Al.-Sadi Ionescu – 150 years since his birth: A life dedicated to the library

The present study focusses on the life and work of Al.-Sadi Ionescu (1873–1926). He was a librarian and a bibliographer totally dedicated to his institution, the Library of the Romanian Academy and its collections. My contribution includes a presentation of his involvement in the systematic organisation of the holdings of the library. Ionescu strove to modernise his institution based on the model offered by the important libraries in Western Europe which he had visited. It is worth mentioning his collaboration with the International Institute of Bibliography in Brussels and the fact that he introduced the decimal system of classification in Romania. He was an outstanding bibliographer, who also contributed to the bibliography of periodicals, a fundamental work for Romanian culture, which is considered as a model of bibliography. Al.-Sadi Ionescu worked extremely hard, with a passion based on a true vocation, leaving us with a model of one who has served his library with devotion.