Open Book | Spring 2023

The Boulder Public Library Staff Newsletter

Nothing ever seems impossible in spring, you know.

—L. M. Montgomery

All Open Book content is part of the public record.

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A Message from Monnie

Monnie Nilsson, Editor

Bringing the Joy

Hello BPL! Welcome to the newest edition of Open Book I think we’re all happy to know that warmer weather and longer days are around the corner It’s been a long winter. In this column in past editions, I’ve run through several themes about ch-ch-changes, resilience, hanging in there I want to steer clear of what some might call ‘toxic positivity’ and acknowledge that it’s been a doozy of a quarter. I think we can all agree on that. There have been significant new incidents and challenges all around. And yet…we keep marching on with amazing attitudes and passion for our work We’re looking up and forward instead of down and backward. Our patrons are grateful for our services and programming. Our newest branch is on the horizon. You might say there’s some joy out there.

As both staff and patrons participate in our OBOB Book of Joy programming, I’d like to take a quick moment to touch on the concept of joy. As the Dalai Lama says, “Joy is the reward, really, of seeking to give joy to others ” And isn’t that what we are all working toward at BPL every day? Whether we are collaborating on outreach, presenting storytimes, ordering the best books out there, working to create a new branch, organizing and shelving materials so that library users can find them and improve their lives, addressing technology needs, cleaning our facilities, planning innovative programs, doing the accounting to keep BPL in the black, teaching adult learners how to read or greeting patrons and brightening their days, we are all serving in some capacity so that we, as a team, can give joy to others. So while it’s been an unprecedented time at BPL, know that you’re contributing to a rock-solid, joy-creating organization Happy Spring, season of joyous renewal.

Open Book Team

Meadows Staff:

Jessica Ashcraft

Rebecca Doyle

Alyssa Finer

Cassie Loosbrock

Barbara Magill

Monnie Nilsson

David Shugert

Guest Contributors: Nicole Docimo

Kathy Rolfes

Hidden within these pages is a Little David Shugert. See if you can spot him!

Life is hard, you know, and laughter is how we come to terms with all the ironies and cruelties and uncertainties that we face.

-Archbishop

Desmond Tutu

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Q & A with Jennifer Phares, Deputy Library Director

Monnie Nilsson

How did you wind up in LibraryLand?

Library Page for Willard Public Library in Battle Creek, MI was my first job as a teen. I loved library work but felt I needed to stretch my wings and explore some other interests instead of going to library school. The summer of 1998, I landed in Boulder after completing a Master’s degree in chemistry/horticulture from Michigan State University. As there were no jobs in my field, I worked retail in the Table Mesa Shopping Center for 4 long years Finding that work very unfulfilling, I began applying for jobs to practice my interview skills The Shelving Supervisor job, which I never dreamed I would land, was open It was the first job I applied for and much to my surprise, I was hired That’s how I came to have a career in LibraryLand I feel like it was meant to be

What does a Deputy Library Director do?

Pretty much anything that needs doing While three divisions report to me, Administration, Programs & Events, and Community Literacy & Outreach, my job is to serve the whole organization to make sure every library staff person has the support and resources to serve the community. On occasion, I cover vacant supervisor positions in the divisions that report to me. Currently, I have the privilege of working with the Carnegie Team until we receive funding to hire a supervisor and staff for the archive For the past few years, my daily work has focused on budget planning and management, policy development and maintenance, supporting the library commission, managing initiatives like the library district planning, preparing information for City Council on library matters, overseeing some bid processes and contracts, and working with HR on the organizations employee issues around pay, leave, etc In the past, I was project manager for capital projects like the Main Library renovation and the 2018 Library Master Plan.

What’s the average day of a Deputy Library Director look like? How has this changed since you started in this role?

An average day begins with checking email and reviewing the meeting schedule Typically, I have 3 to 5 meetings per day Much of my work lately has been focused on budget management and coordinating with HR on the lingering classification and compensation issues. My average day has changed a great deal since I began in this role. I used to spend much more time on supporting the Library Commission and project management than I did on the budget and HR matters Staff turnover and reorganization in HR and Finance have resulted in the need for many city departments to provide support for these functions from within departments.

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Phares

What is the hardest part of your job right now? Has that always been the case?

