In his 62 years, Brian Bond taught writing at two colleges, acted in a community theater troupe and worked for three South Coast libraries. But what may be remembered the longest is his deft touch not only with literature, but with readers young and old.

Bond, who died on Friday in North Bend, spent 17 years with libraries in Coos Bay, North Bend and finally Reedsport, where he became director of the city library. For much of that time, he doubled as a professor of creative writing at Southwestern Oregon Community College.

But for one of his former colleagues, Bond's contribution to local readers went far beyond his knowledge or teaching - his ability to make all sorts of residents feel the reading room belonged to them.

"He was good with the public and he had an excellent knowledge of literature," said Gary Sharp, the North Bend Library director who worked with Bond from 1999 to 2004. "He could relate to almost anyone from any walk of life."

Sharp described the ways Bond aided all ages of readers - from helping to build up North Bend's collection of poetry books to his term as the Coos Bay youth librarian to his readiness to answer adults' reference questions or children's homework queries.

"He was a real asset, someone who was patient and could speak clearly and be knowledgeable," he said. "He helped people over and over again."

A spokeswoman for North Bend Chapel said a memorial service for Bond was scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 400 Highland Ave., Coos Bay. (Obituary on Page A5.)

Howard Yune, Staff Writer