Diana Woods Seymour, the head of Baker Library's acquisitions department, died Sunday night at the age of 61 due to complications from a week-long illness, co-workers said yesterday.
"Diana Seymour contributed greatly to the well-being of the library for over 30 years," Librarian of the College Margaret Otto said.
The College's flag flew at half-staff yesterday in memory of Seymour, the niece of Thaddeus Seymour '49, a former Dean of the College.
She arrived at the College in September 1955 and began cataloging serials for Dartmouth's Libraries.
Seymour led the team that converted the library card cataloguing format from the Dewey Decimal system to the Library of Congress system.
Seymour became the Acquisitions Librarian in 1976 and held that title until her death. She directed the library's orders of new materials.
During her tenure, the acquisitions department became completely computerized, Administrative Services Librarian John Crane said.
"Diana Seymour was a person long associated with the College," he said. "She knew and was a part of the history of the library."
Crane said one of Seymour's greatest achievements in the last few years was coordinating the Alumni Memorial Book Program, which allows alumni classes to purchase books for the library in the memory of their deceased peers.
"This task enabled Seymour to maintain touch with many of the alumni of the College," Crane said.
Seymour never married and is survived by two nieces, who are making arrangements with the Rand-Wilson Funeral Home in Hanover, John Wilson, director of the funeral home said.
There will be a memorial service later this week following a cremation in St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hanover.
