Sam ROTHSTEIN

SAM ROTHSTEIN

Sam passed away on July 8,
2014 at the age of 93. He was
born on January 12, 1921, in
Shenyahova, a village near
Bobrysk, Belarus (part of Russia
at the time). Sam came to
Canada at the age of two. He
earned a BA in French and
English from UBC in 1939, an MA
in French from Berkley in 1940
and was working towards his
PhD when WWII began. After
serving as a member of the
Canadian Counter-Intelligence
Unit between 1942 and 1945, he
returned to Canada and
completed his Bachelor of
Library Science at UBC in 1947
Sam worked as a reference
librarian at UBC and then he and
his wife, Miriam Rothstein
(Teitelbaum) travelled to the
University of Illinois where he
obtained his PhD in Librarianship
in 1954, the first Canadian to
hold that degree
Sam founded the Faculty of
Librarianship at UBC and he
served as its first Director from
1970 to 1986. He was
internationally recognized for his
pioneering work as a reference
librarian and he was a leader in
developing the discipline of
Library Science internationally
over four decades
Most of all, Sam was passionate
about public service which, for
him, was synonymous with
public libraries. He served as the
president of many public
libraries and was instrumental in
creating the library at the
Vancouver Jewish Community
Centre
The only thing that Sam loved
more than books, libraries and a
great joke was his family. He
was predeceased by Miriam, his
wife of 67 years, his two
brothers, Aser and Maurie and
his sisters, Sophie and Reta, all
of whom doted on him for
reasons they didn't quite
understand. Sam's daughters,
Linda (Ian), and Sharon (Philippe)
and his grandchildren, Matt and
Sara, Charlotte and Maddy, were
his biggest fans and the source
of his greatest pride
Donations in memory of Sam
may be made to the Vancouver
Public Library Foundation, on
line or at 350 West Georgia
Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 6B1
Funeral on Friday, July 11, 2014,
at 2 p.m., Beth Israel Cemetery,
1721 Willingdon Ave., Burnaby,
B. C.