Deacon, Mary Dale, 1943-

Mary Dale Deacon was born in El Paso, Texas, and grew up in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Her father was a Presbyterian minister. Deacon and her older sister and younger brother all attended grade school and high school in Las Cruces.

Deacon earned her undergraduate degree at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and also took some graduate courses in history. When she transferred to the University of Denver to work on her librarian degree, she was able to use the history credits as her minor. After graduating, she interviewed for a position at the University of British Columbia, requesting government publications as her field of interest, and worked there for the next three years. During this time, she met and married a Canadian who was also a librarian.

In 1969, Deacon and her husband interviewed at the University of Arizona library, and her husband received a job offer. She became a research associate on a book which was published, and also had a research paper published. She was eventually hired as head of government documents at the university, and later took a position as assistant librarian in charge of public services.

She was recommended for director of libraries at UNLV in 1982. She accepted the job and worked there until she retired in 1992. During those ten years, she was responsible for increasing the book collection and the funding, changing to an integrated automated program, instigating staff development and developing new positions, and finally getting a new library as the number one building project for the university system.