Interview with Joseph F. Boykin, October 22, 2016

Interview Summary

Joseph F. Boykin was the Dean of Libraries at Clemson University from 1982 to 2006. In this interview he talks about his brief career as a teacher before he learned about the field of library science. He talks about the job opportunities available when he graduated, and his choice to work at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He talks about the temporary Head Librarian at the university, and talks about being promoted to the position himself in 1968.

Boykin talks about why he chose to leave UNC at Charlotte to become the Library Director at Clemson University. He talks about the challenges and opportunities waiting for him at Clemson, including the automation of the circulation system and card catalog. He talks about some of the positive and negative reactions to this automation. He talks about the technology classes he attended while in library science school. He talks about how library card catalogs were copied before the advent of photocopiers and how this technology revolutionized the process.

Boykin talks about the early days of SOLINET and their relationship with OCLC. He talks about the organizational structure of OCLC, including the Board of Trustees and the Users Council. He talks about being elected chairman of the Users Council in 1977, and how they were treated by OCLC. He talks about his early involvement with ASERL, and his role in the organization. He talks about their early meetings, and his idea to discuss topics and issues in a less structured manner. He talks about the idea of libraries within a region cooperating when creating collections in order to avoid unnecessary overlap, thereby saving money and space.

Interview Keyword

University of North Carolina at Charlotte Clemson University Southeastern Library Network, Inc. (SOLINET, now part of LYRASIS) Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries (PASCAL) Association of Southeastern Research Libraries (ASERL) Online Computer Library Center, Inc. (OCLC)

Interview LC Subject

Library science Technological innovations Academic librarians Academic libraries Library finance Consortia Library cooperation Library resources

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.