First dean of URI library remembered by coworkers

11/09/05 - Former colleagues of George Parks, the first dean of the University of Rhode Island Library, shared memories of his sense of fairness and his warm personality.Parks passed away Oct. 17 in Windham, Maine.

Bill O'Malley, currently the department chair at the university library and one of Parks' good friends, remembered when Parks arrived at URI.

"The first thing he had to do as the director was hand out raises," O'Malley said. "We noticed that none of the men got raises. When we confronted [Parks] about this, he said, 'The men were getting more money than the women.'"

O'Malley said Parks always seemed to find a good balance in his decision making, even when the circumstances demanded a great deal of diplomacy. "He was trying to correct an injustice and keep the men happy. He was always like that," O'Malley said. "I loved him for that. Even though I swore at him."

Parks came to URI in 1969, first as director of the University Library and later as a dean.

O'Malley said that when he first arrived, many of his coworkers had been working at the library for longer than he had been alive. He was young but experienced, the kind of man who made things happen with his sink-or-swim attitude.

Parks brought energy and optimism to his job. "He was very open and personable. Always whistling when he came though the office," O'Malley said, recalling his days around the office with Parks.

Another of Parks' coworkers, library associate professor Mimi Keefe, also has fond memories of Parks' years at URI. "We went from the 'yes sir' boss to the 'let's work together' boss," Keefe said.

"He was a great boss, very supportive," O'Malley said. "He gave me a lot of jobs that I shouldn't have had. If we didn't know how to do something, he would tell us, 'Learn how to do it.'"

Parks practiced that 'figure it out' philosophy daily in his own life. He graduated with an English degree from the University of New Hampshire and went directly into working in libraries, accomplishing and changing many things on the way.

Keefe said Parks called libraries "the liver of the university." He said that it is not the heart of the university because people always notice the heart, they are always aware of it. The liver is a more quiet, inconspicuous organ. It is necessary for survival, but does its work behind the scenes.

He was responsible for the addition to the university library, oversaw the building campaign for a new library at Colgate from 1980 to 1985 and transformed an eight-story warehouse into a library for the University of Southern Maine from 1985 until the early 1990s. Parks retired from Southern Maine in 1997.

"He was really more of a people person than a building person, but he was an expert. He loved it," O'Malley said.

Parks changed the buildings, but also began computerization within the library. "He kind of dragged us into the 20th century," Keefe said. "In the '70s [the library] was more technological than the computer center."

Parks was also instrumental in expanding the library's collection of books. "While George was here we had 40,000 new volumes coming in a year," O'Malley said.

Parks helped with the organization of the new volumes with the old. One of Keefe's favorite memories of Parks occurred over spring break when the library was closed and the staff was sent into the stacks to arrange the books.

He worked alongside the staff the entire time, and also sent out for soda and snacks to keep up the morale.

"George was here when a lot of things were happening at the University," O'Malley said. "During the '70s there were two sets of strikes. The staff went on strike and later, so did the faculty."

Once again, Parks managed the situation with tact. O'Malley said, "He was friendly with everyone and was very sympathetic to the plight of the staff." O'Malley said that while Park's position could have been awkward, holding a powerful position during turbulent times, "He handled things with a good deal of grace. He was a lovely man."

Parks was also an avid nature-lover. "He used to go home and sit out on his patio with a drink and put birdseed in his hand," O'Malley said. "He did that everyday, and after a couple of days, the birds came up to him and ate out of his hands."

A devout Episcopalian, Parks was also very involved with the Episcopal Church in South Kingstown. He had three children with his wife, Carol, also a retired librarian.

When Parks arrived to URI, there was a lot of work to be done. Although very few of Parks' colleagues remain at the URI library, his memory remains in the improvements he made to the library and the people he inspired.