In Memoriam: Walter Giesbrecht

ICPSR was saddened to learn from IASSIST about the passing of long-time IASSIST member Walter Giesbrecht, who died on Sunday. He is survived by his wife Roberta and daughter, Sarah.

Giesbrecht served for many decades as the Data Librarian at York University (Canada) and was an active and generous member of the data services community. The earliest IASSIST reference to him dates to 1998, when Wendy Watkins introduced him as York’s new Data Librarian. Over the decades, he made many contributions to IASSIST, including serving as Regional Member for Canada (2011–2015), participating on the Publications Committee, and co-chairing the Local Arrangements Committee for IASSIST 2014 (Toronto).

He was also deeply engaged in Canadian data initiatives and professional organizations, including the Data Liberation Initiative and CAPDU (Canadian Association of Public Data Users), and he served as the Official Representative for ICPSR at York University. Giesbrecht was a frequent conference speaker, author, and reviewer. In Databrarianship: The Academic Data Librarian in Theory and Practice (Kellam & Thompson, eds., 2016), he co-authored two chapters with Michael McCaffrey—“Teaching Data Librarianship to LIS Students” and “Data Librarianship: A Day in the Life—Science Edition.” Concluding the volume, McCaffrey and Giesbrecht looked to the future by describing a course designed to teach the fundamentals of data librarianshipdatabrarianship and proposing a broader curriculum for educating new data librarians.

Within IASSIST, Giesbrecht was remembered for his mentoring and kindness to those new to the field, his humor, and his creativity—long-time members recall the tradition of IASSIST conference songs written and performed by members, including Walter alongside Paula Lackie and Melanie Wright. His family has expressed the hope that one final IASSIST song might be shared at a Celebration of Life ceremony later this year.

Giesbrecht’s legacy lives on in the colleagues he guided, the community he strengthened through service, and the many contributions he made to advancing data librarianship in Canada and beyond.