THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE



                                   FACULTY SENATE







                                         Senate Document Number   0688F   



                                         Date of Senate Approval 11/10/88





        Signature of Senate Chair _________________________ 



        Action of Vice Chancellor:



                       Approval ________________________  Date

        ______________



                       Denied   ________________________  Date

        ______________



        Reasons for denial and suggested modifications:

























        - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -



        Statement of Faculty Senate Action:





                        Ainsley Abbott Whitman, 1912 - 1988

                          Late Head Librarian (1962-1977)

                                   Ramsey Library

                     University of North Carolina at Asheville





                                 A Memorial Tribute





        The Faculty Senate of the University of North Carolina at

        Asheville, on behalf of the entire faculty, marks with sadness the

        passing, on September 20, 1988, of Ainsley A. Whitman, founding

        librarian of Ramsey Library.  



        Ainsley A. Whitman, known to his faculty colleagues as Les,

        epitomized the ideal of dedicated service to UNCA during its early

        years.  In 1962, after academic library positions at Willamette 


                                                                     Page 2

        





        University in Oregon (where he was director), Central State College

        (Oklahoma) and Jacksonville University (Florida), he was entrusted

        with the difficult task of fashioning a high quality library at

        Asheville-Biltmore College, having only the improvished rudiments

        of the past and the lofty promises of a more felicitous future with

        which to work.  He built well and he built to last.  



        The record shows that when he took charge of the A-B College

        Library the collection was inferior to that privately held by many

        well-read gentlemen, an adequate staff was yet to be recruited,

        student and faculty use was paltry, the cataloging system was in

        disarray, and the now current library building was not yet off the

        drawing board.  Les gave new life to the library.  



        Upon retirement as Head Librarian and Professor of Bibliography in

        1977, Les left a legacy that is indeed a high tribute to his

        dedication and service.  We honor him, as he would surely want us

        to, by remembering what he left behind in 1977:  a solid,

        well-organized and diverse collection, a dedicated staff committed

        to service, and a well-cared for, attractively furnished facility.

        We remember Les as a warm human being of high personal integrity,

        dedication and loyalty, and a competent professional who demanded

        more of himself than he demanded of others.  Steadfast in his

        belief in the sanctity of academic freedom throughout his

        professional life, it was during the UNCA years tht he exercised

        great courage in its defense as a public spokesman against

        censorship.  



        As a perpetual memorial to Les and his accomplishments, the

        "Whitman Room" will continue to be an honored designation in the

        new Ramsey Library of the 1990's.  


                                                                     Page 3