History of UHCL Libraries

Dr. William Walter Wicker, who went by Walter Wicker, was the founding Director for the University of Houston at Clear Lake City Library in 1973. He developed and administrated the campus’ first research library, audiovisual center, and curriculum library. Wicker arrived at UH-CLC prior to the construction of the Bayou Building, which became the permanent home of the UH-CLC Library starting in 1976. He hired and supervised forty new Library staff members within the library’s first ten years. When the library opened in September 1973, it was located in a temporary wing of the Arbor Building with only one librarian and a small collection of books until its relocation to the Bayou Building in 1974.

In Fall 1973, the UH-CLC Library began acquiring and moving out of state the holdings from the Parson’s College in Fairfield, Iowa and St. Joseph’s College in Emmitsburg, Maryland libraries to Houston. UH-CLC housed the books at a warehouse in Pasadena through 1976. As the director, Wicker led the establishment of all new UH-CLC Library policies, procedures, and the creation of an in-house technical services development to catalog library materials. One of Wicker’s biggest accomplishments was the UH-CLC Library’s designation as a Selective Federal Depository Library in 1980. Another major accomplishment during Wicker’s tenure was installing the Virginia Technology Library System (VTLS) online public access catalog (OPAC) in October 1981, making it the first online catalog in the university’s history.

Photograph of University of Houston at Clear Lake City Library Director William Walter Wicker, leaning against piles of boxes of books, standing in the new UH-CLC Library, circa 1974 [photograph taken from memorial video for W. Walter Wicker on his obituary website, at https://memorials.bozemitchellmckibbin.com/william-wicker/4566040/#details]

Wicker served as the Interim Dean of the UHCL School of Professional Education in 1983 while still being the Director of Libraries. He oversaw the transition of the library to its new name, which the university renamed to the Alfred R. Neumann Library in 1983 to honor the late university founding chancellor, Dr. Alfred R. Neumann. His duties as the Director of Libraries expanded in 1984 when Wicker became the UHCL Director of Learning Resources. Although his title changed, Wicker continued supervising the library. Wicker left UHCL in June 1986 to become the Dean of Libraries at Louisiana Technical University.

Printed photograph of UHCLC Library Director William Walter Wicker, talking on the phone at his office desk at UHCLC during the 1974-1975 academic year [from 1974-1975 University of Houston at Clear Lake City Bulletin, UHCL Archives and Special Collections]

Prior to coming to UH-CLC, Wicker had a long and distinguished career in academic and local libraries around the southern United States, starting in 1953 in Mississippi. He served in the following roles from the mid-1960s until coming to UH-CLC: Head Librarian for Frederick College in Virginia (1962-1965); Head of Circulation Department for Mississippi State University Library (1965-1966); and Associate Director of Libraries for Memphis State University (1966-1973). Wicker received his BA in English from University of Mississippi; an MA in Library Science from Louisiana State University (1955); an AM (or Master of Arts) degree in Library Science from Florida State University (1971); and a PhD in Library Science from Florida State University (1977).