[Information about Locke’s memorial fund has been added at the bottom of this post.]
Locke was Head of Collections, Reference & Research here at Gleeson Library, and his impact has been widely felt, both professionally and personally. The character and service of the Library’s Reference Department as it exists today is largely due to Locke’s thoughtful guidance, and the tireless example he set as a teacher, researcher, and mentor.
Outside of the Library, the USF community who surely most felt Locke’s presence—and consequently will most feel his absence—are the Nursing faculty and thousands of nursing students, past and present, to whom Locke was a devoted teacher.
Locke’s activities were prodigious. He mentored a generation of SJSU library school students with internships at Gleeson; was deeply committed to the library profession, holding positions at the local and national levels; published articles like “Ethical Issues in Collection Development”; responded to email reference questions at all hours of the night. The list goes on.
“Tireless” is a term frequently used to describe Locke, but I think it was instead his devotion that was tireless. Towards the end he was certainly feeling tired and weak; nonetheless, seeing a last teaching opportunity, he held a home session at his bedside for a group of medical students and their teacher to discuss doctor-patient relationships and bedside manner.That is a characteristic example of Locke’s tireless devotion to others.
We invite you to share your thoughts about and experiences with Locke in the comments section below.
Memorial Fund
At Locke’s request, a fund has been established at the University of San Francisco to support Library collections. Checks can be made payable to The University of San Francisco Library, indicating on the memo line, “In Memory of Locke Morrisey.”
Mail to:
Tyrone Cannon
University Library Dean
Gleeson Library | Geschke Center
University of San Francisco
2130 Fulton Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
Locke was a dear friend and colleague. I worked at UCI with him from 1990 – 1992 and in that time and after got to know him well. He would come down from San Francisco and always made a point of stopping in at Santa Barbara for a visit. I will miss our annual baseball trek during ALA and getting together when we could. Locke is very much loved and will be missed. Condolences to Al and Locke’s family.
I knew Locke through the USF Caucus. We could count on him to be ready to help with anything – always positive, always full of ideas. My condolences to Al and the rest of Locke’s family. He will be greatly missed.
I too was on that Diversity Committee on LGBT issues that Locke chaired. He was a tireless worker, bright, easy to be and work with and lots of fun. I treasured my times with him.
I last saw him in SF when we talked there about our Cuba library workers trip.
It was a shock to hear about him and he will be much missed in the library/SF/GLBT community. My condolences to Al and Locke’s mother.
Locke was a great friend, wonderful colleague, a model librarian, an inspiration to me and many others. When he came to UCI in the early 1990s he made a quick, successful transition from corporate libraries to academic. He was a contributor and very quickly became a leader. He and I carpooled, riding to campus and back every day in my ’68 VW bug… both of us over 6′ tall, laughing now about how we probably looked climbing in and out of that little car… amazed that it only broke down once during those years — the throttle cable that ran from the accelerator pedal to the engine broke, and surprisingly the tow truck driver actually had one in his truck! We drove away, in a fixed vehicle, after only 30 minutes… Locke’s good karma, maybe some of mine too! Locke was a great guy. His commitment to his profession, to diversity, to his friends and colleagues was extremely rare. Locke was a real human being, I’ll miss him.
I worked with Locke while I was at USF from 2001-05. He was a great presence–funny, smart and welcoming. As a mentor, he helped me make sense of some of the trickier content of library school (like Chem Abs!) and I’m a better educator today because of him. We recently got re-acquainted, and as he fought his illness, he always maintained that same old sense of humor, giving nature, and that Locke “spark.” It was a privilege to have known him.
Locke was so, so supportive of library assistants. He encouraged us be involved and to apply for scholarships to attend conferences. He always complimented and congratulated us on projects and programs we had helped put together. I feel incredibly lucky to have crossed paths with such a kind and generous person, and a wonderful Librarian.
Locke taught me so much about being a passionate librarian and living life honestly and with great energy. I remember his love of the profession, his partner, and for life and I know every person he met was impacted positively by his endless compassion and kindness.Thanks for all your gifts Locke.
As one of the law librarians here at USF, I didn’t have too many chances to work directly with Locke, but it was great when a reason (or even a slight pretext!) arose. As so many have said, he was a top-notch librarian, but what made it so great to work with him was his good humor and enthusiasm. He was an all-around great man, and I will miss him.
My deepest sympathy to Al and all of Locke’s family.
