John Edgar Simkin was born in Blackburn, Victoria in 1927, and grew up in Box Hill. He was the Chief Librarian at Moorabbin City Libraries for 33 years until his retirement in 1992. He was the representative to AACOBS (Australian Advisory Council on Bibliographic Services), served on various committees for the Library Association of Australia and was a prime mover for the emerging Indexing Society in Australia. John Simkin was the first Vice-President of the Australian Society of Indexers.