Notable Veterinary Medical Librarians
E. Guy COFFEE
- 30 years in veterinary librarianship
- Director, Veterinary Medical Library, Kansas State University, 1970-1985; Information and Documentation Librarian, Kansas State University, 1986-1996
- Director, Veterinary Library, Ross University, St. Kitts, West Indies, 1996-2000
- Charter member, Veterinary Medical Libraries Section/MLA, 1973
- VMLS Chair, 1983-1984; Secretary-Treasurer, 1982-1983
- Editor, VMLS Newsletter, 1974-1985
- Compiler, “Directory of Information Sources,” AVMA Directory, 1987-2001
Major Contributions to Veterinary Librarianship:
E. Guy Coffee has earned recognition for his more than 30 years experience in veterinary librarianship. With his degree in biology from the University of Missouri, Guy’s career began in biological research working in microbiology and chemical testing laboratories from 1957 through 1970. After receiving an MLS from Emporia State University in 1970, he turned his attention to libraries.
From 1970 to 1985, Guy was Director of the Veterinary Medical Library at Kansas State University. During this time, he oversaw planning and moving the library into a new facility in Trotter Hall in 1973. After forming an inter-state consortium with Colorado State University in 1976, Guy received training at NLM and his library became the first veterinary library to have a telecommunications terminal for offering MEDLINE searches. Then, for another 10 years through 1996, Guy specialized in providing Information and documentation services to faculty and students at K-State and established off-campus reference and document delivery services to veterinary practitioners in the state of Kansas and beyond. Guy then headed south and took on the pioneering challenge of continuing to develop the Anne Ross Veterinary Medical Library at the new Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine on the island of St. Kitts in the West Indies from 1997 to 2000. At Kansas State and later at Ross University, Guy had been involved in all aspects of veterinary libraries from administration to collection development, online literature searching, reference services, and outreach and promotion. Even after Guy formally retired, he continued providing document delivery services to practicing veterinarians as a private, fee-based information broker.
A familiar face in the VMLS, Guy was always willing to contribute his experience and actively support veterinary libraries whenever the need arose. Guy was one of six veterinary librarians who met informally at the MLA meeting in San Diego, California in 1972. In addition to being a charter or founding member of the Veterinary Medical Libraries Group the following year in 1973, he served as its secretary-treasurer in 1982-1983 and chair in 1983-1984. He was also the first editor of the section newsletter from 1980 to 1985 and served on the Bylaws Committee (1980-2000), ad hoc Committee to Establish a Basic List of Veterinary Serials (1974-1978), Newsletter Committee (1974-1985), chair of the ad hoc Committee on Veterinary Medical Libraries Survey (1977-1979), and chair of the Public Relations Committee (1985-2000). With K. Suzanne Johnson, Guy compiled and published the first VMLS-sponsored survey of veterinary medical libraries in 1982. In 1987 as a Public Relations Committee function, Guy took over from Marjan Merala to compile the “Directory of Information Sources” section in the AVMA Directory and Resource Manual published annually until 2001. He also served as the Section’s Liaison to the MLA Governmental Relations Committee from 1989 through 1994. In 1992, he contributed a paper at the First International Conference of Animal Health Information Specialists held at the University of Reading (U.K.) titled, “A study of the animal health professional’s use of information broker services.”
Throughout his career, Guy regularly attended national MLA conventions and was involved in activities and committees at the regional Midcontinental Chapter level for many years. Guy held MLA certification and was elected to Phi Zeta, the veterinary honorary society, in 1978.
Selected Publications:
Coffee EG. A study of the animal health professional’s use of information broker services. In: Williams M, Boyd CT, Croft VF, Downs CM, eds. Proceedings of the First International Conference of Animal Health Information Specialists. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press; 1993. p. 93-102.
Coffee EG, Viera A, comp. Directory of information sources. AVMA directory and resource manual. Schaumburg, IL: American Veterinary Medical Association; 1987-2001.
Johnson KS, Coffee EG. Veterinary medical school libraries in the United States and Canada. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1982 Jan;70(1):10-20. [cited 5 Nov. 2009]. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC226661/?tool=pubmed>.
Honors and Awards:
Elected to The Society of Phi Zeta: The Honor Society of Veterinary Medicine, in 1978 by the Kansas State University Chapter.
Other Publications and Resources:
MEDLINE approved for Colorado State University & Kansas State University's Vet. Med. Library. Highlights & News Notes. 1976 Mar;3(1):2.