Dan Seldin and his successor Lou Malcomb probably were the only map
librarians who operated a map collection out of the former deep end of a
swimming pool.

IU's Ladies’ Bathhouse was a pool with a storied history:  Mark Spitz had
trained in that pool before he went to the Munich Olympics in 1972.

The space was custom-redesigned to move in the map collection. The interior
designers won an architecture prize for their work.

My spouse Chrystyna once teased Dan that he should have asked for a hybrid
job, half lifeguard and half map librarian. I remember that moment vividly:
Dan had a big smile on his face when he said “An offer like that was never
on the table.”

We are in agreement, Paige. I will always remember Dan’s kindness.

--Heiko



On Wed, Jul 1, 2020 at 3:20 PM Andrew, Paige G. <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Heiko,
>
> WOW, thank you so much for sharing such wonderfully detailed information
> about Dan the person, his positions, his accomplishments and his passions.
> Much of what you shared I already knew but enough new details to really
> help me round out the Dan Seldin that I knew even more. I especially
> appreciate the dates, etc. you provided regarding the map collection, its
> changes in ownership and location (I vividly remember Dan telling me about
> the former bathhouse -- he wasn't too sure it was going to work well but it
> did, and then to have to move the collection all over again later when it
> merged with Gov Docs).
>
> No surprise that Dan did what he did in terms of hiring practices, HR be
> damned! But it was the right thing to do so that the collections were
> managed well by all and also provided opportunities for those who likely
> would not have gotten them. Another example of Dan being a "good guy" which
> he truly was, and I am certain that even with part of Friday's being off
> limits so he could communicate with his long-time friend and colleague Paul
> Stout (who accompanied Dan at most, if not all, of the LC G&M Summer
> Projects, both were present when I participated in 1996) he was a fantastic
> boss/supervisor to all.
>
> I thank Dan for the advice he gave you regarding my book, and I thank you
> for the compliment! I am sure Dan likely also had you look into Mary
> Larsgaard's still-unique book *Map Librarianship: An Introduction*
> because of the chapters on cataloging and classification. I hope we served
> you well!
>
> Fun to learn about Frida too. Thank you again for sharing your memories
> about a treasured and storied colleague!
>
> Paige
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Maps-L: Map Librarians, etc. <[log in to unmask]> on behalf
> of Heiko Muhr <[log in to unmask]>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, June 30, 2020 7:21 PM
> *To:* [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
> *Subject:* Re: News regarding Dan Seldin
>
> Thanks Ronda! Thanks Paige!
>
> Dan Seldin hired me in the fall of 1990 to work in the map collection of
> Indiana University’s Geography and Map Library when I was a graduate
> student in Bloomington, Indiana. He administered a geography test to all
> job applicants and this drew the ire of the Human Resources Department of
> the IU Libraries. The administrative brass wanted Dan to employ only work
> study students or MLS interns. But Dan persisted in his hiring practices
> and that opened the door for a number of international students who were
> looking for a second job to supplement the income from positions as graders
> or associate instructors. It was an interesting place to work.I learned a
> lot working there.
>
> Dan was a bit of a micro manager until he was convinced that the students
> understood the classification schemes used in the map collection, both the
> G-schedule of the Library of Congress classification system and an
> alphanumeric system, a variation of the AGS system, originally created by
> staff working in the library of the American Geographical Society.  But
> once Dan trusted the students then they would have a library key, the run
> of the place, flexible work hours, and work on their own projects. Dan was
> a great boss. His father had been a National Labor Relations Board
> negotiator. And Dan followed in his footsteps, he was an unrepentant New
> Deal Democrat.
>
> Every Friday morning Dan would close his office door and he would be on
> the phone with his friend Paul Stout, map librarian at Ball State
> University in Muncie, Indiana. Those who knocked on that door during the
> phone call did so at their own peril. They took their lives in their hands.
>
> In 1991 Dan supervised the move of the Geography and Map Library into the
> Student Building, into a space that had originally been designed as the
> Lady’s Bathhouse. My spouse Chrystyna still had a swimming class there in
> 1989. And she was amazed when she saw the space after its conversion into
> the map library. It had a huge Palladian window and when I worked the
> circulation desk I would feel the warmth of the sun gradually rising on my
