Treasured job leads to library gift

The charm of Madison captured the heart of David Henige, but it was his position as African Studies bibliographer at the Memorial Library that allowed him to stay. Although he doesn’t consider himself a “red-sweater-type” UW employee, he is here because he wants to be. And he’s been here for 30 years.

Henige began reading history at the age of 10. With his interest piqued, it was only natural for him to take a broad span of history classes in college. He loved uncovering the secrets of the past, and this eventually led him to a satisfying career. He earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history at the University of Toledo. He came to UW–Madison at age 29 and earned a doctorate in African history. During his time at UW, he worked at Memorial Library. In 1971, he traveled to Ghana on the West Coast of Africa to do his fieldwork. Two years later, Henige was offered a job as a teacher in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

After a year, he realized that he lacked the passion to be a teacher and returned to the United States to a job he really treasured — bibliographer at the Memorial Library. “I love the autonomy and research required in my job,” he says. “I do it because I like to.” In 1978, he earned a master’s degree in library and information studies from UW–Madison.

Henige hopes the $10,000 gift that he and his wife, Jan Behn, who also is an employee at Memorial Library, have given the libraries provides the extra margin of excellence they need. They have established the David Henige Endowment Fund to support collections and services of the General Library System.

“We definitely have a distinct teaching mission — people need to come to libraries to keep getting good information,” he says. “Libraries are challenged because of the amount of information that is out there and the cost to acquire it.

“The quality, richness and diversity of the libraries would not exist and will not continue without the continuing support,” he says.

“When dedicated and motivated faculty and staff choose to make a gift to the UW, in addition to their daily contributions of time and expertise, it makes a big difference,” Henige says. “There should be this sense of payback from all UW employees.

“Employees can designate where they want their money to go, giving them the opportunity to invest in people, programs and services that mean something to them,” he adds. “For us it was the libraries. Memorial Library is a wonderful library that is underused and undervalued — people take it for granted.”

The libraries offer areas for study, research and intellectual discovery. “Most important, the library is a place where students acquire skills for a lifetime of self-directed learning,” says Behn.

The largest library on the Madison campus and in the state of Wisconsin is Memorial Library. It holds more than 3.4 million volumes, primarily research and reference material in the social sciences and humanities. The stacks are full of books printed on brittle, acid-based paper, which was used heavily in publishing from the mid-19th century until recently. Such paper disintegrates as it ages. The library also receives books from many areas of the world where acidic paper is still the norm.

“Libraries are at a disadvantage because nobody appreciates the value to the teachers. We have to worry about providing quality libraries for future generations,” Henige says.

With Henige’s three grown children, two of which are UW graduates, it seems only natural that Henige and Behn would be concerned about future generations.

This series of profiles highlights people whose lives have been transformed by UW–Madison. To learn more about Create the Future: The Wisconsin Campaign, contact the UW Foundation at 263-4545 or visit the UW Foundation’s Web site.