THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 21, 1995 TAG: 9507190220
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHYLLIS SPEIDELL, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COURTLAND LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
William Ambrose Brown III, by his own description, is ``heart and soul a librarian.''
Better known to the world simply as Bill Brown, the 52-year-old Portsmouth native became director of the Walter Cecil Rawls Library on July 1.
A slender, scholarly looking man, Brown has a sparkle in his eyes and a warm sense of humor that won him many friends in his 23 years with the Portsmouth library system. When a 1994 reduction in force cost Brown his job as assistant director of libraries, he became curator of art with the city's museums. Brown's heart, however, was still in the library.
When he realized the former director of the Rawls library, Bruce Bumbalough, had resigned last December, Brown applied for the opening immediately.
``I learned in June that I had been accepted and it is absolutely wonderful,'' Brown said.
After a lifetime in Portsmouth, Brown found that his transition to Courtland was eased by the hospitality of the folks there. By coincidence, he is now living next door to a long-lost high school chum, Jimmy Browder, now rector of the local Episcopal church but four decades ago, Brown's best friend in Portsmouth.
Brown is living in temporary quarters in Courtland while he and his wife, Rene, build a house there. Their 15-year-old daughter, Hazel, will attend Southampton Academy in the fall.
Not only does Brown bring years of library administrative experience to the Rawls, he also brings an intense interest in local history.
Years ago when Brown was finishing a master's degree in history at the University of Virginia, his career goal was to become a history teacher on either a secondary or college level. But that was 1969, right at the end of the Vietnam War, and teaching jobs were scarce. He accepted a job at the reference desk of the Portsmouth library, enjoyed the work and soon went back to school at the University of North Carolina to earn his master's in library science.
A specialist in medieval history with a strong background in local Tidewater history, Brown is one of the area's most active amateur historians. He has played an instrumental role in the development of Portsmouth's Lantern Tours, historic walking tours of the city led by costumed guides. Brown is also a member of the 9th Virginia Volunteer Infantry, a Civil War re-enactment group, and hopes to join the local chapter of Sons of Confederate Veterans soon.
And someday he hopes to complete the manuscript for his history of Portsmouth during the Revolutionary War, a project that has been ongoing for several years.
For now his biggest challenge ``is to make the library and its materials accessible to as many people as possible,'' Brown said. While Portsmouth encompassed only a little over 30 square miles, the Walter Cecil Rawls library serves a four-county area.
Founded in 1958, the Rawls serves Southampton, Sussex, Surry and Isle of Wight counties as well as the city of Franklin. With its headquarters in Courtland, the library has eight branches and two bookmobiles.
As overseer of the entire system, Brown has found one of the most appealing parts of his job is the ample opportunity to travel throughout the area and meet with staff, patrons and supporters.
``This is a tremendous territory, so I really don't know from day to day just where I am going to be,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Bill Brown, a specialist in medieval history with a strong
background in Tidewater history, is one of the area's most active
amateur historians.
by CNB