William Archer

William Archer (6 May 1830 (1827?)–14 August 1897) was an Irish naturalist and microscopist especially interested in Protozoa and Desmids. He served as the first librarian of the National Library of Ireland (NLI) from 1878 to 1895.

Early life and family William Archer was born on 6 May 1830 in Maghera hamlet, County Down. He was the eldest son of the Reverend Richard Archer (d. 1849) and Jane Matilda (Campbell) (d. 1866). William Frazier, Archer's colleague at the National Library of Ireland, wrote in Archer’s obituary that he was the "eldest son". Frazier’s obituary also mentions Archer’s "only brother, Holt Waring Archer". However, various sources cite two younger brothers: Holt Waring Archer and Richard Henry Verling (H.V.) Archer, and one sister, Matilda Jane Humphreys (Archer). Sources differ on Archer’s exact siblings and their birth order, often mentioning the other siblings but not William. Swanzy's entry for Rev. Richard Archer describes second son Holt, third son Richard H.V., and a daughter Jane, but there is no mention of William Archer listed as first son.

Archer's father was born in Wexford and was ordained a curate in 1823. Archer's parents were married in Dublin in 1825, the same year that Rev. Archer graduated from university at Trinity College, Dublin. Rev. Archer was the Primary Curate of Maghera hamlet from 1825 to 1835, going on to become the primary curate of Clonduff. Both of Archer's brothers predeceased him: Richard H.V. Archer died in 1863 and Holt Waring Archer died in 1883. In the subsequent period, Archer's scientific work was frequently published in the Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science and in the club's Proceedings, as well as the Proceedings of the Dublin Natural History Society. He achieved particular fame and recognition for his work on protozoa and minute fresh water organisms. Despite these achievements, Archer's humble and shy character seemingly led him to decline opportunities like a professorship of botany at the Royal College of Science for Ireland. Setting himself to his task with zeal, Archer quickly gained a positive reputation among librarians for his dedication and work ethic. Archer retired from his post in 1895 due to poor health, but his establishment of relatively novel systems like the Dewey Decimal Classification, as well as a dictionary catalogue had a lasting positive impact for library users. According to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, at the time of William Archer’s death he had: "£254 3s. 9d. effects in England: Irish probate sealed in London, 21 Jan 1898, CGPLA Eng. & Wales" and "£703 14s. 1d.: probate, 14 Dec 1897, CGPLA Ire."

Archer was said to believe that, "All the machinery and the clever devices of librarians have one important end — to serve the reader, to place rapidly before every student, sooner or later, the source of information which he needs."