BLOOMFIELD, B(arry) C(ambray) 1931-2002

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born June 1, 1931, in London, England; died February 26, 2002, in Wye, Kent, England. Librarian and bibliographer. Bloomfield is best known for his meticulous bibliographies of work by authors such as W. H. Auden and Philip Larkin, the latter of whom offered high praise for the quality of Bloomfield's work, the comprehensive scope of his collection, and the speed with he was able to gather obscure information. Much of his librarianship was dedicated to collections from the Asian world, where military service had taken him in the 1950s. Bloomfield worked as a librarian from 1956, spending several years at the London School of Oriental and African Studies and at the India Office Library and Records. It was he who successfully managed the diplomatically sensitive transfer of the India Office Library from the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the British Library, from which he retired in 1990. Bloomfield remained active after retirement; he was selected centenary president of the Bibliographical Society in 1990 and was appointed president of the Association of Independent Libraries in 2000. He was particularly respected for his skill at fund raising and his persistence at promoting the library collections he deemed most valuable.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Independent, March 2, 2002, obituary by Nicolas Barker, p. 6.

Times (London, England), February 26, 2002, p. 37.