Information Scotland The Journal of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals in Scotland ISSN 1743-5471 Issue contents | Journal contents | About the online edition of the journal February 2006 Volume 4(1)

Iain MacRae, 1946-2006

Iain MacRae, who retired from the post of Principal Librarian with Perth and Kinross Libraries last August, died suddenly on 25 January, 2006.

Iain was born in Dingwall and brought up in Wester Ross and attended school at Dingwall Academy. Librarianship was not his first career, as he spent a year with the Edinburgh Police, based in Leith, and then started his local government career in the Treasurer’s Department of Ross and Cromarty County Council. He attended Robert Gordon’s for his course in librarianship, and became Branch Librarian at Blairgowrie in 1971. Iain moved to the County Library Headquarters of Perth and Kinross at the old Academy building in Rose Terrace, as Cataloguer, before becoming the head of the Sandeman Library in 1982. He was an integral part of the team that created the plan for the new A. K. Bell Library and was responsible for the move of the Sandeman to its new building in 1995. The new building became part of his responsibilities and it was a task that Iain undertook with relish and enthusiasm, quickly understanding that all is not plain sailing in a new building!

This only gives a very brief view of the career of Iain MacRae. He was the most straightforward, honest and upright person that I ever met, and had the good fortune to work with for over 30 years. As a colleague of mine said to me recently “You always felt better after having a chat with Iain because of his outlook on life and his understanding way.”

Apart from his work, Iain had many outside interests. Gardening was one of his main hobbies and his greenhouses (two) were always a joy to behold. He enjoyed a game of golf and there was no better partner to be with in a tough situation on the golf course – witness a remarkable seven down with nine to play turnaround at Dunning against two librarians from West Lothian! Iain was seldom seen in any situation without his camera and he was well noted for always insisting on taking two photographs of every subject. Being originally from the west coast, Iain always had a strong link with the Gaelic language and culture and was a regular contributor to Gaelic radio. He had only recently started leading a Gaelic language class in Blairgowrie which was very successful. Iain always had a very strong faith and was one of the mainstays of the Knox Free Church in Perth. Of course, the other main part of his life was his family to whom Iain was devoted, and there were always photographs of his family in his office

I referred earlier to the start of his career in the Finance Department of Ross and Cromarty and despite this early exposure to the complexity of figures, Iain never quite got a handle on finance – and he and I had many a laugh over his counting ability. But, of course, Iain had a remarkable memory for detail and would remember quite obscure details about things and people, especially people. He would say to me “Don’t you remember so and so?”, with a smile on his face, knowing very well that it was long gone.

Iain was a very determined man, who knew what he wanted and would pursue that to the end. This inevitably meant that we did not always agree, but you could be sure that his input to any aspect of work was genuine, wholehearted and without any hidden agenda. He was very good at dealing with people. He could spot very early on in a conversation how to respond to an individual, either in giving encouragement or in taking down a peg or two. Iain was very self-deprecating and told many stories against himself, often about his golf. However he is the only golfer of whom I would believe that he achieved a hole in one, with no one else on the course.

Iain MacRae will be remembered by countless people for his kindness, his untold generosity, his genuine friendship, his unfailing and infectious good humour and his approach to living his life for the benefit of others. He was an irreplaceable friend who will be missed for many years to come.

At this time, we think of Anne and his three sons, Andrew, Ewen and Martin, to whom we offer our deepest sympathy and condolences.

Mike Moir
(Retired ex-Head of Libraries and Archives, Perth and Kinross)

Information Scotland Vol. 4(1) February 2006

Information Scotland is delivered online by the SAPIENS electronic publishing service based at the Centre for Digital Library Research. SLAINTE (Scottish libraries across the Internet) offers further information about librarianship and information management in Scotland.