While I enjoy change and learning new things, the timing of switching to two new critical business systems like OpenGov (budget planning) and WorkDay while other major projects like the classification and compensation and planning for a library district were also underway was very challenging. Staffing in HR and Finance was also in flux during the height of these projects making it difficult to get the support needed to navigate the critical business process changes. Luckily, staffing is beginning to stabilize in those departments and our new colleagues are working as hard as they can to support the organization to learn these new systems. These challenges have not always been present. During my time working for the library, the politicization of the library, I find extremely distasteful, distracting, and hard. It is mentally exhausting to hear out the opinionated “squeaky wheels.” When the politics gets intense, I try to keep the library mission as the touchstone and remember the real why we all do this work.

What’s the best part of your job?

The best part of my job is working in collaboration with the leadership team members, supervisors, and many others to solve issues, find and manage resources so that every library staffer can fulfill their role in providing library programs and services to the community. Knowing that my work and contribution supports the end result of bettering the lives of Boulder community members is what brings meaning and sustains my efforts during the challenging times.

What is something staff might find surprising about your role at BPL?

My 21-year career in several roles at BPL has afforded me opportunities to work directly with every program and service offered in the library While I don’t often get the opportunity to see or work with many of you day to day, I have an awareness of how each person and their role contributes to the library mission I try to make decisions and recommendations in my own work that consider the whole organization, that will make the biggest or most meaningful positive impact for the community, and that support making your work easier whenever possible

What do you see as the biggest challenge for the library as we move toward becoming a district?

In my opinion, the biggest challenge is the uncertainty of this waiting game we are all part of right now. I have a great deal of hope that we will get a supportive board of trustees and have confidence in our own ability to put in the work to make a smooth transition to a library district It’s going to take trust, patience, and grit We are smart, committed, passionate about our work, and resourceful – with grace and good humor –we will get through this transition.

If you could swap roles with anyone at BPL for a week, which role would you want to take on and why?

Any role that works with collection would be an attractive swap for me – Materials Handler, Collection Development, Archivist.

Favorite book?

I’m reading Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese right now It will surely be counted among my favorites as long as the author gives the story a wellexecuted ending.

New Faces

Cassie Loosbrock

We are very happy to have our new staff in the library. What would we do without them? We thought it would be a helpful to put names with faces Below please find introductions to several of our new colleagues along with photos and brief bios. Welcome aboard, newbies!

Photos courtesy of staff

Holly Mandziak, Materials Handler- Meadows

Hi BPL! I am Holly, a Materials Handler at Meadows! I am a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder, graduating back during the height of the pandemic in 2020. I am hoping to go back to school for my Masters of Library Information Science Prior to this job I worked at Starbucks for years and am still serving up coffee a few times a week I am so excited to get more into library services and pursue my passion of serving the community. Outside of work I am an avid reader and spend nearly all my free time reading.

Sammie Crowder, Creative Technologist - Main

In the past I’ve worked in libraries as a video creation and distance learning specialist, at universities creating educational media for K-12 students and at Makerspaces, and at start-ups creating machine learning data models in 3D I have a Master’s degree in Creative Technology and Design from CU Boulder and an undergrad from Florida State University in Digital Media Production. I am now part of the Creative Technologist team at BLDG 61 I live in the Boulder area with a dog, cat, lizard, chickens and my awesome wife

Sophia Surage (she/her), Volunteer Services Manager - Main

My name is Sophia and I am excited to be a part of Boulder Public Library's Mission as the Volunteer Services Manager I am a CU Boulder alumni and my educational background is in Ethnic Studies and Gender studies. I have worked in customer service since I was 16 years old, and I volunteered at Blair Caldwell African American Research Branch of Denver Public Library for several years after graduating college. Before joining the Boulder Public Library team, I worked in Higher Education managing volunteer programs and creating a culture of service Libraries have always been an important part of my life and I love being a resource for others seeking opportunities to positively impact their communities.

Kelly Detzel Hess, Youth Services Coordinator – Main

Hello! I am so excited to join the Youth Service Team at Main My husband and I moved to Colorado in 2006 from Michigan and now have two daughters. While I miss all of the lakes, I love the sunshine and warm weather here! I began working in library services at the Nederland Community and Nederland Elementary School libraries and absolutely love it In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family outside trail running, paddleboarding, backpacking, nordic skiing and of course . . . reading books!

Patrick DesRocher, Materials Handler – Meadows

I'm originally from Connecticut and moved to Colorado in 2016. I'm currently taking online classes at Purdue Global to attain my Bachelor's Degree in accounting. In my free time, I love spend time with my girlfriend, Alex, and our dog Rocket. I also love to play or watch sports (especially the Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins), or play video games with friends from back home. I was a security guard at the Main Branch for over a year and a half and am very excited to be back with BPL and continue to work with people I loved working with.

