J. Richard Blanchard, the university librarian emeritus at the University of California, Davis, who played a key role in developing the library on campus, died March 28 of colon cancer. He was 84. A native of Kansas, Mr. Blanchard obtained undergraduate degrees in literature and science from the University of Oklahoma and George Washington University, and a master's in library science from the University of Illinois, Champagne-Urbana. His World War II service as a Navy Lieutenant specializing in communications was the only break in a 40-year library career that included positions at the Library of Congress, the U.S.D.A. Library, and the University of Nebraska Library before joining UC Davis as University Librarian in 1951. In 1965 he founded the library's friends group, Library Associates, in which he remained an active member following his 1974 retirement. He also was a senior docent for the campus arboretum. In 1994, the UC Davis General Library established a special collections endowment fund with gifts donated in honor of Mr. Blanchard and his wife of over fifty years, Christine. The J. Richard and Christine H. Special Collections Reading Room in Peter J. Shields Library was subsequently named in tribute to them. He is survived by his wife, Christine Hayward Blanchard of Davis; his son, Richard C. Blanchard and wife, Herminia of Fremont; his daughter Christine Ramm and husband, Lt. Cdr. Ed Ramm of San Diego; and by grandchildren Craig and Michelle Blanchard, Kelly and James Ramm and Travis Bogard. His daughter, Mary Bogard, died in 1994. A memorial service will be held on April 13 at 2 p.m. in St. Martin's Episcopal Church, 640 Hawthorn Lane, Davis. The family asks that no flowers or contributions be sent.