Eugene B. Jackson

Eugene B. “Jack” Jackson Professor Emeritus Eugene Jackson, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Texas at Austin, died July 16, 2003 just several years after being named as one of sixteen “Pioneers of Information Science” by the American Society of Information Sciences. Professor Jackson was born at Frankfort, Indiana, June 18, 1915, the son of John H. Jackson and Goldie Belle (Michael) Jackson. He attended local schools in Lafayette, Indiana, graduating from Jefferson High School where he played in the band, including performance at the Century of Progress Hall of Science, 1933-1934. Jack was also in the band later while attending Purdue University. Getting his education in the midst of the Depression meant that Jack needed to do student work in the engineering libraries at Purdue University (Bachelor of Science with Distinction, 1937) and the University of Illinois, Urbana (Bachelor of Science in Library Science with Honors, 1938); Master of Arts in Library Science. In 1994 Purdue University awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa. In 1943 – 1944 Jack received Army Specialized Training in Advanced Mechanical Engineering on the campus of Texas Tech College, Lubbock, Texas. His overseas service was with the 12th Armored Division, AUS, 1944 – 1946. He was cited at the 125th Anniversary of Purdue Libraries in 2000. Professor Jackson married his University of Illinois classmate, Ruth L. Whitlock (BA with honors 1937, BS in Library Science 1938, and MA in LS, 1941) at Indianapolis, IN on August 6, 1941. At that time he was already in residence as the Documents Librarian at the University of Alabama Library, Tuscaloosa, AL. Library Director John M. Cory was planning to move on and encouraged Jack to consider an offer from the famous Technology Department of the Detroit Public Library as liaison to Branch Libraries. In the spring of 1943, Jack was inducted into the Army and assigned, while on leave from the Detroit Public Library, to Camp Barkeley, TX for basic training. In the summer a new Army program was established to place college graduates on college campuses “for fifth-year course work in specialized subjects.” Jack was assigned to Texas Tech College in Lubbock for the Program in Advanced Mechanical Engineering. When he needed only three semester hours of credit for a degree in Mechanical Engineering, the program was discontinued. He was fortunate that the 12th Division Ordnance Officer had a requisition back at Camp Barkeley for “a technical librarian to organize an identification collection for enemy ordnance material on a 2 – ton trucks” and Jack was sent back to Camp Barkeley for the assignment. Deployment overseas resulted in landing at Rouen, France, from LSTs, movement to Luneville, engagement in the Saar region, crossing of the Rhine, overrunning of Munich area airfields, and on to Innsbruck, Austria for V E Day. Jack then accepted a radioed offer for a Civil Service post as Librarian at Wright Field, Dayton, OH to “also help with enemy research reports.” Before returning to the States, thirty Army of Occupation bookmobiles were loaded with “aid” of non-English-speaking Belgian civilians at Ruisbroek. After arrival at Wright Field, it turned out that the major problem was the terminology and security classifications in the new research reports. The security problem was overcome by adoption of Ruth and Jack’s joint presentation to the Regional Civil Service Commission allowing any person with a physical science degree to subject-classify technical reports. The WAVE officer librarians in the Washington, D.C. area offered placements there to both Jack and Ruth as a reward for their work. Jack joined the R&D Branch of the Army QMC and Ruth joined the Army Medical Library and, later the Navy Bureau of Ships. Jack then succeeded a retiree in the NACA’s Office of Aeronautical Intelligence (the predecessor agency to NASA) where his proposed use of the NACA’s available airplanes and later those of the Military Airplane Transportation Service led eventually to a total of nearly a half-million air miles and honorary commissions. Jack was one of three US national members of the NATO Advisory Group for Aeronautical R&D headquarters in Paris. (A General Assembly was held in each NATO capital city thereafter.) At this time Jack was Co-Head of the US Delegation to the Federation Interrnationale, on appointment by the US National Research Council. Thereafter he was recruited as Librarian, General Motors Research Laboratories, Technical Center, Warren, MI. There he organized the GM committee on Technical Literature Activities at the Engineering Staff facility. He was next recruited to the Corporate Engineering Staff, International Business Machines, Armonk, NY as Director of Libraries and Information Retrieval. For several summers he had served as a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Michigan and the University of Illinois. Consequently he was recruited by the late Dean and Professor Stanley McElderry to the position of Professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Science at UT where he served from 1970 to 1985 when he was recognized as Professor Emeritus. In addition to the award of the honorary degree of DHL by Purdue University in 1994, he was recognized at the 150th anniversary of the University in 2000 as one of four former students in the Library’s history to become heads of major libraries. Finally, he was one of fourteen members of the American Institute of Information Sciences named as Pioneers in Information Science in Pittsburgh, PA in 1998. Funeral services will be under the direction of Weed-Corley-Fish where a visitation will be held from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday. The service will be held at All Saints Episcopal Church at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday with the Rector presiding. Interment will be at Austin Memorial Park. Pallbearers will include Jack’s nephew, James M. Madison, Morgantown, WV. Memorials in lieu of flowers may be made to the Student Loan Fund, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Texas at Austin, TX 78712-1276. Arrangements by Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 3125 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin, Texas 78705 (512) 452-8811. You may view memorials at www.wcfish.com