Colleague Collections: You can’t spell David without DVD

Barbara Magill

If you take the vowels out of David Shugert’s first name, it spells DVD. How appropriate, considering David’s passion is collecting them David didn’t start out as a collector It grew on him. Originally, he just wanted to watch shows and movies. He even re-sold some before he realized he wanted to keep a collection. Now it’s more about the collecting and has become something of an addiction. David has nearly 6,000 DVDs.

His collection spans from the 1950s with such titles as Cheyenne, Sea Hunt and Wanted Dead or Alive to current live-action series like Cobra Kai. He also has ’60s shows like Wild Wild West, Get Smart and The Andy Griffith Show. David’s ’70s section includes TV shows such as S W A T , Man from Atlantis and Barney Miller The ’80s have too many to mention!

David’s DVD selection consists of more TV shows than movies. If you ask him a show title, he can tell you which seasons he has I threw one out there What about Little House on the Prairie, a favorite of mine growing up. He has all but seasons eight and nine.

David’s collection is unique in that many shows he recorded himself on VHS! In the late ’90s, when he discovered DVD burners and DVR, he transferred his VHS recordings to discs. His twin sister is a big fan of Cagney and Lacey, so David recorded all the shows on VHS for her and later transferred them to DVD. In 2003 he started recording directly from DVR to DVD. If he finds an inexpensive used version of a show that he has recorded, he will replace his recording with that one. Or he will buy seasons that are missing to supplement his collection. Like when he found the 12th season for Bones, of which he had already recorded 11 seasons

All this love of media brought David to work at Boulder’s now-defunct Video Station for 20 years. David sometimes wakes up from a dream in which he still works at Video Station, wishing it still existed In the late ’90s, he witnessed the transition from VHS to DVDs and remembers that Pride and Prejudice (2005) was the last VHS that Video Station received, and on March 6, 2017, David saw the end of an era when Video Station closed its doors after 35 years

Photo courtesy of Barbara Magill

Luckily for us, David found his way to the library, where has been a much-loved materials handler extraordinaire for five years and, more recently, a library specialist substitute as well He admits to missing Video Station, but he recognizes that he loves helping library patrons with DVD selections. Meadows library has an ASK DAVID sign posted in the DVD area

“Epguides.com is incredibly useful to me,” David says. He uses it to look up all kinds of TV episode information It contains a listing of nearly every show ever made, with seasons and links, and supplements his TV show directory, which is helpful up to 1994, but is currently outdated.

David was born to be a media connoisseur. As a child, he used a portable tape recorder to create audio adventures using clips from different shows Pressing record, pressing play, rewinding, tweaking his stories with bits and pieces from other taped shows. He would yell at his sisters to “shut up! I’m recording!” and then he would aim his microphone at the TV.

In fact, David is somewhat of a celebrity among library patrons who were loyal Video Station customers. He is still recognized at the library from his time there (It’s almost like he is a DVD rock star!) And if anyone wants a DVD recommendation, David’s eyes light up when he talks about certain movies or TV series.

I asked David how he retains so much knowledge of the many shows he collects and watches. He will rattle off details about nearly any movie you could mention. His secret is simply following his passion On his bedside table sits the Leonard Maltin movie guide, where he will browse for the pleasure of it, not necessarily agreeing with all the reviews, but finding it a great referral manual. He will also read about movie or show on Wikipedia

David grew up watching “anything with a cool vehicle,” like Knight Rider, Street Hawk and Airwolf (a super helicopter). Of course, he loved Back to the Future featuring the Delorean, which he still owns as a model car As a kid, David was obsessed with Starblazers, an Americanized futuristic anime series. “I know you can watch it on YouTube, but I want to own it,” he says "You never know when something won’t be available anymore ”

The Stargate SG-1 complete series box stands out from the rest of David's collection for its memorable packaging.

Photo courtesy of Barbara Magill

Photo courtesy of David Shugert

David enjoys organizing his collection. His current system is to take a new TV series purchase home and watch a few episodes, sleeve the discs, scan the inserts, and enter it into his Google Docs database He learned his cataloguing system from working at Video station. He records the title, season, number of discs and whether it was on a network or aired on a streaming service For instance, Wings 1 1 would be season 1, disc 1

Co-worker and figure-collector enthusiast Sean Crow turned David on to the CLZ movies app, which allows him to scan the barcode on the back of a box and get the IMDB review, the cover art and the number of discs in a set. It is also a portable way to keep track of his collection so he can see what he needs when out searching for a deal

