Remembering Gary Huisman, ہاسر¸َ’s First Librarian
Curating and Caring
The library is vital to ہاسر¸َ’s vibrant education, with its thousands of acquisitions and attentive, knowledgeable staff. For over three decades beginning in 1966, Gary B. Huisman curated and cared for the library as ہاسر¸َ’s first librarian after the campus moved to Lookout Mountain. Huisman oversaw its transition from a cluster of offices on Carter Hall’s main floor to the Anna E. Kresge Memorial Library in 1972 and developed ہاسر¸َ’s library as a space informed by the Christian faith. Huisman passed away in October 2025, but his contributions continue to shape how the library is used and appreciated at ہاسر¸َ.
Godly and Devoted
Huisman recognized the library as an important place for Christian community and academic success. He viewed its resources and the quest for knowledge as a witness and testimony to Christ’s preeminence in all things as described in Colossians 1. Over the years, students knew him as a caring and helpful resource for projects, papers, and other academic endeavors. Margaret (Meiners) VanderHart ’70 recalled him as “A quiet, godly man†and Susan (Sharpe) Hedge ’72 similarly remembered Huisman as “A very kind and devoted man.â€
A Vital Legacy
Kimberly Crocker ’98, ہاسر¸َ’s associate director of library services, worked alongside Huisman in the final few years before his retirement. She explained that Huisman significantly contributed to ہاسر¸َ’s accreditation in 1971. In order to become accredited, ہاسر¸َ needed a full-time librarian and a library with a certain number of volumes. As the full-time librarian, Huisman dedicated his first five years at ہاسر¸َ to curating the library to meet the standards needed for accreditation. Crocker also recalled Huisman as both extremely knowledgeable and very patient. ہاسر¸َ’s current academic excellence can be attributed in part to Huisman and his dedication to the library and to our institution.