Ann Hodge Macomber, AHIP, FMLA, 1926–2010

Abstract

Ann Hodge Macomber, AHIP, FMLA, the retired associate/acting director of the Louisiana State University (LSU) Health Science Center (LSUHSC) Libraries, died on August 1, 2010, at her home in New Orleans, Louisiana. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Ann graduated from Newcomb College of Tulane University in 1947 and began her career as a library associate at LSU's medical campus in New Orleans in 1949. She earned her master of library science degree from Emory University in 1951. After a five-year stint at the library of the Emory University School of Medicine, Ann returned to New Orleans and resumed her career at LSUHSC as its acquisitions librarian. In addition to her role in collection development, Ann also served as the library's associate director from 1976 to 1987 and as its acting director from June 1985 to July 1986. She retired from the library in 1987 and was honored at that time with the title of emeritus professor of medical bibliography. Colleagues remember that Ann's knowledge and decision-making skills were instrumental in the development of the library's monograph and serial collections. While maintaining a firm commitment to the traditional roles of librarianship, Ann also helped guide the library through its early progression into the world of automation. She once said, “It's wonderful to have mechanical devices to transmit information, but in my day chips meant wood, and hardware meant hammers and nails.” In her final years with LSU, Ann was a key force in planning the library's design and relocation to the resource center. Much of what the library is today is based on the foundations laid by Ann Macomber [1]. Ann's dedication to the library profession is evidenced by her very active participation in the Medical Library Association (MLA), at both the national and the regional levels. She was a leader in the Southern Regional Group. While opposing the split of the Southern Regional Group into what would become the South Central Chapter and the Southern Chapter in 1973, Ann continued to maintain close ties with both chapters. In a 1993 interview about the history of the Southern Chapter, she recollected the formality of the regional meetings when “all the ladies wore gloves and some wore hats” [2]. Her advice to new medical librarian colleagues was to take time out from all the meetings, continuing education courses, and committee work to “have social intercourse with your colleagues and peers [and to] share thoughts about what's going on in your libraries. That's how you grow” [3]. In 1989, Ann was named a Fellow of MLA. Though she highly valued her professional memberships, Ann firmly believed that the key to personal and professional growth was found in the “one-on-one” sharing of ideas between colleagues. She maintained and promoted this philosophy throughout her professional career. At the time of her death, a colleague from Charleston, South Carolina, noted that “a long time ago, Ann was most kind and thoughtful when I was just starting my professional life. It made a huge difference in my ability to get involved and make an impact. She was a model of not only what to do—but how to do it right” [4]. Ann also devoted much of her private life to civic affairs. She served on the board of directors for various organizations and was interested in the work of the Poydras Home, a nonprofit retirement community providing services for the elderly of New Orleans. She was president of the Poydras Home Auxiliary from 1997 through 2000. She also held memberships in the Orleans Club, the Phi Mu sorority, the Plimsoll Club, and the Fine Arts Club. She endowed a fund at her undergraduate alma mater for the printing of Under the Oaks, a publication for Newcomb College alumnae. In her spare time, Ann was an avid reader and crossword puzzle enthusiast. Ann was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Macomber Jr., a marine paleontologist with the Shell Oil Company. She is survived by a sister, two stepchildren, nieces and nephews, and many colleagues and friends.