He sometimes finds a good deal at 2nd & Charles, where you can buy, sell, roam or treasure hunt for used media, books and other items And it’s the hunt that David enjoys or rather finding that little treasure Like when he found the first season of Chucky for $5, or when he found Evil Dead 2 for $1.50. “It was so awesome,” he says. David especially likes to visit on the “buy 5, get 5 free” days, because part of the fun is finding a good deal. He is at 2nd & Charles so often, the employees joke that David basically works there. He can’t help but straighten out collections and put them in order as well as help people out

Anywhere David goes, he’s on the lookout for a good, used-DVD deal. He says the ARC Thrift Store offers a more satisfying experience because you can find better bargains. He once found the entire Stargate SG1 series in a large collectible box. Completing a series is satisfying, and it’s cool to find Blu-rays, which are scratch resistant Finding and owning them gives him pleasure, but he also loves a good deal.

Photo courtesy of David Shugert

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David’s favorite movies of all time are Stand By Me and Back to the Future. His favorite TV series is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Spenser: For Hire is a close second “Anything syndicated” is most entertaining for him. Sci-fi, action and fantasy are David’s choice genres. One series he watches consistently is Poltergeist, the Legacy, which has four seasons Starman starring Robert Hays holds the most sentimental value for David, as he was roughly the same age as the main character’s son at the time it came out. He even mailed a letter asking ABC not to end the show in 1987

David doesn’t know what will happen to his DVD collection. “When I die, who’s going to take them?” His thought echoes what Bruce Shamma, former owner of Video Station, said of his inventory: as for its long-term fate, he said, "I don't know. It will be there moldering when I'm 6 feet under. Or it will be on my epitaph. Or who knows?" What David does know is that with “all the shows I have, I doubt I could watch them all in what’s left of my lifetime.” And with his collector’s mindset, he will continue to enjoy his passion and the thrill of the deal

David's Favorite DVDs

Calling

YOU CAN BE IN THE NEXT NEWSLETTER!

Did you know that Leonard DiCaprio also maintains a large collection of action and collectible figures like Sean Crow? I am looking to do more profiles on library employees who collect things Someone may have an obvious collection, like Elton John, who collects multicolored sunglasses. Or an unusual collection, like Nicole Kidman’s ancient Judean coins.

Even if you are just starting out and have a small collection, I would like to hear from you!

Please contact me, Barbara, at magillb@colorado gov so I can ask you about your collection!

EARLY MOVIE MEMORIES

BY DAVID SHUGERT

Do you remember the first movie you ever saw? Was it scary, boring, or just the coolest experience ever? Did it make you cry or laugh or scar you for life? Your fellow BPLers tell about their first movies—movies that made them laugh, cry or even reject an entire film genre—or movies they saw early on that left an indelible impression on their young psyches.

For Monnie Nilsson, a certain iconic ‘60s sciencefiction film left her feeling cold to the genre:

“Honolulu, 1970: My parents took the family to see 2001: A Space Odyssey at the big theater in town. I was a wee kid at that point (what were they thinking?), and don’t remember much except feeling like space was a cold, scary place with a creepy voice saying, ‘I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.’ It’s probably why, to this day, I’m not a science fiction fan. LOL.”

Hannah Parris had a warm spot for bloody funny British comedy from an early age:

“My dad is a big fan of Monty Python, and I first saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail when I was 6. I thought it was hilarious even though I didn’t understand a lot of it. Not too long after watching it for the first time, my family went to a high school Shakespeare play where there was a death scene. As my parents tell it, right after the actor fell dying on stage, my tiny 6-year-old voice piped up and said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s just a flesh wound!’ in a British accent. It’s a movie that I still find hilarious and my family quotes all the time!”

Barbara Magill‘s first movie experiences occurred in the 1970’s (and I have to believe that characters in the latter two movies exclaimed the title of the first as they faced water and/or fire):

“The first movie I ever saw in a movie theater was Oh, God!, when I was 13. Also, I remember being mesmerized by a double feature at the Drive-in before that [of] The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure. (I wish Drive-in theatres would make a comeback. I loved playing on the swings under the big screen while the cartoons were playing before the movies started).”

Disney’s classic animated tale Bambi is the kind of movie that makes a lot of people say, “Oh, deer.” Pun intended. In fact, it brought two BPLers to tears: One of them, sub Specialist Anita Stuehler, says, “The first movie I remember seeing is ‘Bambi’. I still remember crying so hard.”

And Adrienne Strock recalls, “The first movie I remember going to see in the theater was Bambi. I cried the whole way home because Bambi didn’t have a mom anymore.”

