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In Memoriam: Dan C. Hazen

Dan was a leader in SALALM...

Dan was a leader in SALALM and worked tirelessly in many of our activities, but he chose library cooperation as his particular focus. He was a member of the original Committee on National Level Cooperation, prepared the Latin American Conspectus, and helped lay the groundwork for what became the Latin American Research Resources Project. His interest in collaboration extended beyond national boundaries: he administered the Lampadia Foundation's efforts in support of Latin American research institutions. Dan also labored mightily with the Program for Latin American Libraries and Archives (PLALA) which supported (through a Mellon grant) many Latin American institutions dedicated to preservation and access for cultural heritage materials.

Dan published widely. He spun articles on Peruvian education out of his PhD dissertation, wrote the “SALALM” entry in the World Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science and “HLAS@Fifty,” which recognized that resource's many contributions to scholarship. He served as co-editor of Latin America and the Caribbean: A Critical Guide to Research Sources, an initiative promoted by SALALM and co-edited Building Area Studies Collections. More recently, his publications have studied the implications of digital technology on research collections.

Dan was a vigorous advocate for Latin American collections and collaborations throughout his careers at UC Berkeley, Cornell and Harvard. He served on SALALM's Executive Board and as President in 1984-1985. He hosted SALALM at UC Berkeley, and organized and participated in many of its programs and panels over the years. In 2005 Dan gave up the day-to-day management of Latin American collections to become Harvard's Associate Librarian for Collections. Even as he turned his attention to administration, Dan could never quite wash SALALM out of his hair.

We, therefore, find ourselves deeply indebted to Dan Hazen for his efforts to build and maintain libraries and archival collections both in the United States and in Latin America, his tireless support of collaboration among institutions, his unflagging energy, and the optimism and upbeat attitude he brought to his work. Finally, we value the person he was: a true colleague, and a warm and supportive friend.

A fellowship has been established in his honor, the Dan C. Hazen SALALM Fellowship, to support original scholarly research or professional development pertaining to Latin America, the Caribbean and Iberia.

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