Saying Goodbye to the President Emeritus

This past weekend we said goodbye to a dear friend and colleague. Marcus A. McCorison – librarian, director, president, and then president emeritus of the American Antiquarian Society – passed away on Sunday, February 3. He will be sorely missed. Although a more detailed homage to Mr. McCorison’s contributions to the Society will be published in our upcoming issue of the Almanac, a full obituary and details about memorial services and donations to his book fund at AAS in honor of his life’s work are now available on our website at: http://www.americanantiquarian.org/mccorison.htm.

As current president Ellen Dunlap remarked upon presenting Mr. McCorison with the Society’s highest honor – the Christopher Columbus Baldwin Award – in 2010, “When I think of the great distance this institution has traveled over the course of these 50 years, I am reminded that it was Marcus who was the trailblazer. Along the way, he has imparted to us a great sense of responsibility and stewardship, not just for the collections, but also for the sterling reputation of the Society as a model of all that a great research library should be. By his example, he has challenged us to make no small plans, to maintain standards of excellence, and to be entrepreneurial, even ambitious, in the pursuit of our unique bibliographical agenda – building and preserving a great collection and making it truly accessible.” Here’s to Mr. McCorison and his legacy that will continue to live on as AAS enters its third century.