LSU Libraries is saddened to note the passing of Dr. Stephen J. Bensman on Thursday, January 4, 2018.  Bensman worked for 37 years for LSU Libraries in a variety of positions, most significantly as bibliographer for the social sciences and cataloging librarian, before retiring from the library in 2015.

Besides his long service to the library and the university as a librarian, Bensman was a prolific researcher, noted in the journal Scientometrics as one of the top 20 librarian authors worldwide.  In recognition of his scholarly research, Bensman received the 2010 Scholar Librarian of the Year Award from the Louisiana chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries.

Bensman’s research was enhanced by collaborations with other LSU librarians as well as LSU faculty members in other departments.  One of these collaborators was Lawrence Smolinsky, Roy Paul Daniels Professor of Mathematics at LSU.  Commenting on Bensman’s passing, Smolinsky said, “Steve was a good friend and helped to set the direction of my work for the later part of my career.”  Smolinsky added that, after an initial collaboration on a scholarly paper, “We continued to collaborate, and I have now been working in scientometrics and bibliometrics for close to a decade.  I am grateful to Steve for his friendship and guidance.”

In addition to his university service and scholarship, in 2016 Bensman made a generous charitable bequest to the LSU Libraries to expand the library’s collection on Southern Jewish history. "Steve and Miriam Bensman’s gift is destined to make LSU the leading repository of Jewish cultural material in the South,” said Dean of Libraries Stanley Wilder.  "This gift is truly a legacy in the making."

For all that he contributed to LSU Libraries, the university, and the field of library science, LSU Libraries salutes the life of Stephen Bensman.