I met Locke in 2005 while a student at USF and worked with him and other librarians in the Reference Desk and Government Documents until I graduated in 2007. During our shifts together, I observed how calm, patient, and thorough he was with helping students with their research. After graduation, we kept in touch through Facebook—his updates were amusing and always positive. I am shocked and deeply saddened to hear this news. I will miss you and your great sense of humor, Locke. My deepest condolences to his family, friends, and everyone whose lives this wonderful man touched.
Locke was a supremely generous and supportive mentor, and gave unstintingly of his wisdom, experience and advice. I was one of the many SLIS students who had the good fortune to have an internship opportunity at the Gleeson Library with Locke. The example that he and his staff set of warm collegiality and extraordinary service is one that I will never forget. Locke will be profoundly missed.
Locke was simply an inspiration. He was this fabulous blend of passion and not taking himself too seriously. I learned a lot from Locke and will miss him.
He was a great colleague – a great guy… He will be so very missed!
Locke was one of those unique individuals, when you first met him, that made you feel like you had been friends for years. He was great to work with and a real privilege to have known him.
Locke was kindness personified. He was always helpful, thoughtful and kind to me. We laughed together and I learned from him.
Sadly missed.
Locke was my friend, and cherished friends who are lost leave a hole in my heart forever. We had a lovely dinner together at NASIG in Palm Springs. That was the last time I spent so much extended time together. Just the other day, I suggested someone talk to Locke about a library issue; where does one go now?
Still in disbelief when I saw the news today. Locke was an extraordinary librarian, served as a strong mentor to a number of my friends who are now great librarians, and contributed so much to the field. The next CARL conference will definitely have a void. Here’s hoping he and Ilene Rockman are now catching up.
Locke was a wonderful librarian, a gentleman, and the essence of what is meant by colleague. He will be missed.
My last memory of Locke was last week. My wife Penny and I had brought a dear friend of ours over to his apartment to sing to him. What I thought was going to be a night of soft moving music was instead a night of raucous sing-a-long with Stephanie, Penny, Locke, Melanie and I. Locke chose the songs: from ‘Waterloo” to “Sweet Home Alabama” to an acapella rendition of “Stand By Your Man” (we didn’t have the sheet music for that one). I’m surprised the neighbors didn’t complain. When Locke was too tired to sing anymore he asked for “Silent Night.” I had a very hard time getting all the way through that song without crying. I did not know then that that was the last time I would see him, but I will always be grateful to him for giving myself and my wife that wonderful gift of singing with him. You are with the angels now Locke.
I learned a lot from Locke during my practicum at USF. He was a wonderful gentleman and librarian. He will be missed.
Locke was a true professional and dear man. I have many fond memories of Locke from CARL and ACRL… but I will probably always treasure most my memory of our sincere talk we had after the passing of our mutual friend and colleague Ilene Rockman. He was just such a wonderful guy and mentoring person…I am so saddened to hear of his passing. My sincerest condolences go out to his family.
Back in the 90’s at UC Irvine, I was fortunate to have worked with Locke and be inspired by Locke to strive to be the best librarian I could be. Throughout the years I’ve had the occasional opportunity to talk with Locke at various conferences and meetings and was always impressed by his dedication, professionalism and positive influence he had on others around him. On behalf of the Librarians Association of the University of California, I would like to express my deepest condolences to Locke’s family and friends. He will be missed but never forgotten.
Michael Yonezawa
LAUC President, 2010/2011
what a beautiful tribute for such a kind and generous human being.
i met Locke in 2006 and enjoyed chatting with him when he worked at the reference desk in gleeson. he was so smart, welcoming, and encouraging. plus, he was so damn funny.
we both attended UCLA as undergrads and even lived in the same dorm building. although i don’t follow sports as much as Locke did, i always made sure to find him at the library the day after a big UCLA win – not so much because i cared about the outcome of the game but because i loved seeing his big, huge smile.
today i made my way to the reference desk at gleeson and it sure felt empty. we miss you Locke.
I can’t believe that he passed away…he was really helpful all the time and I always saw him helping other students in the Library. USF has lost an amazing Librarian…and his presence will be missed but not forgotten.
This is profoundly sad news. I was fortunate to be one of the many SJSU SLIS students that Locke mentored. He was such a kind and generous person, and I learned so much from observing the professionalism, enthusiasm, and sense of humor he brought to his work. I feel lucky to have known him, and my heart goes out to his family and friends, and to the folks at Gleeson – he will be missed.
