Unserved,” pp. 71-78, in Library Service to the Unserved: Papers Presented at a Library Conference Held at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee SLIS, November 16-18, 1967, ed. by Laurence L. Sherill. New York: R.R. Bowker.
Moses, Richard B. (1972). “Hindsight on High John,” Library Journal 97, no. 9 (May 1): 1672–1674.
Moses, Richard B. (1974). “Exploding Library Myths,” in Canadian Library Progress/Progrès Des Bibliothèques Canadiennes, Vol. 2, pp 343-345. Vancouver: Versatile Publishing Company .
Moses, Richard B. (1976). “Taking Stock of the Library Armory,” Quill and Quire 42 no 10 (August): 28–29.
Moses, Richard B. (1983). “Steam Engines in the Public Library, or, Computers, Children, and Library Services.” Emergency Librarian 10 (1983): 13–15.
Associations:
American Library Association
Canadian Library Association
Ontario Library Association
Accomplishments:
Fom the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, Richard (Dick) Moses, Chief Executive Officer of the Oakville Public Library from 1971–86, was, arguably, one of the most daring and innovative librarians in the Canadian public library scene. After coming to Canada from the United States, where he held various administrative positions, he and Gordon Norman founded the first Canadian radio reading service for the blind and visually print handicapped in the basement of the Library. A daring and sometimes provocative librarian, he was one of the first CEOs to train his staff to offer computer classes for young children. Under his leadership, the Halton Hills Network (HALINET, which included Halton Hills Public Library, Milton Public Library and the Oakville Public Library) was founded, which installed the first automated circulation systems for public libraries in Ontario in 1980.
A man of strong principles and an advocate of freedom of speech, Dick would sometimes oppose the City Council on such matters as the design elements of a renovation. He would even challenge his Board regarding hours of operation and the showing of controversial films. Dick was a man of many talents and abilities. He was an accomplished French horn player, playing for several orchestras across Canada. He contributed as a columnist for local newspapers, he acted in theatre, and he was a host of classical music at FM stations such as CJRT in Toronto and CKUA in Edmonton. He was instrumental in founding several arts organizations, the last being ArtSpring, the main performance and visual arts institution on Salt Spring Island (British Columbia), where he retired in 1996. His daring spirit led him to take a round-the-world voyage on a cargo ship in 2002 that he documented in a book, “By Degrees: Around the World by Tramp Freighter.” Dick was indeed a man for all seasons. — Gulf Islands Driftwood Magazine
Sources:
“Three U.S. librarians Lured North,” Wilson Library Bulletin 48 (June 1974): 842–843.
Richard Bradley Moses, online obituary in the Gulf Islands Driftwood Magazine (Saltprint Island, BC).
Oakville Public Library archives submitted by Tara Wong, CEO, and Elise Cole, Local History Librarian.
ELA biography compiled by Rick Ficek.