===== In Memoriam ===== ====== Ulf Göranson ====== ** 9 September 1947 - 20 July 2025 ** {{ :about:organisation:2011.11rom_007.jpg?450 |}} //En gång ska du vara\\ en av dem som levat för längesen.\\ Jorden skall minnas dig\\ så som den minns gräset och skogarna,\\ det multnade lövet.\\ Så som myllan minns\\ och så som bergen minns vindarna.\\ Din frid skall vara oändlig\\ så som havet.\\ - Pär Lagerkvist// The former Director of Uppsala University Library, Ulf Göranson, passed away on 20 July 2025 after a period of illness. The funeral took place in Uppsala Cathedral on 20 August (cf. https://www.familjesidan.se/cases/6f45eb31-dd2a-4e4a-9f2a-c9846b0c1dd0/funeral-notices). On behalf of the Board and CERL members, CERL prepared a letter for the family, which was presented to them on the day of funeral: On behalf of the Consortium of European Research Libraries (CERL), I have the sad duty to express our deepest condolences on the passing of our former Chairman, Ulf Göranson, and to express with profound sympathy our gratitude and respect for him and to remember his activities. The Consortium of European Research Libraries unites libraries with significant European heritage collections, not only national libraries, but also important university and research libraries. CERL’s focus is on manuscripts and the printed book up to the mid-19th century. Founded in 1994, the membership organisation, building up from many contributions a union database for early printed books (Heritage of the Printed Book database) has grown into an important, professional, research oriented and large book history focussed data network. As director of the Uppsala University Library, Ulf Göranson saw the value of being part of these endeavours, and the library joined the Consortium. Following his retirement from the library, he served as CERL’s fourth chairman from 2011 to 2017, a significant period of change and renewal. He made the Consortium fit for the new endeavours of this period, strengthening its role and visibility in the international library community, of which he was an active and highly respected partner through active engagement with organisations such us LIBER, Europeana and IFLA. As a professional organisation, we acknowledge important milestones reached during his chairmanship: our largest database moved from the US to our current host in Göttingen. He worked with the British Library to ensure that the Incunabula Short-Title Catalogue found its technical home at CERL, the first of several important international databases now held in the CERL environment. The CERL manuscript portal came into being, heavily encouraged and supported by Uppsala University Library since 2005. The importance of work on the history and provenance of early books increased with the hosting of the Early Printed Book owners and the development of the Material Evidence in Incunabula (MEI) database. Participation in European projects, such as CENDARI and Europeana Cloud, ensured CERL’s visibility. CERL’s particular role in the European libraries network was strengthened by taking on the management of the former LIBER security network and the manuscripts expert group. The American libraries gained in importance and a special membership was designed for them. Ulf Göranson repeatedly travelled to the United States to engage with our US colleagues. Under his chairmanship, the CERL grants for young professionals were introduced. The CERL Working Groups were given greater impact and the role of the Board of Directors strengthened as the key governance body for CERL. Ulf Göranson never failed to acknowledge the ongoing high-level work of the two main CERL officers, Cristina Dondi and Marian Lefferts. The two strategic plans 2010-2015 and 2016-2019 can be read today as a realistic review of these decisive years shaping CERL from a new foundation into a sustainable European organisation. Just as today, a new logo and a new website were also developed during his chairmanship. Ulf Göranson has formed and inspired the Consortium, not only as a clearly structured, efficient and reliable person, but as he often reminded us: also as a lawyer (more precisely: „professor of law“). His document „Rules and regulations“ dated 2014 is still vital for our organisational operations, and a living document. However, it was not primarily as a lawyer, that Ulf Göranson was a perfect fit for the Consortium. He was a highly cultivated, broadly historically interested, a scholarly person, a representative director, firmly anchored in high-level librarianship, but also a hands-on cooperator. Not only was he keen and firm in history and heritage in general, he was also especially rooted in his library, his town and his