Scholarly Communications Librarian John Furfey Moves On

Sixteen years ago, newlywed librarian John Furfey returned to his hometown of Falmouth and began a journey of leadership at the MBLWHOI Library which had him rewrite the system of service to Woods Hole scientists.

His work emphasized applying cutting edge tools and services to help organize and communicate Woods Hole science to the world and within the Woods Hole campus.

John’s forward-thinking ways needed explanation and demonstration, and the tools and services he brought to the Library and the Woods Hole community: BibApp, Elements, and Altmetrics to name a few, have made a difference, enabling departments and individuals to see their work and that of their colleagues through the output, charts, and visualizations which tools like these provide.

As part of the team which monitored seven-days-a-week the library Q&A email, John was available to respond to and resolve issues any library user had. He says that one of the amazing things about the MBLWHOI Library is how small a library we are, and we are still able to supply the same services a large university library provides to its users. When asked what rises to the top in considering his MBLWHOI Library career, John says “it has all been a great deal of fun”…all the people he has worked with and for in Woods Hole. “Woods Hole is so unique,” he said, “and the work being done here is so important to science.” We thank our colleague John for his 16 years of service, we will miss him, and we wish him well in his life and his new position.