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 > >