For Nicole Ball, William Shakespeare proved irresistible:

“I spent an entire year trying to convince my parents to take me to see [Kenneth Branagh’s] Henry V. Finally, when it was only playing in one artsy theater far away in Denver, my dad agreed. I loved the movie (we both loved [it]), and the theater was SO FANCY! For the next few years, anytime I found a movie too artsy or edgy for my friends (and I sought out those movies), I'd go with my dad. Sometimes we even had to go to Denver again to watch them! It was a really nice way to spend time with him when I was a teen.”

Jessica Ashcraft fell in love with one of the more unusual cinematic creations of the 1980’s, a project written by a member of Monty Python, produced by Star Wars guru George Lucas, and directed by Muppets creator Jim Henson:

“My most favorite movie ever as a kid was Labyrinth, starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly. I was OBSESSED with it. The movie would end and pop out of the VHS player, and I would make my older siblings immediately push the tape back in to start the movie all over again. A bit of an odd choice for a little one to love, but I guess it explains why I am the way I am today (a little weirdo!). I even have a ‘Babe with the Power’ tattoo.”

As a youth, Rebecca Doyle was a big fan of another classic Disney tearjerker:

“One movie I remember watching repeatedly as a young child was the 1957 Disney film, Old Yeller. I was probably only 5 or 6 when I started watching it, so I guess it's strange that I was so captivated by a movie that doesn't shy away from showing the harsh realities of life. Although it has a notoriously tragic ending, you can just rewind, start over, and Yeller is back to being the ‘best doggone dog in the West’ once again.”

Aimee Schumm recalls her first films as being Raiders of the Lost Ark and the 1981 version of Clash of the Titans (directed by late stop-motion animation master Ray Harryhausen):

“My family loved packing up our station wagon and heading to the drive-in movie theater. This particular night it was a doublefeature. I was 7 years old and distinctly remember the Medusa character in Clash of the Titans—she was terrifying. To this day, I cannot see anyone portraying Medusa in film. I think my parents were hoping my brother and I would fall asleep before Clash of the Titans came on, but of course we didn’t.

"[Raiders] is still a favorite, though.”

David Farnan has a pretty vivid memory of seeing his first movie:

“My first movie was the last movie shown in my hometown. Yes, a little like The Last Picture Show, every little rural town in America at one point had a movie theater. My town had less than 1,000 people growing up and the movie house was right next to the hardware store. It probably had fewer than 50 seats. I am not sure why it closed down. I assume that like cinema everywhere it struggled with attendance as televisions, news of the war in Vietnam, and ‘variety shows’ took over every household every evening--[programming like] Walter Cronkite, Laugh-In, and The Carol Burnett Show “I think it was 50 cents to go to the movies. It was 1970. I knew the movie house was closing and that this would be the last movie. We had spent all day at my aunt and uncle's house in a different town. I think we ate spaghetti. I was worried the whole time that we would not make it back in time to see the movie. But we drove home, and my mother and father dropped my brothers and I off at the movie theater in time for the previews.

“The movie was Pufnstuf. It was a musical. I don't really remember much of the storyline. I think in my mind as a kid it was tied up with the song "puff the magic dragon" but I don't think the two are related. Even now, reading the blurb on Wikipedia, the story doesn't seem that familiar. The Wikipedia entry says that the last song has the line, ‘When good friends pull together, they can do anything.’ I like that. “My brothers and I walked home after the movie. The theater closed the next day.”

Lisa Holmberg remembers “going to see movies at the drive-in theater, although I don’t remember which ones. In High School, I worked at the local AMC theater. I ate and sold a lot of popcorn and watched the beginning and end of a lot of movies.

Terzah Becker’s first movie experience was of another sci-fi classic:

“The first movie I remember seeing was the first Star Wars film, A New Hope, which came out in 1977. I was four years old, and my sister Mandy was three. My parents took us to see it at a drive-in movie theater, which was still an option for movie-goers back then, especially in smallish-town Missouri. My memories of the movie itself are impressionistic: the pew-pew sound effects, tie fighters wheeling, Luke Skywalker who looked like my Uncle Ace, the menace of Darth Vader. But Mandy and I got restless, so mid-movie my dad took us over to the sandy playground the drive-in theater offered. Mandy lost one of her sandals in the sand and dark, and my poor dad missed out on a good chunk of the movie looking for it. I hope he and my mom went again without us!

“Happily, when The Empire Strikes Back came out [in 1980], I was old enough to sit raptly through it, and three years after that I saw Return of the Jedi with my cousins. I've been a fan of the first three Star Wars movies ever since. They are in my proud, Gen-X DNA.”

