March 20-21, 2003

ITEM 118-2704-R0303   Authorization to Confer The Title of Professor Emeritus of Library upon Professor John Bratton; Montana State University-Billings

WHEREAS, Professor Bratton has completed a distinguished teaching career of forty-five years, including twenty-three years at Montana State University-Billings, formerly Eastern Montana College;

WHEREAS, he has been the mainstay of the Library's progress from a manual, independent, card-catalogue-based operation to a progressive, cooperative, electronic- and technology-based means of access to the Library's books and journals, so Montana State University-Billings Library is now a model for the medium-sized academic library operating as a part of a shared, automated catalogue with integrated processing of monographs, journals, documents, media and electronic resources;

WHEREAS, he oversaw the entire conversion of the library catalogue from its original typed card format to the current digital format, an essential infrastructure for today's access to library resources and for the future digital library;

WHEREAS, he was the key person who ensured that the process of automation was done at the highest possible level of quality, precision, accessibility and accuracy of data;

WHEREAS, he served as the chief catalogue advisor and expert for the first automation efforts in the 1980s, when the Library initiated a consortium of small and medium sized college libraries to share the first automated catalogue.

WHEREAS, he was the expert cataloguer throughout the process of migration in 1998, when the Montana State University-Billings Library joined Montana State University-Bozeman and other libraries in a new shared catalogue with more sophisticated software;

WHEREAS, he has served as a member of numerous campus bodies including the faculty association and other campus committees;

WHEREAS he has served as a technical consultant to groups undertaking library automation projects such as the Billings School District;

AND WHEREAS, Montana State University-Billings wishes to honor Professor Bratton for his outstanding service to education and his discipline;

THEREFORE, the Board of Regents of Higher Education, on the recommendation of the Chancellor of Montana State University-Billings, confers upon Mr. John Bratton the title of Professor of Library Emeritus, with all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities pertaining thereto.