[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 84 (Thursday, June 13, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S4474]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO HOWARD BOKSENBAUM

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I pay tribute to an exceptional 
library advocate and public servant in Rhode Island, Howard Boksenbaum, 
who is retiring from his position as the State's chief library officer 
after a long and distinguished career.
  Howard graduated with a linguistics degree from Washington University 
in St. Louis and Waseda University in Tokyo, earned a master's degree 
in library and information science from the University of Pittsburgh, 
and started his career working at various library positions in 
Pennsylvania before moving to Rhode Island.
  His service to Rhode Island libraries began nearly 34 years ago at 
the Island Interrelated Library System, which, at the time, was one of 
five regional library systems in the State. In 1988, he joined the 
State's Department of State Library Services, which later became the 
Office of Library and Information Services, OLIS. After serving in 
various capacities within these agencies, and as assistant director for 
Central Information Management Services at the Rhode Island Division of 
Information Technology, Howard became the state's chief library officer 
in 2007.
  During his more than three decades working for Rhode Island libraries 
and the State's library agency, Howard helped improve Rhode Island's 
libraries in many important ways. His focus on and passion for 
technology brought our State's libraries further into the digital age. 
He worked to consolidate Rhode Island's regional library networks into 
a single statewide system and created Ocean State Free-Net, a public 
access computer network. He also played a major role in other statewide 
technology initiatives, including working on the state's website launch 
and helping to establish the statewide public safety communication 
network, RISCON. Howard was also part of the Rhode Island Library 
Association and the Coalition for Library Advocates.
  His view of the importance of libraries to our citizens, to our 
communities, and to our Nation can be found in a quote of his soon 
after he became chief library officer:

       A library is bigger than the web because it includes it, 
     bigger than its users because they grow there. Unlike a 
     school, a library is elective, unlike a store, a library 
     belongs to its users, unlike the World Wide Web, a library is 
     people, is history, is culture, is connection. A library is 
     the past and the present and will be changing again to be the 
     future.

  Rhode Islanders have been fortunate to have Howard devote more than 
three decades of service to the state and its libraries, and especially 
for the past 6 years he served as chief library officer. I have also 
had the benefit of his knowledge and insights about libraries, and 
worked with him on legislative initiatives to enhance federal support 
for libraries.
  I would also like to recognize Howard's wife Judith Stokes and his 
three daughters Anna, Martha, and Emily. I join many others in the 
State in thanking Howard for his dedication and service to our State's 
libraries, and I ask my colleagues to join us in commending Howard 
Boksenbaum on his long and accomplished career. I wish him fulfillment 
and continued success in his future endeavors.

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