Dr Johann Samuel Theissen (1874–1936)

Johann Samuel Theissen was a teacher at the Praedinius Gymnasium in Groningen, when he started looking for a new job because of a throat illness which required him to speak less. He was appointed as the university librarian in 1917, when the library occupied a temporary building while a new one was being built. One of his first duties was moving the library into its new building. During his time in office more library collections were facilitated in the university’s several faculties and institutes. In order to keep track of all books he ordered title descriptions of these decentralised collections to be made and sent to the central university library. Theissen was also responsible for the publication of the first volume (1922) in the five-volume printed Catalogue of the University of Groningen Library. Like his predecessor Roos, Theissen wanted to be a professor. When his attempts in Groningen failed, he decided to apply for the position of librarian in the University of Amsterdam, also because he was promised a professorship there.