> back. It was a beautiful library.
>
> Dan was a great collector and used seven summers working at the Library of
> Congress to add depth to IU’s collection which had started out as a
> departmental library. In 1997 he transitioned into a map cataloger
> position. He would still visit the library occasionally when I started
> there as branch coordinator in 2002.
>
> In 2009 the IU Libraries decided to shut down the Geography and Map
> Library and move the collections into the Big House. The maps are today
> housed on the second floor of the Wells Library together with the
> Government Publications reference collection, which works well. Lou
> Malcomb, Dan’s successor as Geography Librarian, was also the head of the
> Government Publications Department. She took good care of the maps, held
> everything together when the collections were moved.  Dan retired at that
> time and I transitioned into his job as map cataloger. Dan’s advice was to
> start by reading and working through Paige Andrew’s “How to Catalog Sheet
> Maps: The Basics.” And that was sound advice.
>
> Dan would still stop by occasionally. When he decided to stop driving we
> bought Frida, his green 1994 Honda, named after Frida Kahlo, which served
> us well. Dan loved railroads and always related stories about his most
> recent railroad trips. He had an interest in transportation geography and
> was a railroad history buff.  I remember a trip to Monticello, Indiana
> where the Monon Railroad Historical‐Technical Society had its annual
> meeting. I walked his baggage into the hotel and there was a crowd of
> people there who were glad to see him. Dan was a walking encyclopedia of
> Indiana railroad history. We drove up to Chicago for the weekend and picked
> him up on our way back. Dan grew up in Shaker Heights, one of Cleveland’s
> streetcar suburbs. Chrystyna, my spouse, grew up in Cleveland, so the two
> of them chatted non-stop about Cleveland landmarks and Cleveland history.
>
> --Heiko
>
> Heiko Mühr
>
> Map Metadata and Curatorial Specialist
>
> Earth Sciences & Map Library
> 50 McCone Hall
> University of California
> Berkeley, CA 94720-6000
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
> he/his/him
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jun 30, 2020 at 1:33 PM Andrew, Paige G. <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> I have already shared the sad news with MAGIRT members but wanted those of
> you who knew Dan Seldin, long time map librarian and map cataloger at
> Indiana University, to also learn of Dan's passing recently. I received
> this information from the current (and new) maps cataloger at Indiana,
> Ronda Sewald initially and waited to find out if a biography written about
> Dan at the time of his retirement could be shared publicly. You will see by
> Ronda's note below that it is and so I am sharing it with anyone
> interested. Also, an obituary notice is in the local Bloomington newspaper
> but everything but a brief summary is behind a paywall. The notice reads:
>
> Newspaper June 23, 2020 | Herald-Times (Bloomington, IN)
> Author: Staff Writer | Section: Obituaries
> 23 Words
>
> <https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapp-eu-readspeaker-com.proxyiub.uits.iu.edu%2Fcgi-bin%2Frsent%3Fcustomerid%3D10859%26voice%3DJames%26lang%3Den_us%26readclass%3Dread&data=02%7C01%7Cpga2%40PSU.EDU%7Cd84757d00e004507014808d81dbd7120%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C637292046775360608&sdata=Gna75C%2B085tTub7Qp2bQ0fFOvBkw2IAPgUTTkBjT6W8%3D&reserved=0>
>
>
> Daniel Thomas Seldin, 75
>
> BLOOMINGTON — Daniel Thomas Seldin, 75, of Bloomington, died Saturday.
> Arrangements are pending at Allen Funeral Home.
>
> Apparently a full obituary will be forthcoming.
>
> I hope I do not have to share news such as this about colleagues for a
> long time to come, but it makes me realize just how long I have been in the
> map librarianship field. Just like a family, you welcome new members into
> the fold, you watch your colleagues grow and change, and then sadly we see
> them leave us too. Here is Dan's biography (written in 2009):
>
> Hi everyone,
>
>
> I just wanted to follow up that Dan's biography is openly available online
> through IU's Emeriti House as part of its 2009 Retired Faculty Biographies:
>
> https://institutionalmemory.iu.edu/aim/handle/10333/6339
> <https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Finstitutionalmemory.iu.edu%2Faim%2Fhandle%2F10333%2F6339&data=02%7C01%7Cpga2%40PSU.EDU%7Cd84757d00e004507014808d81dbd7120%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C637292046775360608&sdata=qCUPR7RGEdGi56Httq8cMHRA5iVFmwNUM%2B0k5aepprI%3D&reserved=0>
> .
>
>
> I've also realized my mental calendar was off and that the date of Dan's
> passing would have been Saturday, June 20th.
>
>
> My thanks to you all for your warm welcome to MAGIRT. I look forward to
> participating in the future and am sorry to start things off on such a sad
> note. My deepest condolences to those of you who knew Dan.
>
>
> Best,
>
> Ronda
>
>