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Bill was my first boss and I am enormously grateful for that. When I was finishing library school at Indiana University in 1974 Betty Jo Irvine recommended that I contact Bill Walker when I told her I was moving to Washington DC. She told me that he had recently revised the N classification for LC. I didn't have the nerve to contact such an important person in the library world, so I just submitted my resume to the government's job pool. What a surprise when i found out that the NCFA/NPG Library -- now the Library for SAAM and NPG at the Smithsonian -- was looking for a reference librarian and that my resume had been sent over by the powers-that-be in the federal government. I was thrilled when Bill hired me! Bill was a wonderful gentleman, a gifted art librarian, and a very generous role model. He was the founding librarian at NCFA/NPG when the building opened in 1964. It was in a magnificent room in the U.S. Patent Office Building. Bill was the perfect choice for the difficult task of serving two museum directors who didn't like each other. He also had a dotted-line reporting role with the central Smithsonian Library, and at the time the Director was prickly. Bill navigated through all those rough waters with grace. Under his direction our Library was the demilitarized zone for the two museums, serving as a comfortable gathering place for browsing, naps in the periodical alcove, and the annual holiday party. At that time alcohol was freely allowed at the holiday party, with staff serving drinks at the circulation desk/bar. We always put in a work order after the party to have the carpet shampooed. Everyone loved Bill. He built a great collection for the curators and historians of the two museums who were launching their new museums with major exhibitions celebrating the American Bicentennial. Bill was a gifted art bibliographer who amassed a great library collection in a very short period of time, while also forging close relationships with the other research collections in the building: the Archives of American Art staff were all our friends, along with the Catalog of American Portraits staff and the Inventory of American Paintings staff. We all were working collaboratively to support a great endeavor, thanks to Bill's ability to engage people and make them comfortable. Bill was a very generous boss. He encouraged me to be involved in ARLIS locally and introduced me to so many people at the Library of Congress and the National Gallery of Art. When the BIG Names in art librarianship -- Wolfgang Freitag, Judy Hoffberg -- came to town he always introduced me.They loved him -- who wouldn't! He was such a nice man and such a great librarian. Bill encouraged me to go to graduate school and allowed me to flex my schedule on days when classes met during work hours. He expanded my reference duties to share collection development responsibilities with him. What a joy! He encouraged me to put my name into the ring for the ARLIS/NA President position when it suddenly became available. Thank goodness for his involvement and support during that rocky transition in the organization. He was truly a rock I could depend on. So many hair-raising stories from that era. The Board at that time got through that period because Bill Walker was gracefully smoothing over feathers and problem-solving. Serene on the surface and always paddling furiously underneath. Bill loved opera, along with another member of the staff and I can remember the two of them discussing particular artists, performances, and recordings. I remember when he started going to Santa Fe to supplement his trips to New York City for opera, and came back with a very handsome turquoise ring. Bill also had a great collection of neckties. One staff member took a cake decorating class and for a staff birthday party she brought in a necktie-shaped cake decorated to look like one of his ties. He was delighted. Bill was a painter but I never heard him talk about his work; he was so modest. I remember the goodbye party that the two museums gave Bill when he left to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We weren't surprised that he would want to be closer to the Metropolitan Opera. I'll never forget the expression on his face as one of the two museum directors waxed on and on about our great librarian, Bill Walker. (I have a photo somewhere that I'll post on my Face Book page.) He was always such a modest person and avoided the limelight, so the party was not easy for him. But he deserved such a big send-off. I owe so much to Bill. He created a work environment that was a model for me in my career. He showed me that kindness and respect and a sense of humor will always make a huge difference. The staff loved him for that and were incredibly loyal to him. Times were certainly different in the library world then, but libraries really haven't changed -- they are places where people can come together. Thank you, Bill! Katharine Martinez Past President 1978 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mail submissions to [log in to unmask] For information about joining ARLIS/NA see: http://www.arlisna.org/membership/join-arlisna Send administrative matters (file requests, subscription requests, etc) to [log in to unmask] ARLIS-L Archives and subscription maintenance: http://lsv.arlisna.org Questions may be addressed to list owner (Judy Dyki) at: [log in to unmask] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~