Wagner, Ralph D. 1951–

(Alonzo Boardman)

PERSONAL: Born February 16, 1951, in New Brunswick, NJ; son of William James (a chemist) and Winifred (a library technician; maiden name, Belk) Wagner; married Susan Abbott (a teacher), February 5, 1983; children: William Abbott, Kevin Jacob. Ethnicity: "English-Canadian." Education: Middlebury College, A.B., 1973; Rutgers University, M.L.S., 1975; University of Illinois, Ph.D., 2000. Politics: "Skeptical independent." Religion: Bahá'seal.

ADDRESSES: Home—40 Taylor Ave., Westfield, MA 01085. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer. U.S. Peace Corps, Washington, DC, volunteer librarian in Kinshasa, Congo, 1976–78; Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, business librarian, 1980–86; Western Illinois University, Macomb, acting library director, 1986–89; Eureka College, Eureka, IL, library director, 1989–91; Westfield State College, Westfield, MA, reference librarian, 1994–2001.

MEMBER: Mormon History Association.

WRITINGS:

A History of the Farmington Plan, Scarecrow Press (Lanham, MD), 2002.

Contributor to periodicals, including American Libraries and Libraries and Culture: Journal of Library History. Some writings appear under the pseudonym Alonzo Boardman.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Research on the sources and linguistics of the Book of Mormon, "by a non-Mormon with no hostility toward Mormonism."

SIDELIGHTS: Ralph D. Wagner told CA: "I believe that scholarly writing should be a pleasure to read, and the greatest compliment I have received from editors and reviewers is that my work is clear, free of jargon, and a good read."