William Lawrence “Bill” Mitchell was born June 2, 1932, in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of William M. and Donna L. (Adams) Mitchell. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Kansas (KU) in 1959 and then received his master’s degree in Library Science from the University of Illinois in 1960. Mitchell was a member of Beta Phi Mu, an honor society recognizing high achievement in library science and librarianship, and the Kansas Library Association (KLA).

Mitchell joined the United States Coast Guard in July 1952. After his departure from the Coast Guard in 1956, Mitchell began working as a student assistant for Special Collections in KU Libraries in 1957. Mitchell later began work with KU Libraries as a cataloger in 1971, eventually becoming chief cataloger. He was promoted to the rank of Librarian III on March 16, 1967 and encouraged work with bibliography and conservation of library materials during the remainder of his career with KU Libraries. He retired from the Kenneth Spencer Research Library (KSRL) in 1999.

The Bibliographical Society of America honored Mitchell’s contributions to librarianship by establishing the William L. Mitchell Award, given to researchers whose area of study focuses on 18th century English or English colonial periodicals.

William Mitchell married Virigina Jean Cox on May 8, 1954. Together they had a son, Cotter. Both Bill and Jean Mitchell passed away in March 2023.

[Information taken from University of Kansas University Archives morgue files, the Bibliographical Society of America, the Mitchells' obituary, and collection materials.]