Dr Symen Jacob Bouma (1903–1963)

Symen Jacob Bouma also held the office of curator for ten years before he was appointed as Hendrik de Buck’s successor in 1958, so he had already gained a lot of experience within the library. During his time in office the classic problem of space shortage reappeared yet again. The library building was much too small to cope with the fast growth of the collection and the continually rising number of visitors. Bouma partly solved the problems by creating library locations within several faculties of the University, providing each with its own reading room collection. Unfortunately, Bouma’s health declined increasingly. He passed away in 1963.