Thank you everyone for loving Locke for the wonderful person that he was. I will treasure these comments re: Locke just as I treasure the time that I spent with Locke during the last 12 days of his life.
I knew Locke from the time he was a graduate student at UCLA Library School, where he was already at the vanguard of the profession in doing research on gender and librarianship. Then I was fortunate enough to be a colleague when he worked at UCI Libraries, where his generosity, humor, and professionalism was a model for us all.
After he went to work in the Bay Area, I would bump into him at conferences, and it was clear that life was good. He loved his soulmate and partner Al, he was incredibly happy to live closer to his mother and sister & other family members, and he loved working with his USF colleagues. My condolences to Al, Locke’s family, and his many friends. He touched so many lives, and we will miss him.
I met Locke in 1997 when he welcomed me warmly to the southern UC science librarians group. He always made a point of emailing me as a newbie librarian to check in on how I was doing and he gave much valued feedback on conference presentations I gave. He was a joy to work with and I will miss catching up with him at conferences. My sincerest condolences to Locke’s partner and family.
This has been a wonderful and moving tribute to Locke, and there is a parallel remembrance on his Facebook page. If we follow Emerson’s principle that success consists of knowing that one person’s life was better because you lived, then Locke was a giant success indeed.
To add to the remembrance I’d like to offer my own tribute to Locke posted here: http://mbanks.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/12/remembering-locke-morrisey.html
I’m very sad to learn that Locke has passed away, but glad to read of how he enriched the lives of so many of us. Locke was a dynamic advocate for diversity in the library profession, and I met him several years ago as a participant in the Spectrum program, where he was in charge of the mentoring component. I’ll always remember the day I attended a forum on diversity in information professions at UCLA, the week before I was to start library school. Locke was one of the first people I met, and there was something about his presence that made me feel more comfortable.
I was delighted to be able to keep in touch with him during library school and afterwards, as I took my first full time position and we had in common the worlds of SCELC and electronic resources librarianship.
I’m glad I was able to share with him once how he contributed to the career path I have chosen. While attending the 2007 ACRL in Baltimore thanks to a Spectrum travel grant, I was invited to dinner with Locke and the other grant recipients. The meal was tasty and our conversation was lively. At one point Locke asked me where I saw myself working, if I could attain any kind of job after graduation. “An electronic resources librarian with emphasis in the humanities, at a small academic library” was what came out of my mouth – a surprise to me, as I had never articulated an ideal job so specifically before. Now I realize that understanding had been inside me all along, waiting for the right question to bring it out. It was a simple question he asked that evening, but he meant it sincerely as a mentor, and it made all the difference to me.
I met Locke at UCLA GSLIS as a classmate who soon became a friend and colleague. Certainly, he will be missed, but we all are richer for our having known and appreciated him and his impact on our lives and work.
Locke’s legacy in Gleeson and the USF community will be fondly remembered.
Locke encouraged me to become a librarian soon after we started working together at UC Irvine (I was a student worker in the Reference Dept). We kept in touch after I graduated and moved to San Francisco, sometimes meeting for brunch we visited the city. It took me 15 years to see the wisdom of his advice. Once I entered the MLS program, he continued to offer advice and mentorship, through my graduation and into my first steps at being a BayNet officer. I’ll miss him greatly. My condolences to Al, his family, and my colleagues.
I met Locke in April of this year at a summit in San Francisco, and was immediately struck by his openness, thoughtfulness and sense of fun – all of which is reflected in this post and these comments. I was shocked to see he had passed away. I wish I could have gotten to know him better. Best wishes, Locke – as many have said, you will be missed.
I met Locke in the late 80’s when he came to work with Sarah Scott and me at Hughes Aircraft. The three of us explored all manner of subjects and filled the days with much laughter. Now, both of them are dearly missed leaving those days even more treasured. Until we meet again friends…
What beautiful tributes to Locke and what great stories of his life as a librarian, mentor and friend. I love his picture as the “sheriff” because he always spoke up for the rights of the under-served and the under-represented. When I saw him angry, it was never personal but directed toward an injustice or unfairness that needed righting. Locke was a physically big man and that always surprised me because he also had a lightness about him – smiling, laughing, joking, and simply enjoying life. I’ll miss him on many levels. He set the bar high for all of us.