country. I always admired his ability to establish links between all kinds of different places and issues and his home identity. Ulf Göranson was always reliable, conscientious, endurable, responsible and active. We loved him for putting a clear beginning and end to the countless sessions he chaired. He had counted them and, when he stepped down as CERL chairman, summarised it on a power point slide: 28 sessions in 17 cities and nine countries. {{ :about:organisation:img_1271.jpg?295|}}Ulf Göranson enjoyed culture, history, food, wine and the company of his peers. He seemed to relish the burden of travelling nearly 70.000 kilometers for CERL. And sometimes he would have this nice ironic smile, as looking from a somehow higher placed distance at situations and people and sharing this perspective with the person to whom he addressed it. Ulf Göranson retired from CERL with dignity, maintaining friendly and steady contact and expressing his interest in CERL activities. Unfortunately, the years after his retirement did not allow him the kind of travelling, involvement and company he might have wished for. Those who have known him, feel privileged to have worked with him and acknowledge his high-level impact and identification with CERL, generously investing the best of his personality, knowledge and charm to CERL’s interests. Many of us share dear personal memories of working with and for a long-standing trusted and reliable colleague and sometimes even an - always distinguished - friend, „every inch a gentleman“. With have deep respect and admiration for this honoured professional and impressive personality, As with all CERL chairmen, his working hours were honorary. The time has come to acknowledge and remember with immense gratitude the generous gift of his precious, efficient time and high-level knowledge. The time has come to say goodbye to him, but promising that we will keep in mind and continue all the best he was able to give to us. Libraries and CERL often define themselves as memory institutions – Ulf Göranson is inscribed and will continue to be present in this memory. May he rest in peace. ** Maria Berggren**, Uppsala University Library and member of the CERL Board of Directors, arranged for a wreath on behalf of CERL and delivered an eulogy at the funeral: På uppdrag av den europeiska biblioteksorganisationen CERL, Consortium of European Research Libraries, och dess ordförande Claudia Fabian skulle jag vilja framföra några ord här till minne av Ulf Göranson. Det var under Ulfs tid som överbibliotekarie som Uppsala universitetsbibliotek 2005 blev en av medlemmarna i CERL, den sammanslutning för forskningsbibliotek med stora kulturarvssamlingar som bildats drygt tio år tidigare, 1994. Efter sin pensionering, under åren 2011-2017, var Ulf organisationens ordförande och han ledde den genom en tid som innebar en stor omvandling och utveckling. CERL kom då att inta en mer synlig och inflytelserik roll i det internationella bibliotekssamarbetet – jämsides med andra organisationer som LIBER, Europeana och IFLA. Ulf lämnade viktiga bidrag i arbetet med att bygga upp organisationens struktur och ramar, och hans juridiska expertis var därvid en stor tillgång. Han var med om att sjösätta flera stora databaser: för handskrifter och tidiga tryck och för att registrera proveniens, bokägande, och han medverkade till att ta fram stipendier för att möjliggöra ett internationellt utbyte för unga yrkesverksamma. Som ordförande ledde han 28 möten i 17 städer i 9 länder (detta enligt hans egen sammanställning). Ulf var en bildad, bokhistoriskt mycket kunnig, intresserad och engagerad ledare för CERL. Han kombinerade akademisk förankring med praktiskt samarbete och en stark känsla för historia och kulturarv, inte minst det svenska och det upsaliensiska som han ofta refererade till i internationella sammanhang. CERL minns Ulf Göranson med stor respekt och värme – som en professionell, pålitlig och vänlig person, en sann gentleman, intresserad av kultur, resor och livets goda, med en fin, lätt distanserad humor och ett varmt hjärta. Han månade om att lyfta fram och ge erkännande till andras arbete, och efter att han avslutat sitt uppdrag höll han kontakt med forna kollegor — även när hälsan sviktade. Hos CERL finns en djup tacksamhet för den tid och det engagemang Ulf så generöst gav. Hans minne ska länge leva vidare hos organisationen. {{ :about:organisation:img_0482.jpg?400 |}} A [[https://www.linkedin.com/posts/consortium-of-european-research-libraries_in-memoriam-ulf-g%C3%B6ranson-we-are-deeply-activity-7363490063378198528-rIQB?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAEBEMQB1iIv9IxY_qaPkQocCnr-ba2PKnk|short announcement]] was posted on LinkedIn.