Before Google, Bing and the Internet all became staples in library research, there was Stan Verhoeven, the human search engine.
A research librarian at Georgia State University for 24 years, Verhoeven was known among his colleagues as persistent and knowledgeable, said Gayle Christian, who worked with him at the GSU library.
“He really knew the resources and could help people in so many ways,” she said. “He had a background in mathematics and was particularly good at helping students find statistical data and then interpret that information, if they had difficulty.”
Stanley Marten Verhoeven, called Stan by most, of Marietta, died Saturday from complications following cardiac arrest. He was 70.
A visitation is planned for Friday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Northside Funeral Directors, which is also in charge of arrangements. A private burial at Arlington Memorial Park will be held at a later date.
A native of Glendale, Calif., Verhoeven earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Iowa in 1965. Before he started graduate school, Verhoeven served in the Air Force from 1966 until 1971.
Verhoeven hadn’t considered a career as a library researcher until after he earned a master’s degree in anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin in the mid-‘70s, said his wife, Penny Verhoeven.
“He loved anthropology, but I think he realized it would be tough to make a living as an anthropologist,” she said. “So he took a career interest survey and with his love of people and his love of books, the career of a librarian popped up.”
Verhoeven decided to take that advice and earned a master’s in library science, after which he and his new bride moved to Atlanta so he could start working at Georgia State.
Christian said Verhoeven’s background in anthropology was extremely useful to him as he helped students find resources.
“He knew the field so well and he was so well-read,” she said. “He could just off the top of his head tell a student where to look for the best work in the field.”
As technology evolved, the duties of research librarians changed, but Verhoeven never lost his enthusiasm for people and books, his wife said. But it was in retirement that he was able to really enjoy the books he loved.
“His favorite sweatshirt said, ‘So many books, so little time,’ and it really was true,” she said. “For all of those years he was an arm’s length from all of those books, but he never had time to read any of them.”
In addition to his wife of 35 years, Verhoeven is survived by his twin sons, John Verhoeven and Tristan Verhoeven, both of Marietta.
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