Alice Eccles’ early memories of going to the movies involved an animated fox:

“One summer--I must have been at least nine, but definitely not older than eleven--I had a student summertime movie pass and went to see a movie once a week. I don't remember much about the movies, but I am pretty sure that one of them was Disney's Robin Hood (1973). I felt very grown up taking the bus by myself into downtown Boulder to the movie theater!”

Melissa Holladay’s first time in a movie theater was apparently anything but a sweet experience:

“I think the first movie I saw in a theater was Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory in 1971, [when] I was 3. I remember standing up in my seat facing back (away from the screen), looking into the eye of the projector. This entire movie freaked me out! The Oompa Loompas left a lasting impression that has fed my nightmares for years. Each one of the naughty kids and their punishments made me want to mind my manners to avoid turning into a blueberry, getting sucked up into a chocolate tube, shrunk or sent away with the bad eggs. I have seen it since that first time but still close my eyes when the Oompa Loompas "doompety doo" their way into the screen.”

As for me, I don’t really remember what movie I first saw in the theater. My parents say I saw the 1977 Star Wars five times, but I was only 5 when it first came to theaters. I guess the first one I actually remember seeing was Airplane!, which my parents took me and my twin sister to see for our 9th birthday in 1980. I didn’t get a lot of the humor at the time, but now I count it as one of my all-time favorites.

When on vacation, visit the local library!

Kathy Rolfes

Seriously, you won’t be sorry! Back in 2002 I forced my family to take an hour detour from our vacation resort in Maine to travel to the Skidompha Public Library to see the original artwork of Barbara Cooney, a children’s book writer who received multiple Caldecott awards (I am a real fan of Cooney’s book, Miss Rumphius!)

Since that stop was so perfect I have made an effort to include a trip to the local library as a “must stop” during most of our vacations There are so many reasons why I include these little gems on my trips, but I guess the number one reason why I visit local libraries is that it is so validating. I’m never disappointed entering a library and constantly impressed with effort put into even the smallest of the libraries to engage their community. You find out so much about the place and people that you are visiting and I always walk out with awesome recommendations from our trusty local counterparts (could be local art, could be book suggestions, could be a restaurant or a secret local trail that nobody knows about, you never know!) Even our close local libraries like Lyons and Nederland are a true pleasure to visit

Here is a list of my 2022-2023 visits so farit certainly is nice to be a semi-retired librarian!

-Southampton Free library, New York (Free swag and great restaurant recommendation)

-Greenpoint Library Branch - Brooklyn NY (I got invited to join a special class on lamp repair...and I happen to have a lamp that needs repair!)

-Mackinac Island Public Library, Mackinac Island, Michigan (respite from all the crazy tourists and free beautiful postcards)

-Teton County Public Library, Jackson, WY (so many trail maps and you can check out records!)

-Buenos Aires Library, Buenos Aires Argentina (Great street art)

-Scottsdale Public Library, Arabian Branch (Wow on the architecture)

Photos courtesy of Kathy Rolfes

Moments of Joy!

By Cassie Loosbrock

In spirit of our One Book One Boulder theme, staff share moments of joy from around BPL:

“I took this photo of our fabulous volunteer Jason Cho's 4-year-old niece, who tagged along with him to volunteer for our showing of Frozen II. She was so delightful! Dressed up in her Frozen dress, she worked hard pushing chairs and moving items into the closet and setting out napkins on the kids' tables. She added a spark and *sparkle * of joy to the setting up of the event.”

-Barbara Magill

"Donnie won a 2022 City Values Award!"

-Louise Fordyce

Photo courtesy of Louise Fordyce

Photo courtesy of Barbara Magill

"Meadows has recently acquired an inflatable dinosaur costume, and it’s the best thing ever! It brings so much joy, not just to patrons, but also to us staff. Here is our very own Monnie Nilsson in the suit, chomping on some bubbles shot from Barbara Magill’s bubble gun at storytime! " -Jessica

Ashcraft

“At the end of January, Carnegie Library hosted a National History Day event with an open house and research rendezvous. It was a joy to see teens in the Carnegie reading room looking at archival materials. It was also a joy to collaborate with BPL staff from other departments to create this event—everyone did what they do best, and the event turned out even better than expected.” -Nicole

Docimo

Cassie hosted THE cutest Yoga storytime at Meadows! Seeing all the little ones do the poses with their adults makes your heart burst with joy.

