Oct. 30, 1998
Contact: Dan Heuchert
(804) 924-7676
		

UNIVERSITY CONFERS ITS HIGHEST HONOR ON KENDON STUBBS, UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY INNOVATOR
	
	Deputy University Librarian Kendon L. Stubbs, who has spent a
33-year career at the University of Virginia helping to shape the
library of tomorrow, today became the 45th recipient of the Thomas
Jefferson Award, the UniversityÕs highest honor.
	Given since 1955, the award honors an individual who exemplifies
in character, work and influence the principles and ideals of the
University's founder.
	ÒThe field of knowledge is the common property of
mankind,Ó Jefferson wrote to Henry Dearborn in 1807, Òand any
discoveries we make in it will be for the benefit of yours and every
other nation, as well as our own.Ó
	StubbsÕ innovation in making the University LibraryÕs vast
resources more accessible to the University community -- and to scholars
worldwide, via the Internet -- makes his recognition particularly
appropriate, as it combines JeffersonÕs fascination with new
inventions with his belief in the dissemination of knowledge as being
essential to a democratic society, wrote University Librarian Karin
Wittenborg in her letter of nomination.
	With a desk, a computer and a staff of one graduate student,
Stubbs launched the Electronic Text Center in the Humanities in 1992.
Its mission was to build and maintain an Internet-accessible collection
of texts and images -- and later sounds and videos -- while also
building a community adept at the creation and use of those materials.
	ÒWhile many other librarians were concentrating on the
electronic delivery of the bibliographic record, Kendon understood that
what users really wanted was content -- that is, text, images, data,
sound, etc.,Ó Wittenborg wrote.
	Today, the E-Text Center at the University of Virginia, which
has spun off five additional digital centers, is recognized as a model
for other research libraries. Its resources are accessed a million times
per month, with some 20 percent of the volume originating from outside
the U.S.
	
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	ÒThe Virginia E-Text Center quickly became and remains the
national standard for such enterprises, and it is KendonÕs vision and
steadiness that have made it so,Ó said James J. OÕDonnell, vice
provost for information services and computing and a professor of
classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
	ÒAmong those who have had the greatest influence on the
research library environment, he stands at the top of the list,Ó said
Kent Hendrickson, associate vice chancellor for information services at
the University of Nebraska.
	StubbsÕ effort in launching the E-Text Center is but one
example of his innovations, which typically occur behind the scenes and
have been largely unheralded. ÒFew at the University are aware of
what he contributes to the educational process at the University,Ó
Wittenborg wrote, Òand how important his influence has been on the
lives of students and faculty.Ó
	The common thread has been service. Stubbs introduced the
Library Express On-grounds (LEO) service, which delivers books and
articles directly to faculty membersÕ offices. He is recognized as an
authority on the use of user surveys to improve library services. He
initiated a change in the libraryÕs exhibition policy, then
co-curated a successful exhibition, ÒThe Most of Special
Collections,Ó which displayed unusual and rarely seen items from the
libraryÕs Special Collections, both in the McGregor Rare Book Reading
Room and on the Internet.
	StubbsÕ experience in launching the E-Text Center later
prompted him to participate in the founding of the UniversityÕs
Institute for the Advancement of Technology in the Humanities, which
encourages faculty members to utilize information technology in research
and teaching. He also supported the proposal for what would become the
Timothy B. and Lisa Nelson Robertson Media Center in support of a Modern
Media Studies program; the center will open in the spring on the third
floor of Clemons library.
	StubbsÕ contributions were instrumental in the
UniversityÕs having received a $450,000 Mellon grant to digitize rare
books in the Clifton Waller Barrett Library in American Literature,
which in turn led to a partnership with a British publisher to market
digital versions and provide revenue to reinvest in future digital
projects. Thanks to StubbsÕ support, U.Va. is also a key player in
IBMÕs Digital Library initiative, for which it recently received $1
million in digitizing services.
	He is also strong in the library fundamentals, having overseen
the growth of the collections of the University Library systemÑ
Alderman Library and nine branches Ñ from 1 million to more than 4.5
million volumes during his tenure.
	Stubbs arrived at the University as a graduate student in the
early 1960s, earning an M.A. in English in 1964. In 1965, as a senior
assistant in the Manuscripts Division, he began a career 

