See also William D. Postell's Oral History Summary
MLA Elected Offices and Committee Chair Appointments
MLA
- Past President's Council, cochair, 1967–1968
- Awards Committee, chair, 1967–1968
- Standards for Medical Librarianship, assistant chair, 1960–1961; chair 1954–1955
- Subcommittee on Certification, chair, 1959–1960
- Subcommittee on Internship, chair, 1953–1954
- President, 1952–1953
- President Elect, 1951–1952
- Editor, Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, 1945–1949
Chapter
- Southern Chapter, founding president, 1950–1951
Other
- Louisiana Library Association, president, 1949–1950
- Greater New Orleans Library Club, president
- Louisiana Teacher's Association, president
- TALON (Regional Medical Library), chair, 1968–1969
- Health Sciences Library Association of Louisiana, founding member, 1976
Honors and Awards
MLA
- Fellow, 1974
- Marcia C. Noyes Award, 1958
- Southern Chapter/MLA William D. Postell Sr., Professional Development Award
Other
- City of New Orleans Certificate of Merit, 1967
- Louisiana Library Association Essae M. Culver Distinguished Service Award,1972
- Librarian Emeritus, Tulane Medical School, 1980
- Greater New Orleans Library Club, Medal of Achievement, 1962
- Listed in Directory of American Scholars, 1960
Publications (5 representative)
Articles published in the Bulletin of the Medical Library Association or Journal of the Medical Library Association are available via PubMed Central.
- Postell WD. The medical librarian. In: Medical Library Association handbook of medical library practice, with a bibliography of the reference works and histories in the history of medicine and the allied sciences, 2nd ed. Edited by Janet Doe and Mary Louise Marshall. Chicago, IL: Medical Library Association; 1956. p. 30–41.
- Postell WD. Applied medical bibliography for students. Springfield, IL: CC Thomas; 1955.
- Postell WD. The health of slaves on Southern plantations. Louisiana State University Press; 1951 (Louisiana State University Studies in Social Science, no. 1.) [Reprinted 1970 by Peter Smith].
- Postell WD. Further comments on the mathematical analysis of evaluating medical journals. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1946 Apr;34(2):107–11.
- Postell WD. Stimulating interest in a medical library. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1941 Mar;29(3):141–6.
Positions
- Historian, Tulane University Medical Center, New Orleans, LA, 1974-1982
- Librarian emeritus, Tulane University Medical Center, New Orleans, LA, 1979-1982
- Library consultant, Louisiana State Division of Libraries–New Orleans
- Library consultant, Louisiana Health and Human Resources Administration–New Orleans
- Director, Rudolf Matas Medical Library, Tulane University Medical Center, New Orleans, LA, 1959–1974
- Consultant, Library of the College of Medicine of the National Taiwan University, 1955
- Consultant, J. Miller Hillis Health Center, University of Florida, 1953
- Professor of medical bibliography, Louisiana State University School of Medicine–New Orleans, 1951–1959
- Library consultant, Charity Hospital of Louisiana–New Orleans, 1945
- Coordinator, Louisiana Hospital Library Extension Program–New Orleans
- Associate professor, Louisiana State University–Baton Rouge, 1945
- Medical librarian, Agramonte Medical Library, School of Medicine, Louisiana State University–Baton Rouge, 1938–1959
- Visiting instructor, School of Library Science, Loyola University
- High school librarian, Mansfield, LA, 1934-1938
- Bookmobile librarian, Sabine Parish, LA
- Topographer and geologist, Shell Oil Company and Houston Oil Company
MLA published statements about the fellow
- Beatty WK. [The post war era: William D. Postell] The bright thread: the Bulletin's 75th anniversary. Reprinted: Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1988 Apr;86(2):242–3.
- Beatty WK. [The post war era: William D. Postell] The bright thread: the Bulletin's 75th anniversary. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1986 Jul;74(3):198. Langner M. William Dosite Postell 1908–1982. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1982 Oct;70(4):464–5.
- Summary of MLA Oral History interview with William D. Postell Sr. Interviewer: Estelle Brodman, Oct 29, 1977.
- News Items [Recipient of Louisiana Library Association Essae M. Culver Distinguished Service Award, 1972] Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1972 Jul;60(3):511.
- Moll W. Louisiana State Department of Hospitals Classification for Medical Literature [book review], by William D. Postell. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1966 Jul;54(3) 287–8.
- News items: [Appointment as librarian at Tulane University] Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1959 Apr;47(2): 213.
- McDaniel WB. Snapshot of the medical librarian as historian and bibliographer, to 1947. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1957 Jul;45(3):305, 307.
- V Procter. Applied medical bibliography for students [book review], by WD Postell. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1957 Apr;45(2):264–5.
- News items: Mr. Postell’s applied medical bibliography. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1955 Oct;43(4):564.
- News items: Articles by W. D. Postell. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1953 Jul;41(3):295.
- News item: Mr. Postell featured in magazine section Baton Rouge (LA) Newspaper. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1952 Jan;40(1):78–9.
- News item: Mr. Postell appointed professor. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1951 Oct;39(4):371.
- News item: Mr. W.D. Postell accepts Louisiana Library Association Office. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1948 Oct;36(4):423.
- Association News: [Appointment as editor, Bulletin of the Medical Library Association]. Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1945 Oct;33(4) 536–7.
(Birth 1908; Death 1982)
Contributed by Diane McKenzie, AHIP, FMLA