History of UHCL Libraries

Dr. S. Joe McCord accepted the role of Executive Director of UHCL Neumann Library in August 1994 and started the position shortly after. McCord was born in Oklahoma. He grew up in Giddings, Texas, and New Orleans, Louisiana. McCord received his BA degree in chemistry at Louisiana State University (LSU). He earned an MA in German from LSU, and an MS degree from LSU. McCord taught German at the University of Alabama and Lamar University. Later, he changed career paths by attending library science graduate school.

Cropped photograph featuring Dr. S. Joe McCord, UHCL Library Executive Director, during a book presentation.

McCord’s first library position was as Reference Librarian at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Dallas, TX. He eventually served as both an assistant director then acting director for the UT Health Science Center Library, as well as an adjunct professor at the University of North Texas. In the 1970s, Joe McCord moved to Victoria, Texas, to serve as the director of the joint library for the University of Houston-Victoria and Victoria College. He was the VC-UHV Library Director for ten years, before becoming the Library Director for Lamar University. He stayed at Lamar until August 1994, when he came to UHCL.

In 1995, UHCL Library Director Dr. S. Joe McCord approached Texas Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock with his idea of creating a statewide shared digital network through legislation to help share and provide greater access to information resources. This was part of the Texas Library Association’s legislative program to increase funding and expand membership for TexShare. The idea was to expand the TexShare program, first developed in 1988. The formalization of the TexShare program happened when Texas Governor George W. Bush signed into law HB 2721 on May 27, 1997. UHCL joined the TexShare program in 1995, after McCord led an upgrade of Neumann Library’s computer hardware to enable access to the Internet in the library for the first time. McCord greatly increased Neumann Library’s electronic resources during the mid to late 1990s, allowing UHCL to keep up with rapid technology advancements for learning resources in academic institutions.

Photograph of Dr. S. Joe McCord, UHCL Library Executive Director, during his retirement ceremony in 2002.