I always enjoyed working with Locke, whether writing a grant proposal together and watching his brilliant mind at work, or chatting in the library. He will be greatly missed by many. So very sad.
Locke was a wonderful colleague. He was always a great resource and help for my Sport Management graduate students over the years. I will always remember him for his kind and gentle nature and will miss him very much.
Locke was one of the first people I met, when I joined ASEE. His friendliness went a long way to helping a “newbie” feel at home and a part of the engineering libraries community. I always appreciated that and will miss him.
What a loss. I am deeply saddened to hear of Locke’s passing. He was an amazing and patient resource for hundreds of Biology majors. He was a wonderful and giving person and I’ll miss him.
As a faculty member at USF, I have been lucky enough to have Locke guide me and my students around Gleeson. He was so kind and thoughtful, and I am so sad to hear of his death.
Locke was an amazing librarian, a great colleague, and a huge sweetheart. I will always remember his wisdom, patience and compassion. He will be missed tremendously here at Gleeson Library, but I firmly believe his spirit will live on with all of us. How could it not?
I’m so sorry to hear about Locke. Unfortunately, I only met him once, but I have him to thank for the wonderful internship opportunity I had at Gleeson Library. My thoughts are with him, his family and his colleagues.
Locke has been an amazing friend, colleague, and conference roommate. It has been so long that I don’t know when we first met, but likely at an SLA meeting somewhere or other.
His energy, sense of humor, passion for and in the profession, and wise view on so many things will be sorely missed.
Locke’s visit to Los Angeles not that long ago to speak at UCLA was wonderful and I think the last time I was able to see him. I will cherish that and so many other memories. Rest now my dear friend.
Locke was my supervisor at USF for over eleven years. Locke meant so much to me. He knew a ton about almost every issue in academic librarianship, but he really shined as a leader, teacher, and researcher. He was incredibly generous with his knowledge. I asked lots of questions when I started, fresh out of library school, but even years later, whenever I needed advice or assistance, Locke was always willing to help.
Locke was an exemplary instructor and extremely dedicated to teaching. While he was on medical leave this last August, he even shared his innovative ideas for my Foreword class for incoming freshmen.
Locke was the type of supervisor people dream of having. He valued and trusted his staff. He provided strong leadership and on top of that did all the work that staff reference librarians did.
Above all, Locke had a big heart and was always quick to acknowledge the contributions of others. As I look around my office, I see thoughtful souvenirs from his travels, which he would present as a token of his gratitude for my serving as acting department head in his absence. I have a vase from the Southwest, a sweatshirt from Newport Beach, and a beautiful print from Hawaii (he loved Hawaii and always had the best Aloha shirts!) He was loved by all at the library. Our department has not felt the same since he went on medical leave this summer. I have long admired Locke, and he continues to inspire me even though he is no longer with us in this world. We miss him dearly.
I remember Locke very fondly. He was helpful and gracious to me when I would do various literature searches dealing with East Asia. He showed me great patience and respect, and I always knew I could count on him to get the best sources possible. I never got to know him on a more personal level, as so many of the previous posters have shown. But it doesn’t surprise me that Locke had an incredible influence on his friends and colleagues and entire community. He will truly be missed.
How many people do you come across your life who affected that many lives? He was the first person interviewed me and because of him I’m sitting here at my desk and type in words dedicated to him.
I’m sure he is in peace now, as much as he was at work and during his hard times. Many people just talk about peace but he WAS Peace and he always will be. This is the energy I’ve felt whenever I saw him and it still exists in Gleeson.
Terribly saddened to hear of Locke’s passing. What a dedicated and intelligent individual, with a kind and caring heart. His dry/wry sense of humor was only recently revealed to me and was a treat to behold. I’ll miss him. Sending my deepest condolences to his family and colleagues at USF and elsewhere…
Cheers to the lasting legacy of a most incredible librarian. I will not soon forget where I first got a taste of academic librarianship and learned the art of citation analysis and discovered the science of bibliometrics. May Locke’s influence continue to inspire us all to excel in all that we do.
Such sad news, and the response to it demonstrates how much Locke was loved and valued by colleagues and friends. I have known Locke since he was a student at UCLA. As a Library student employee, he was already a “professional.” He was a kind and generous friend. I miss him now.
I served with Locke on the ACRL Board. He was energetic, conscientious, intelligent and a joy to be around. I can only imagine how those who worked with him on a day-to-day basis are mourning this great loss.