-Jessica Ashcraft

Photo courtesy of Barbara Magill

Photo courtesy of Jessica Ashcraft

By Rebecca Doyle

What is your earliest memory of the library? Did you attend a library program that has stuck with you over the years? Was there a librarian who helped inspire your love of reading? Do you still remember the children’s area of your first library? Given our choice of profession, it’s not surprising that so many of us have fond memories of our childhood library visits. Here are some recollections from fellow staff members.

My earliest library memory was going to Storytime! They had big pillows, almost like couch cushions for us to sit on The library in my hometown (Crested Butte) was originally an old schoolhouse and was built in 1883 so it had a really old but cozy feel to it. I love going as often as possible!

-Celine Cooper

My first library was actually Boulder Public Library! My family often took the bus downtown from rural north Boulder, and the library was a regular part of my life. The 1974 addition was brand-new when I was coming here as a kid, and the children's area was where it is now--except that it wasn't as big then*. I remember lounging to read on a piece of furniture made to look like a huge cloth book! It had dips and valleys to curl up in, and it has stuck in my mind all these years later. I also have fond memories of visiting the Pooh Garden statues that were outdoors below a bridge that led out from the south doors (I'm a little hazy on the exact location). One of the books I remember checking out was called "Upside-Down Town", where everything was wacky--and someone had a gadget called a "flash-dark" which shone out darkness instead of light!

*These days, when I tell people about the history of the building, I show them where the 1992 addition meets the 1974 part, and do a little "time warping" by stepping from one side to the other!

-Alice Eccles

When I was a kid, I was homeschooled, and we spent a LOT of time at our local public libraries. We often went to the neighborhood branch library in Irmo, South Carolina, and it was a special trip to go all the way downtown to the big Main Richland Library in the capital city of Columbia At the neighborhood branch library, the head Children’s Librarian, Miss Becky (I still remember her name!) hosted a book club for homeschooled kids. I remember we read How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell and one of the kids in the book club dug up some worms and fried them for all of us to try!! For many years after the homeschool book club, when I’d stop by the branch library, Miss Becky would recognize me and greet me by name.

-Christine Burke

PhotocourtesyofCherylCrane, viaPinterest

Photo courtesy of PS

Myfirstlibrarymemoryisfrom second grade,ofthe enticingrow of hardcoverNancyDrew mysteries onthetopshelf oftheback wall stacksinthe children's section oftheColumbiaPublicLibraryin Columbia,MO,whereI grew up.TheNancyDrew stories—with their classic yellow andblue spines and1950s-lookingcovers-werethefirst chapterbooksI ever read,andlike manykids,I wantedto readthe whole series,in order,RIGHTNOW.TheCPL librarians,intryingto get me more and morebooksinthe series, eventuallyhadto resorttointerlibraryloan.I rememberthe aweI feltknowingthat oneinstallmenthad cometo me allthe wayfrom Fulton,MO--I mean geez,that was a whole30 milesdownI-70 fromhome!Andtheysentthisbook. .to me!Such a miracle!

-TerzahBecker

I gotkicked out ofStorytime as akid.My brother wasthe smart and quiet childthat satthrough stories,also a year olderthan me.I wasthe onethathadto go out of the roomtokeepthe peace.Seriously, been alibrarianfor alongtime now…but that always makes me smile.I gotkicked out ofStorytime.Morethan once.More thantwice.

-LauraHankins

My earliest memory is of the Brighton Library in Michigan. It was in the tiny old firehouse next to the mill pond. Storytime was held upstairs right next to the firepole! I DESPERATELY wanted to try going down that pole!

I remember going back to that building 12 years later when it was a bookstore and the old building / books odor vividly called that memory to mind Sadly, the second floor wasn’t open to the public. My first library job was for that same library 30 years after that storytime pole yearning. No poles, but a gorgeous children’s garden with open space behind the library.

-Kathy

Lane

My elementary school library had a claw footed bathtub full of pillows. There was some sort of rotation for who got to read in the tub on library day Hopefully, there was some sort of rotation to wash the pillows and blankets in there too, but who knows?! Either way, it was highly motivating for 5-year-old Tim to read, read, read

-Tim McClleland

The first library my family went to when I was a child was in a converted colonial mansion in Leesburg, Virginia We lived 15 minutes outside of town an eternity for me as a child so going to the library was always a treat I remember going down a wrought-iron spiral staircase to get to the small, dark basement where the VHS collection was kept. When they built the large new public library on the outskirts of town, the previous building was converted to a history and genealogy library called the Thomas Balch Library. Probably a more appropriate use of the architecture.

