To: The UMBC Community
Fr: Larry Wilt, Director, Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery
Michael Romary has given notice of his retirement as of September 16, 2007. He has served the campus for 17 years in the Library Reference Department. He came to Baltimore
with strong credentials in reference work and information literacy (known then as bibliographic instruction). He had completed his M.L.S.degree at Indiana University and worked there as a cataloger in the Lilly Library and a reference librarian and cataloger at the Career Services
Library before moving on to the Hudson Institute, on the campus of Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis. He moved to Ohio to become the reference and interlibrary loan librarian at Ohio State University's Mansfield campus, after which he followed his academic
spouse to Austin College, working primarily in reference and bibliographic instruction.
Michael expanded UMBC's bibliographic instruction program beginning in the 1990's and then pioneered the development of the Library component for UMBC's student success programs, such as the library component of the Honors College's Research Methods course, the
McNair program and the First Year Initiative, as well as the writing seminars. In addition to these projects and his regular reference and liaison work, he took over responsibility for the Library's federal and state documents depository programs and undertook
experiments in offering online instruction aids as the Internet made these possible.
In addition, Michael advocated strongly for services for students with disabilities and for campus safety issues; many improvements in these areas were brought about by his advocacy. He has represented the Library on UMBC committees and on the Faculty Senate.
Throughout, faculty, staff and students have appreciated his dedication and hard work in the service of instructional and library ideals.
Michael has been out on family medical leave this summer and is currently not in town. He hopes to be in Baltimore in early to mid October and I am hoping that he will visit us then. Meanwhile, let us join in wishing him the best in his retirement.
