Stephen is retiring

After 37 years at the IOE Stephen Pickles, our Head of Library Services, is retiring on 31st December. At Stephen’s farewell party on Monday the IOE’s Director, Professor Chris Husbands spoke of Stephen’s long service and commitment to developing the IOE library as the largest and most  comprehensive Education library in Europe, the “jewel in the IOE’s crown”. Anne Peters, former IOE Librarian, told amusing anecdotes which demonstrated Stephen’s very practical approach to librarianship and paper management, but she also reflected on the work of former colleagues Douglas Foskett, Larry Stuart-Jones and Michael Humby with whom Stephen worked to build the foundations of this wonderful library.

Stephen thanked everyone for their gifts and best wishes and spoke of the support and strength he had gained from his wife Penny and of the work of another former colleague, Thelma Bristow, who began the strong tradition of user education to which we are still committed.

Although the IOE Library will seem strange to us without Stephen, the staff here will continue to do our very best to develop the library further and to continue its great tradition of service to IOE staff and students and the wider Education community. All the staff here wish Stephen a happy and healthy retirement.

Stephen Pickles with three former IOE Librarians.