Professor Wilfred Leonard Saunders (18 April 1920- 27 July 2007) was a British librarian and the founding director of what became the University of Sheffield Information School. Saunders was born on 18 April 1920 in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

and joined Birmingham Reference Library as a library assistant in 1936, influenced by his elder sister who was a librarian. Early in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was a radio operator with the British Expeditionary Force in France, and his diaries from this time were used as a source for the BBC documentary ''

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''. After the war he gained a degree in economics from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, and was deputy librarian at the

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(1948-1949) before returning to Birmingham as the founding librarian at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

's Institute of Education (1949-1956). He moved to the

University of Sheffield The University of Sheffield (informally Sheffield University or TUOS) is a public university, public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. Its history traces back to the foundation of Sheffield Medical School in 1828, Fir ...

in 1956 as deputy librarian. In April 1963 he took up the post of director of the university's new Postgraduate School of Librarianship, the second postgraduate school in the United Kingdom after that at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. The school took its first intake of students in September 1964. He was appointed as professor of librarianship in 1968, and remained at the school until his retirement in 1982. His 1989 ''Towards a unified professional organization for library and information science and services : a personal view'', known as ''The Saunders Report'', proposed that the Library Association and the Institute of Information Scientists should combine: this finally took place in 2002 with the establishment of the

Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP, pronounced ) is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge management, knowledge managers in the United Kingdom. It was established in 20 ...

(CILIP). He served as president of the Library Association in 1980, and was a council member of

Aslib ASLIB: The Association for Information Management (often stylized ''Aslib'') was a British association of special libraries and information centres. It was founded in England in 1924 as the Association of Special Libraries and Information Bureaux. ...

(1965-1971 and 1973-1979) and the first chair of the Library and Information Services Council (1981-1984). A

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in his honour was published in 1989 on the 25th anniversary of the founding of the school. He was appointed

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1982 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1982 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countrie ...

, and was awarded an honorary Litt.D. by the University of Sheffield in 1989. Saunders died on 27 July 2007 and was survived by his wife Joan and their two sons.

Selected publications

*, originally published 1989 by Birmingham Public Libraries, 1989 *''A guide to book lists and bibliographies for the use of school librarians'' (1956) compiled for the School Library Association by W.L. Saunders * * ''"The Saunders Report"''

References

1920 births 2007 deaths British librarians Academics of the University of Sheffield Alumni of Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Commanders of the Order of the British Empire British Army personnel of World War II People educated at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys Royal Corps of Signals officers {{UK-academic-bio-stub