Mr. Lawrence (Larry) J. Schoenberg

Co-founder and former CEO of AGS Computers, Inc., he held directorships in numerous corporations in the micro-computing and software development industry, including Merisel, Inc., Government Technology Services, Inc., SunGuard Data Services, Inc., Image Business Systems, Inc., Penn American Group, Inc., Soft*Switch, Inc., Q-Star, Inc., and Forecross Corporation. His earlier professional experience included executive positions with IBM and Litton Industries. Born, in New York City, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1953 and served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps until 1955, stationed at White Sands Proving Grounds, New Mexico. In 1967, he along with others, formed the software enterprise AGS Computers Inc., serving as CEO until 1991. He was active on the Boards of various professional groups and educational institutions, including the American Business Conference, the Charles Babbage Institute Board of Trustees, the Dickinson College Board of Trustees and the Information Technologies Association of America (formerly ADAPSO). He spent 20 years on the ADAPSO board and has the unique distinction of having served as head of three of its sections: Software Products, Professional Services, and Information Systems Integration. In addition to serving on the Penn Libraries Board of Overseers, he also generously supported the Library together with his wife, Barbara Brizdle. They are the patrons behind the Schoenberg Center for Electronic Text & Image (SCETI), and co-founders of the Annual Lawrence J. Schoenberg Symposium on Manuscript Studies. His commitment to using digital tools in manuscript studies and to making his collection freely available online has supported the work of many scholars and will inspire more in the future. His generosity has made it possible for the Library to transform rare and fragile books and manuscripts into widely-accessible electronic media. His gifts have included the donation of the four-millionth volume in the Library's collections, an early fifteenth-century manuscript of great significance; the loan of his personal collection of illuminated manuscripts for two magnificent exhibitions; and the creation of an online archive of facsimiles of his manuscripts.