Maurice Bernard Line (21 June 1928 – 21 September 2010) was a leading figure in library and information science in the UK. From 1974 to 1985 he was director general of the British Library Lending Division (now the Document Supply Centre) at

Boston Spa Boston Spa is a Village and civil parish in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Situated south of Wetherby, Boston Spa is on the south bank of the River Wharfe which separates it from Thorp Arch. According to t ...

, and from 1985 to 1988 he was the British Library's director general for science, technology and industry. Maurice Line was born in Bedford and educated at

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English i ...

. He read English at

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

. His first post as a librarian was at the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the sec ...

in 1950. He became librarian of the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

in 1968. In 1971 he was appointed head of the National Central Library, and was involved with the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Briti ...

from its inception, becoming a member of the organising committee when the BL was first planned in 1971 and serving as a member of its board from 1974 until his retirement in 1988. Line also received an Honorary Doctorate from

Heriot-Watt University Heriot-Watt University ( gd, Oilthigh Heriot-Watt) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and subsequently granted uni ...

in 1980

Works

*''A Bibliography of Russian Literature in English Translation to 1900 (excluding periodicals) (1963) *''Library Surveys'' (1967) *''Universal Availability of Publications'' (1983) *''Line on Interlending'' (1988) *''A Little off Line'' (1988) *''Academic Library Management'' (1990)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Line, Maurice 1928 births 2010 deaths English librarians People educated at Bedford School Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford