Today we mourn the loss of Peter Lyman, our dear friend, generous colleague, and charismatic leader. He passed away peacefully early this morning at home in Berkeley, surrounded by his family, including two newborn grandchildren. Peter had been struggling with brain cancer for some time, though he was active, engaged and productive to his very last days. He is survived by his longtime spouse, Barrie Thorne, Professor of Gender and Women's Studies, and Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley; his two children, Andrew Thorne-Lyman, an expert on nutrition who works for the World Food Programme in Rome; and Abigail Thorne-Lyman, a city planner who works for Strategic Economics in Berkeley; and he's also survived by his two grandchildren.

In addition to being a principal investigator on this ongoing project, Peter leaves a legacy of influential work in library and information science. His project on How Much Information? continues to be widely cited. As Dean of Libraries at USC and University Librarian at Berkeley, Peter made lasting changes to the information infrastructures of the two schools that has been instrumental to bringing their libraries into the digital era. More information on Peter's publications and professional accomplishments can be found on Peter's wikipedia entry which we are currently editing.

Despite being famously modest and unassuming, Peter was a natural leader. As an undergraduate, he was student body president at Stanford. He was also a founder of James Madison College at Michigan State University where he held his first full professorship. But most of all, we will remember Peter for his warm collegiality, and his devotion to his students, friends, and family whom he prioritized above all else.

We will post information as it comes in about memorial services and ways to honor Peter's memory.