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Seymour Lubetzky papers, 1938-2003
1544  
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Description
Seymour Lubetzky (1898-2003) was a professor in the UCLA School of Library Service (1960-69) and a descriptive cataloging theorist. The collection consists of subject and correspondence files, lecture notes, and audio tapes from the 1930s through the 2000s related to Lubetzky's work in cataloging and classification in the Library Information Science discipline.
Background
Seymour Lubetzky was born in a small village, in what is now known as Belarus, on April 28th, 1898. It was there that he studied literature and languages and worked as a teacher before immigrating to the United States in 1925. Lubetzky studied languages at UCLA, receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1931. In 1932, the University of California, Berkley awarded Lubetzky a master’s degree in German languages and library science. After graduation, Lubetzky worked as a cataloger at UCLA and began regularly publishing articles on cataloging principles. In 1943, Lubetzky was hired at the Library of Congress to help process a backlog of books needing to be cataloged. His questioning of the existing cataloging system led to his publication of several articles including Rules for Descriptive Cataloging and Cataloging Rules and Principles. Principles from these articles carried into standards for the field and are still used in libraries across the world today, including the Library of Congress. Lubetzky worked as a professor in the UCLA School of Library Science from 1960-1969, but continued to be active in the field long after his retirement. His works earned him honors from the American Library Association including the Melvil Dewey Medal in 1977 and an honorary lifetime membership in 2002. Seymour Lubetzky was 104 when he died on April 5th, 2003.
Extent
11.2 linear ft. (8 record cartons and 8 document boxes)
Restrictions
Property rights to the physical object belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where UCLA Library Special Collections does not hold the copyright.
Availability
Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library Special Collections for paging information.