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that would touch virtually every facet of the University Library. He
went on to work in the Reference and Acquisitions divisions as director
of reference services from 1966 to 1976, was promoted to associate
university librarian in 1976, and was acting university librarian during
the search that led to WittenborgÕs hiring in 1993.
	ÒKendon is surely among the library elite,Ó she wrote.
ÒHis vision, leadership and service are unparalleled in research
libraries, and the University has benefitted from a lifetime of service
from this original and multi-talented individual.Ó
	ÒWhile I have been in more famous and richer libraries, I
have never known one that ran better, or that operated with a clearer
understanding of its mission to serve its clients Ñ students and
scholars of all levels and ages,Ó said U.Va. English professor Jerome
McGann. ÒKendon has been the quiet and unseen genius presiding over
these operations.Ó
	Stubbs, 60, is married and has three children. Outside of his
work at the University, he shares yet another interest of Thomas
JeffersonÕs: that of horticulture. He is recognized as an authority
on the cultivation of rhododendrons.
	Stubbs is the first librarian to receive the Jefferson Award
since the late Harry Clemons in 1956. Last year's recipient was Dr. B.
Lewis Barnett Jr., who was recognized for his lifelong practice and
advancement of family medicine at the University.

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	Reporters who were unable to speak with Kendon Stubbs at
Convocation may attempt to call him afterward at his office, (804)
924-0501 or (804) 924 3026, although his availability is uncertain.
University Librarian Karin Wittenborg may be reached at (804) 924-7849
or (804) 924-3026. Television reporters should contact our TV News
Office at (804) 924-7550.






PAST RECIPIENTS
THOMAS JEFFERSON AWARD

	The Thomas Jefferson Award, considered the highest award given
to a member of the University community, consists of a citation and a
cash prize, the income of an endowment established in 1955 by the Robert
Earll McConnell Foundation.


1955: Jesse W. Beams
1956: Harry Clemons
1957: T. Munford Boyd
1958: Colgate W. Darden, Jr.
1959: Ivey F. Lewis
1960: Robert Kent Gooch
1961: Frederick D.G. Ribble
1962: Henry B. Mulholland
1963: Allan T. Gwathmey
1964: Dumas Malone
1965: Edgar F. Shannon, Jr.
1966: Frank L. Hereford, Jr.
1967: Hardy C. Dillard
1968: Gordon C. Whyburn
1969: Oron J. Hale
1970: Thomas H. Hunter
1971: Fredson T. Bowers
1972: Lawrence R. Quarles
1973: B.F.D. Runk
1974: Vincent Shea
1975: W. Dexter Whitehead
1976: William S. Weedon, Charles K. Woltz
1977: Irby B. Cauthen, Jr.
1978: Raymond C. Bice, Jr.
1979: Frederick D. Nichols
1980: Frank W. Finger
1981: Edwin C. Floyd
1982: William H. Muller, Jr.
1983: Henry J. Abraham
1984: Emerson G. Spies
1985: Norman A. Graebner
1986: Daniel J. Meador
1987: E. Mavis Hetherington
1988: Ray C. Hunt, Jr.
1989: Ernest C. Mead, Jr.
1990: Richard F. Edlich
1991: Hugh P. Kelly
1992: Kenneth G. Elzinga
1993: Leonard W. Sandridge
1994: R.K. Ramazani
1995: Linda K. Bunker
1996: Edward W. Hook, Jr.
1997: B. Lewis Barnett, Jr.
1998: Kendon L. Stubbs