James M. Matarazzo (January 4, 1941 – April 17, 2018) was an American academic and librarian who taught at
Simmons University
Simmons University (previously Simmons College) is a private university in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established in 1899 by clothing manufacturer John Simmons. In 2018, it reorganized its structure and changed its name to a university. Its ...
for almost 50 years. He was a national and global leader in the field of
special libraries
A special library is a library that provides specialized information resources on a particular subject, serves a specialized and limited clientele, and delivers specialized services to that clientele. Special libraries include corporate librari ...
.
Education and academic career
Matarazzo held bachelor's and master's degrees in
Political Science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
from
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
, a master's in
Library Science
Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and ...
from Simmons College (now Simmons University) and a doctorate from the
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
. He first worked as a librarian at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
(1965-1969). From 1969 to 2002, he held a series of combined faculty and leadership positions at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science ("GSLIS") at Simmons College:
instructor
Instructor may refer to:
Education
* Instructor, a teacher of a specialised subject that involves skill:
** Teaching assistant
** Tutor
** Lecturer
** Fellow
** Teaching fellow
*** Teaching associate
*** Graduate student instructor
** Professor
S ...
(1969–1970);
assistant professor
Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada.
Overview
This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and general ...
(1970–1973);
associate professor
Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''.
Overview
In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...
(1974–1980);
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
(1980-2002); associate dean (1974–1994); and dean of GSLIS (1994-2002). Upon retirement as dean, he was made dean and
professor emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
by the faculty. He continued to teach and publish until months before his death.
He was also Vice President and Board Secretary of the H.W. Wilson Foundation in New York. In July 2018, the Board of Directors of the H.W. Wilson Foundation endowed a graduate scholarship in his name tenable at Simmons University. A lifelong resident of
Winthrop, Massachusetts
Winthrop is a town in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 19,316 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Winthrop is an ocean-side suburban community in Greater Boston situated at ...
, he served for many years on the Board of Trustees of the Winthrop Public Library.
Awards and honors
Recognized as a global leader in the field of special libraries, Matarazzo was made a Fellow of the
Special Libraries Association
The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is an international professional association for library and information professionals working in business, government, law, finance, non-profit, and academic organizations and institutions.
History
The S ...
("SLA") in 1988. He served on SLA's Board of Directors and on numerous committees. He was the recipient of the SLA Professional Award (1983 and 1992); SLA Hall of Fame (2015), and the John Cotton Dana Award (2016), its highest honor.
[ Upon his death, SLA renamed a scholarship program in his memory as the "James M. Matarazzo Rising Star Awards" which are bestowed annually to recognize outstanding new SLA members who show exceptional promise of leadership and contribution to the association and profession.
He was elected a member of ]Beta Phi Mu
Beta Phi Mu (also or βφμ) is the international honor society for library & information science and information technology. Founded by a group of librarians and library educators, the society's express purpose is to recognize and encourage "su ...
, the International Library and Information Studies Honor Society, in 1991. He was president of the Association for Library and Information Science Education
Association may refer to:
*Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal
*Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry
*Voluntary associatio ...
(ALISE) in 2000-2001.
He held visiting professorships at Texas Woman's University
Texas Woman's University (TWU) is a public coeducational university in Denton, Texas, with two health science center-focused campuses in Dallas and Houston. While TWU has been fully co-educational since 1994, it is the largest state-supported u ...
, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
, University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
, University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory.
T ...
, and Wayne State University
Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...
. He was also Visiting Scholar at the Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young Global Limited, trade name EY, is a multinational professional services partnership headquartered in London, England. EY is one of the largest professional services networks in the world. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and Pricewaterh ...
Center for Information Technology and Strategy.
Important publications
* ''The Emerald Handbook on Modern Information Management'', with Toby Pearlstein, eds., Bradford: Emerald Publishing, 2018.
* ''Special Libraries: A Survival Guide'', with Toby Pearlstein, Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited, 2013.
* ''Knowledge and Special Libraries'', Series: Resources for the Knowledge-Based Economy, with Suzanne Connolly, 3rd ed., Oxford and New York: Routledge, 2011.
* ''The Value of Corporate Libraries'', with Laurence Prusak, Washington, DC: Special Libraries Association, 1995.
* ''Information for Management: A Handbook'', with Miriam A. Drake, eds., Washington, DC: Special Libraries Association, 1994.
* ''Information Management and Japanese Success'', with Laurence Prusak, Washington, DC: Special Libraries Association, 1992.
* ''Corporate Library Excellence'', Washington, DC: Special Libraries Association, 1990.
* ''President's Task Force on the Value of the Information Professional: Final Report'', ed., Washington, DC: Special Libraries Association, 1987.
* ''Closing the Corporate Library'', Washington, DC: Special Libraries Association, 1981.
* ''The Serials Librarian'', ed., Boston: F.W. Faxon, 1975.
* ''Scientific, Technical and Engineering Societies Publications in Print'', with James M. Kyed, eds., New Providence, NJ: Bowker, 1974–1981.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matarazzo, James M.
1941 births
2018 deaths
American librarians
Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences alumni
University of Pittsburgh alumni
Simmons University
People from Winthrop, Massachusetts
Simmons University alumni