Keith Doms, 'passionate' head of the Free Library he loved

DAILY NEWS columnist Jill Porter waxed lyrical in 1986 in describing a tour of the Free Library:

"There is something magical about walking through the Free Library's main branch with Keith Doms, something enchanting and exhilarating, like flying through a shower of stars with Peter Pan."

At that time, Doms was about to retire after 17 years as president and director of the Free Library, years marked by steadily reduced budgets, shortages of staff and crumbling buildings.

Jill Porter, who has since retired, wrote that "Doms loves his work, he loves this majestic temple of literature, and his enthusiasm is childlike and infectious as he provides a tour of the building on Logan Square."

Keith Doms, a native of Wisconsin who served libraries in New Hampshire, Michigan and Pittsburgh before coming to Philadelphia, died Saturday. He was 89 and lived in State College, Pa.

He was running the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh when he was recruited for the Philadelphia Free Library in 1969.

The Rev. Dr. W. Wilson Goode Sr., who was mayor during much of Doms' tenure with the library system, described him as a "passionate advocate for quality library service in the city."

"He was a true public servant who didn't mind calling me on the weekend or late at night to advocate for a particular issue he felt strongly about," said Goode, mayor from 1984 to 1992, who now works with children of incarcerated parents with the Amachi program.

"He was tenacious in promoting quality of service at the library," Goode said of Doms. "He was a quality guy. He gave his life to library service in the city."

"During Doms' tenure," Jill Porter pointed out, "branch libraries have been forced to close an extra day a week, and to operate with skeletal staffs. Leaky roofs and crumbling facades on older buildings have gone unrepaired."

But through it all, she wrote, "Doms has stoically prevailed, stretching his appropriation and making do as best as possible."

Doms said at the time that financial problems for libraries "go with the territory." He certainly never made much money out of the job himself. At his retirement, he was making $55,000 a year.

He was born in Endeavor, Wis., and attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in French and a bachelor of library science.

While there, he met Margaret "Peg" Taylor, a fellow student. They were married on April 1, 1944.

Doms served in the Army Signal Corps' Intelligence Service during World War II. The Army sent him to Harvard University to study Mandarin.

The Chinese language and the country became lifelong interests, and he and his wife traveled to China and hosted visiting Chinese scholars.

At one point in his career, the U.S. Department of State commissioned him to conduct a seminar on public library development in Karachi, Pakistan.

"He never forgot the sunburn he suffered while riding a camel," his family wrote in an obituary.

Doms moved to Foxdale Village in State College in 1991.

Besides his wife, he is survived by two sons, Peter and David, a grandson, and a surrogate daughter, Cui Wei Jie.

Services: Memorial service 2 p.m. Oct. 24 at Foxdale Village. Contributions may be made to the State College Friends School, 1900 University Drive, State College PA 16801, or Foxdale Village Community Fund, 500 E. Marilyn Ave., State College PA 16801.