Mike Shaw joined the University Library in 1992, as a Cataloguer and Subject Librarian for Italian. He was well liked by his colleagues, who referred to him as ‘gentlemanly’. He was known for his droll sense of humour and the sparkle in his eye. He was always friendly and helpful to library users, and I recall that on my own first day at the University, Mike was one of the first to greet me and make me feel welcome. 

Mike was, of course, a careful and accurate cataloguer; but the part of his role he enjoyed most was his subject work in Italian. Mike studied Italian in his own time, obtaining a GCSE in 1994, and he and his wife had frequent holidays in Italy, alternating with visits to the other place he loved, southern Ireland. 

In addition to travel, Mike had a range of interests. He loved books and was very well-read; he was interested in steam trains; and he enjoyed a pint of real ale and the convivial atmosphere of a pub. He was also a family man, with two children and two young grand-children, who sadly never had the chance to get to know their grandfather.

Mike retired from the University on the grounds of ill health in May 2008.  His illness, an aggressive vascular dementia, finally got the better of him, and he passed away on in March 2010, at the age of 65. He will be missed.