William Arthur Gosling, January 13, 1943 — February 11, 2019

Bill was born in Newport, Rhode Island and grew up in Middletown and Barrington. He received his B.A. from Bates College and his Masters in Library Science from the University of Pittsburgh. He entered the Library of Congress internship program in 1966.

Drafted into the Army, he served for a year in Vietnam where he was commended for Soldier of the Month in May 1968 and later received a Bronze Star for his service. Upon returning to the Library of Congress, Bill worked in the MARC Development Office and ran the Cataloging in Publication Program. In 1976 he moved to Durham, NC where he served as Head of Technical Services at Duke University Library until 1986, when he took the same position at the University of Michigan Library.

In 1997 Bill was asked to be Interim Director of the Library, and in 1998 he was chosen to take on the job permanently. After having heart surgery, in 2005 he decided to step down from the Director position and then began a joyous 3 years as Curator of Children’s Literature in the Special Collections Library, which he had helped grow by donating his extensive pop-up book collection. After retiring, he continued selecting children’s books for the U of M libraries in Ann Arbor and Dearborn.

From an early age, Bill was an avid stamp and coin collector. He also collected decks of playing cards, thousands of which he has donated to the Lilly Library at Indiana University. He loved playing tennis regularly at the Chippewa Club and traveling the world with his wife Jean.

She, along with his sons Will and Jon, their wives Ina and Sandy, and his grandson Carter, will cherish his memory forever. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in remembrance of Bill to the “William A. Gosling Children’s Literature Endowment (Fund #329276)”: victo. rs/2S3tOee Visitation will be Thursday, February 28, 2019, from 6:00-8:00 PM at Nie Funeral Home, 3767 W Liberty Road.

A Memorial Service will be held 2:00 PM, Friday, March 1, 2019, at First Congregational Church of Ann Arbor, 608 E William St. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Mr. William Arthur Gosling please visit our Sympathy Store.

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