Christian Boissonnas - a Tribute
I just learned that Christian Boissonnas passed away last week, and I think it is important that we pay tribute to him here on ACQNET. You see, Christian was the founder of ACQNET, back when listserves (distribution lists) were a brand-new thing. Along with SERIALST and AUTOCAT, ACQNET-L was one of the first in the library field.
Christian talked about bringing ACQNET-L to fruition at a Charleston Conference in 1990. It was launched in December of that year. Eric Lease Morgan continues to maintain the entire archive of ACQNET on his site, Mr. Serials -- http://serials.infomotions.com/acqnet/
So, if you are interested in seeing how this list operated back then, you can read Christian's (and others) posts from that time. It was more like a blog back then, and Christian had much to talk about.
I first met Christian in 1982 when I was finishing my MLS and attended an ALA conference in Philadelphia, seeking job interviews. I didn't formally interview at Cornell, but I talked to him at the conference. He encouraged me to apply, but I didn't go through with it. I had visited Ithaca a few years before, found it lovely, but very cold in the winter. Being a southern girl, I was prone to stay south. I ended up in Atlanta for my first professional position. I still wonder how my life might have been different if I had gone to Cornell!
Christian and I's lives intersected again later when I moved to Boone, NC to work at Appalachian State University's library. My then supervisor, Myrna McCallister, saw the potential in the listserve as a communication tool and she encouraged me to get involved. I started out serving on the ACQNET-L editorial board and eventually became the chief editor in May 1994 when Christian stepped down, after a promotion to an Assistant Director position at Cornell. Being the Chief Editor of ACQNET-L had the effect of giving me instant recognition with others in the field of acquisitions, especially in the academic library environment. This was beneficial to eventually securing tenure as a faculty member and helping me with long-term career goals. I am forever grateful to Christian for his mentoring and guidance while working together on ACQNET-L.
Christian's influence on how ACQNET-L would be administered continues to this day. His vision was to make sure that business ethics were honored and that the list would be a safe place to discuss library acquisitions practices without the conflict of commercial interests. ACQNET-L never accepted advertisements or commercial endorsements and does not to this day. This basic tenet of operation is in my mind, one of the best aspects of the list. Over the years there were occasions when this was put to the test, which is why for years there was an editorial board. That isn't in force now as it doesn't seem as necessary but in the early days there were occasional controversies. I recall spending time with the editorial board pondering these issues and am so glad they do not seem to come up much these days.
ACQNET-L went through several home bases over the years. It was first hosted by Cornell, then by Appalachian State, and then by the University of NC at Chapel Hill. More recently it was hosted at the American Library Association under the ALCTS Division. (It was at that point the name was officially changed to ACQNET, without the -L). ALA reorganized some of its divisions last year, and in that process, listserves were no longer supported, so ACQNET moved to CLIR. Steadfastly, Eric Lease Morgan has continued to archive the list posts, as mentioned above and was so helpful in getting everything moved over to CLIR.
Christian was an amazing man, as his obituary describes (see link below). He could be both intimating and gentle. His French sensibilities were always part of his personality. I did not know him as well as some of his colleagues; once he stepped away from ACQNET he didn't focus on its operation. Sometimes I wished he would offer advice but the fact that he allowed me to do my thing was also a sign of respect, which I appreciated.
I am so glad that the current editors of ACQNET, Beth Ashmore and Lynn Whittenberger of NC State University, have kept the list going so well. It continues to be a useful venue for acquisitions enquiries.
There are so many people over the years who have contributed to ACQNET by either serving on the editorial board or as editors. I cannot name them all here, but I do hope if they see this post they will add to this tribute, if they knew Christian.
Thanks to all who make this list a useful place for acquisitions library staff and librarians to find answers to their questions.
Eleanor Cook
Professor Emeritus and Retired Academic Librarian
cooke_at_ecu.edu<mailto:cooke_at_ecu.edu>
Here is the link to the Obit: https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/24559820/christian-m-boissonnas?fbclid=IwAR2zuI5db_mjePGjPeSFN-XAPjDY38z_G-9-SMfGT9-CKIkeg4si19TUv9A
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Received on Sun Apr 17 2022 - 16:09:53 EDT