September 26, 2005 Source: University of Toronto:
http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/050926-1678.asp In memoriam: Professor Ethel Auster Professor Ethel Auster, a well-respected and well-loved member of the Faculty of Information Studies, died unexpectedly in her sleep of a heart attack July 1. She was 63 years old. Born in Montreal, Auster graduated from Outremont High School in 1959 and attended McGill University in 1959-60. After two years in Cambridge, England, she resumed and completed her undergraduate education at Boston University, going on to Simmons College, also in Boston, where she obtained her master's degree. Her first professional position was as librarian at Brookline High School where she worked for two years. In 1969 she returned to Canada, settling in Toronto, and resumed her career as a research librarian at the Toronto Board of Education and then as librarian at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of U of T. It was at OISE/UT that Auster began her doctoral studies. While she was completing her research and dissertation, she was appointed an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. After a year and a half there she returned to U of T, joining the Faculty of Library Science as an assistant professor. Auster taught at the faculty for 23 years as a highly valued member of the faculty and was considered a key player in the process of transforming the faculty into its current incarnation as the Faculty of Information Studies (FIS). She served as chair of doctoral studies for 15 years, guiding scores of students through the program, providing insight, research direction and practical advice. In addition she served the wider university community in many capacities including serving twice on Governing Council. Over the past two years, she spent countless hours reviewing doctoral student award applications for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The author of three books and co-author of two more as well as author of numerous scholarly articles, Auster dealt with libraries, management and information use in her research, covering such topics as the information-seeking behaviour of managers, the evaluation of online services, information dissemination, the retrenchment and downsizing of large academic libraries and most recently, the training and development needs of librarians. Highly regarded within her profession, Auster was a frequent speaker at conferences including those of the Canadian Library Association and the American Society for Information Science and Technology. This June, Auster received the Canadian Association of College and University Libraries Miles Blackwell Award for Outstanding Academic Librarian in recognition of her significant national and international contribution to academic librarianship and library development. She was also cited for her role as a spokesperson and leader who actively promoted academic libraries and librarianship in Canada and for the considerable mentoring role she played in the careers of academic librarians. "For so many years, Ethel inspired the intellects and reached deep into the hearts of generations of students, faculty, librarians and staff. It is almost incomprehensible that we will not continue to encounter her passions, honesty, bravery and warmth. But her gifts were enduring. We will all remain infused with her spirit," said Professor Brian Cantwell Smith, dean of the faculty. "The loss for FIS and the FIS community is immeasurable."
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