October 30, 2023
Faces of PC: George Coleman, Phillips Memorial Library
By Michael Hagan ’15, ’19G
George Coleman, access services assistant at Phillips Memorial Library, has been greeting patrons at the circulation desk and helping them check out books for 35 years.
In March 2023, the library celebrated Coleman’s work anniversary, creating a scrapbook to mark his career, which began in spring 1988. He is the library’s longest-serving employee.
“I enjoy the people, and I love the books,” Coleman said. “I’ve profited immensely from the opportunity to read from the collection.”
One of his favorite library texts is Annals of the Former World by John McPhee, a four-volume collection weaving geology, history, and biography as it documents the author’s transcontinental journey on Interstate 80.
Coleman was raised a bibliophile. His father kept an extensive library in their home near campus. Though born in New York City, he moved with his family to Providence when he was 2 years old and attended St. Pius V School and La Salle Academy. He completed a bachelor’s degree at Rhode Island College after 11 years of part-time study. He studied English with minors in history and film studies and he also worked in the RIC library.
When he came to work at Providence College, students checked books out by feeding their plastic library card with raised numbers into an imprint machine to mark a paper catalog card. The patron took the book, and the library retained the imprinted card.
Today, students carry PC IDs with scannable bar codes that allow them to borrow books without any paper cards. The card catalog no longer exists. Instead, a digital catalog includes the combined resources of eight area colleges and universities. Add online periodicals and ebooks and the collection is exponentially larger than when Coleman started his career.
While excited by advances in library technology, Coleman prefers the tactile quality of books and library stacks to screens and online databases. He drives a 1998 Toyota Camry he is “trying to nurse to immortality” and does not own a television, preferring to listen to baseball on the radio.
“George’s attention to detail and understanding of the importance of communication greatly assist the library in maintaining excellence and consistency of service during all hours of operation,” said Mark Caprio, library director. “His wry sense of humor, breadth of knowledge and great appetite for history keep us on our toes.”
There’s something else that hasn’t changed.
“I am immensely grateful for the great variety of people I’ve worked and continue to work with,” Coleman said. “People here are patient and caring. That’s PC’s bedrock.”
When you give to The Fund for Providence College, you provide funds for special projects that loyal staff use in creative ways – in this case, making the campus feel like a home.
