Paul Barnett Royster, 72, coordinator emeritus of scholarly communications in University Libraries, died March 25 in Lincoln, surrounded by family following a brief battle with cancer.
Royster was born in Opelika, Alabama, to Wimberly and Betty Jo (Barnett) Royster. When he was a young child, his family moved to Lexington, Kentucky, where his father was a professor of mathematics, and later dean and vice president, at the University of Kentucky. Royster attended Sayre School, from which he graduated as valedictorian in 1971. He moved on to Princeton University for college. A highlight of his freshman year was playing on Princeton’s freshman basketball team. He graduated cum laude in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in English, earned a master’s degree in American culture from the University of Michigan in 1977, and received his doctorate in English and comparative literature from Columbia University in 1984.
Royster was founder and publisher of Zea Books, a library monograph publishing imprint. In 2024, he retired from his position as coordinator of scholarly communications in University Libraries at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he oversaw the Digital Commons, which is currently the third largest and most downloaded institutional repository in the United States.
His previous professional positions included professor of English at Nebraska; director of the University of Nebraska Press; design and production manager at Yale University Press; project manager with Barron’s Educational Series; and chief financial officer and director of production at Literary Classics of the United States (Library of America).
In retirement, Royster continued to publish numerous books under the Zea Books imprint and volunteered as an instructor with Lincoln Literacy, which he found to be tremendously rewarding. He treasured the opportunity to meet people from many other parts of the world and felt he learned much more from them than he was able to teach. He enjoyed spending time with family, gardening, and taking long walks with his dog Charlee.
Royster is survived by his wife, Jane Remus of Lincoln; his daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth Royster and Hendley Traughber of Fort Wright, Kentucky; his son James of Lincoln; brother and sister-in-law David and Norma Royster and nephew Thomas Royster of Lexington, Kentucky; mother-in-law Kay Remus of Lincoln; brothers- and sisters-in-law Brad (Rhonda) Lahm of Lincoln, John (Pat) Remus of Omaha, and Frank Remus of Omaha, as well as their children, and cousins Bill (Vicky) Heierman of Lexington, Kentucky, Dan (Jana) Heierman of Henderson, Kentucky, and Jean Ellen Swearingen of Bend, Oregon. He was preceded in death by his parents, father-in-law Jack Remus, nephew Robert Royster, sister-in-law Marlys Remus, and cousin Charles Royster.
A celebration of life is 1 p.m. April 20 at Roper and Sons South Chapel, 3950 Hohensee Drive, Lincoln.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Lincoln Literacy or Sayre School.
