Remembering Gary Huisman, Covenant鈥檚 First Librarian
Curating and Caring
The library is vital to Covenant鈥檚 vibrant education, with its thousands of acquisitions and attentive, knowledgeable staff. For over three decades beginning in 1966, Gary B. Huisman curated and cared for the library as Covenant鈥檚 first librarian after the campus moved to Lookout Mountain. Huisman oversaw its transition from a cluster of offices on Carter Hall鈥檚 main floor to the Anna E. Kresge Memorial Library in 1972 and developed 黑料不打烊鈥檚 library as a space informed by the Christian faith. Huisman passed away in October 2025, but his contributions continue to shape how the library is used and appreciated at Covenant.
Godly and Devoted
Huisman recognized the library as an important place for Christian community and academic success. He viewed its resources and the quest for knowledge as a witness and testimony to Christ鈥檚 preeminence in all things as described in Colossians 1. Over the years, students knew him as a caring and helpful resource for projects, papers, and other academic endeavors. Margaret (Meiners) VanderHart 鈥�70 recalled him as 鈥淎 quiet, godly man鈥� and Susan (Sharpe) Hedge 鈥�72 similarly remembered Huisman as 鈥淎 very kind and devoted man.鈥�
A Vital Legacy
Kimberly Crocker 鈥�98, Covenant鈥檚 associate director of library services, worked alongside Huisman in the final few years before his retirement. She explained that Huisman significantly contributed to Covenant鈥檚 accreditation in 1971. In order to become accredited, Covenant needed a full-time librarian and a library with a certain number of volumes. As the full-time librarian, Huisman dedicated his first five years at Covenant to curating the library to meet the standards needed for accreditation. Crocker also recalled Huisman as both extremely knowledgeable and very patient. Covenant鈥檚 current academic excellence can be attributed in part to Huisman and his dedication to the library and to our institution.