Longtime AGSL Reference Librarian Jovanka Ristic Retires

photo of Jovanka Ristic
Jovanka Ristic

Jovanka Ristic, reference librarian in the American Geographical Society Library, has announced her retirement.

Ristic joined AGSL in January 1981 shortly after the library opened to the public.

During her long career, she played a pivotal role in creating and sustaining AGSL’s reputation for excellent public service. Her extensive knowledge of the collections allowed her to go above and beyond with every patron she helped, from finding and translating maps for a genealogy researcher to assisting research fellows from around the world on their individual projects.

Over the years, Ristic gave generously of her time to speak to various community and K-12 school groups about AGSL’s collections, and worked with faculty from UWM as well as other area universities to bring their students into the library to learn about maps and map history.

Throughout her career at the library, she created engaging exhibits on various topics for classes and events.

Ristic was also actively involved in the Map Society of Wisconsin, bringing a wide variety of interesting speakers to the library.

In 2010 she co-authored AGSL special publication No. 8, entitled “Manuscript and Annotated Maps in the American Geographical Society Library: A Cartobibliography.”

Her last day in AGSL is August 3.