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Margaret Taylor Lane, 1981 recipient of the James Bennett Childs Award for distinguished contribution to documents librarianship, is a pioneer in the establishment and administration of state documents depository systems. Her book State Publications and Depository Libraries, published by Greenwood Press last month is a comprehensive handbook and guide to the establishment and efficient operation of these institutions. A charter member of GODORT, Margaret serves as Coordinator of the State and Local Documents Task Force, in which she has been instrumental in compiling the Documents on Documents collection, a reference resource of current information from the fifty states on their depository programs available through interlibrary loan, and State Publications: Depository Distribution and Bibliographic Programs, a survey of forty states' depository programs.

Recognized in Louisiana by the presentation of the Essae M. Culver award for distinguished library service, Margaret began her career as a law librarian at Columbia University Law School after graduation from its Library School. She received her B.A. in government and a J.D. from LSU, where she also served as Law Librarian. She founded the Louisiana state documents depository system, working in the Secretary of State's office, and administered the program for twenty-six years until her retirement in 1975.

As Recorder of Documents, Margaret served ex officio on the Louisiana Library Association Documents Committee, wrote an internal operations manual, and participated in the Library of Congress' cataloging in source project, predecessor of CIP. She compiled and edited Author Headings for Louisiana Official Publications, 1948-1972, continuing the work of Lucy B. Foote.

Margaret has participated in national professional activities throughout her career, representing the American Association of Law Libraries on the Joint Committee to the Union List of Serials, and by serving on the advisory Depository Library Council to the Public Printer. She also served as chairman of the RSD/RTSD Inter-divisional Committee on Public Documents for a three year term. Listed in Who's Who of American Women and Who's Who in Library and Information Services, Margaret holds membership in Kappa Kappa Gamma, Mortar Board, and Phi Delta Delta.

A devoted homemaker as well, Margaret worked part-time to maintain continued involvement in the varied activities of her children, Maggie and Tommy. Horace, her lawyer husband, has understood and encouraged her career throughout their marriage.

An accomplished seamstress, Margaret made her daughter's wedding dress. For relaxation, she makes bargello pillows.

Her avocation is traveling and she has made many extensive trips to Europe as well as around the world with her family. Often she combines the pleasure of traveling with business of documents. One such happy combination resulted in "inspection" of the British Library, a selective depository for Louisiana state documents.

The influence of her father's career is evident in Margaret's work. Professor Archer Taylor was considered to be one of the country's leading authorities on American and European folklore in literature and history. His books included The Literary History of Meistergesang and English Riddles from Oral Tradition.

Margaret has taught government documents in the LSU Graduate School of Library Science and legal bibliography in the LSU Law School and the University of Connecticut Law School. She has published articles in many professional journals including Library Trends and the LLA Bulletin.

Margaret has been generous in responding to requests for advice from new documents librarians and encouraged their participation in professional activities by involving them in committee assignments and research projects for the Task Force. Her tireless and endless enthusiasm and her devotion to the ideal of the right of citizen access to government information are contagious and have been communicated to many other documents librarians. This contagion has spread through her participation in workshops in Alabama and North Carolina, as well as in Louisiana.

-- Grace G. Moore
DttP v. 9, no. 5, p. 176