Daniel A. Britz, 62, a bibliographer of Africana for 30 years who helped compile an exhaustive list of research materials at the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies at Northwestern University, died of heart failure Monday, May 6, in his Glenview home.
“He was an extraordinary librarian,” library curator David Easterbrook said. “He was widely respected not only on the Northwestern University campus but also across the African studies community worldwide for his expertise and knowledge.”
Mr. Britz developed his love of African culture during a three-year stint in the U.S. Foreign Service at the American Embassy in Ghana. He took the job after graduating from Northwestern in 1961 with a bachelor’s degree in history.
“He loved the culture and people there,” said his sister, Beth.
Mr. Britz, who was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, returned in 1965 to Northwestern, where he received a master’s degree in African history and completed his coursework for a doctoral degree. In 1968, he returned to Ghana for three years to conduct field research with the Institute of African Studies at the University of Ghana.
In 1972 he took a job as bibliographer at Northwestern and soon began studying for a master’s degree in library science, which he received in 1975 from Rosary College, now Dominican University.
Mr. Britz joined the staff in 1987 at the Herskovits library, the largest of its kind in the world, and he traveled to Africa and around the globe pursuing research manuscripts and other materials.
“Those materials are in large measure why the library is such an extraordinary resource,” Easterbrook said. “He had an intimate knowledge of the collection.”
Mr. Britz also wrote extensively for his profession, compiling bibliographies on African topics such as linguistics, anthropology, oral traditions and newspapers.
Active in the African Studies Association, Mr. Britz held leadership positions on its Africana Librarians Council and the Cooperative Africana Microform Project.
Mr. Britz also is survived by his mother, Amelia, and a sister, Berta.
Funeral services will be held Friday in Sylvania, Ohio.
