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Obituary - John Naylor

Originally Published 14 February 2003

CommUnicate regrets to report the death of John Naylor, Social Sciences Subject Librarian, who died unexpectedly on 13 January 2003.

John joined the University in 1970 and was in many ways a traditional subject librarian, with a personal interest in the areas for which he was responsible, and his time was very focused on serving his departments. On a wider professional basis John, together with his Social Science team colleagues, led the recent merger of two separate national organisations (one of which he Chaired) to form ASSIGN, the UK group representing social sciences information workers.

His close friendship with John Bennett (who died in 2002) lasted nearly 30 years, and was of great importance to them both. They shared a love of walking, which took them on numerous expeditions to different parts of the country. One recent conquest was a new long distance footpath, the 63 mile Cateran Trail, and it was easy to get caught up in the enthusiasm "the two Johns" displayed when recounting their experiences on the trip.

In his passing, the University has lost a character as well as a highly experienced and knowledgeable member of staff