-Rebecca Doyle

Growing up in Honolulu, I walked to the local library about 3 blocks away from my house on a regular basis as a little kid (back when kids could do that alone) I don’t recall my exact first library memory, but an early indelible memory I had was this: I emember sneaking into the Kaimuki Public Library’s adult section when I was in first ade. I sat on the floor and pulled out book after book trying to make sense of what I as seeing. I saw Slaughterhouse 5 and was scared to look inside because I thought t was about killing animals for meat. I pulled out Alistair Cooke’s America and was hocked by pictures showing atrocities that directly led to the Civil Rights Movement. The images were indelible to this day I sat on that cool floor, hour after hour, book ter book, taking it all in The librarian would do her rounds and sometimes smile and ther times frown at me quizzically, but never shooed me back to the kids’ section I lso distinctly recall participating in the library’s summer theater program when I was in second grade where I played the both a court jester and the princess in The Princess and the Pea I got to climb onto a tall stack of mattresses -- exhilarating! I liked the princess outfit and the climbing Still remember it all

-Monnie Nilsson

CARNEGIE CACHE:

Florence Molloy and Mabel MacLeay: A piece of women’s history, a possible piece of LGBTQ history?

By Nicole Docimo

Since the first time I happened upon the photo above in the Carnegie Library archive, I have been intrigued by these two women. If you’re interested in Boulder history, you have likely heard of them; in addition to developing their own business in mountain tours and operating a taxi service around town (something that was virtually unheard of as a profession for women when they arrived in Boulder circa 1918), Florence Molloy and Mabel MacLeay also owned a dude ranch in Gold Hill called the Double M Ranch after their two last names. But this is just the first layer of their story

Last summer I began learning about the process of uncovering LGBTQ stories from history. LGBTQ history is one of the most difficult histories to find as it is so often completely invisible As I began dipping my toe in this work with the help of the Colorado LGBTQ history project, Florence Molloy and Mabel MacLeay popped back into my head. At that point I had never really dove into their story, but I found it interesting that their names were always spoken in the same sentence without any mention of men. As an archivist, the cardinal rule when conducting research is: assume nothing, so I looked more deeply at the facts of their lives

Mabel MacLeay and Florence Molloy with their taxis, 1922. Photo by Ed Tangen. From the Museum of Boulder Collection at Carnegie Library (Call# 141-16-9).

Chapter

According to all available accounts, Florence Molloy and Mabel MacLeay came to Boulder in a five-passenger touring car from Syracuse, New York. The exact date is unknown, but from Daily Camera clippings, we know they were here by spring 1918. The two women had each been married, but they came to Boulder together without either of their husbands. They also brought Florence Molloy’s two daughters and Mabel MacLeay’s son, all three children 10 and under. In a 1927 Rocky Mountain News article, the women are referred to as widows, but I discovered in later newspaper clippings that Mabel MacLeay’s husband was still alive years later at the time of her son’s marriage. I have yet to discover what happened to Florence Molloy’s husband. On census records and other documents, the two women were listed as married, widowed, and divorced in different years, adding up to very nebulous information. What we can confirm is that these two women came west together, lived together for 30+ years, raised their children in the same home, traveled together, and were in business together

In terms of LGBTQ history, there are a series of markers that can be used to identify potential LGBTQ people from the past: “Never married/confirmed bachelor” is a marker. Shared long-term home with a same-sex person is another marker. A gap in the person’s life history is another

While Molloy and MacLeay were each married before moving to Boulder, I find the confusion around their later marital status to be fascinating. Florence Molloy was known to be a big personality and storyteller, narrating her high mountain taxi rides with stories from the area, but in everything we have in our archive, details about the women’s lives before moving to Boulder are obscured

We will likely never be able to confirm that Florence Molloy and Mabel MacLeay were a same-sex couple. It is completely possible, that they were just dear friends We also must consider how identities have changed over time--how people self-identified in 1918 is different than how they identify today, so we can never absolutely identify someone from the past using current concepts Add to this the fact that even if Molloy and MacLeay were a same-sex couple in a way similar to what that identity means today, they may have wanted to remain hidden.

As a straight person, I cannot speak to the experience of an LGBTQ person engaging with this story of two women who made a life together 100 years ago in the west But as a woman I can speak to my experience learning about these women who made their own way in a world that defined women by the role of wife and mother it makes room for me to also create my own path. When considering doing the work to retell stories like Molloy and MacLeay’s as possible pieces of Boulder’s LGBTQ history even though we may never confirm them, and even though there’s a chance these two women would not want to be “outed,” I like to imagine that surfacing these stories begins to create a history for all the different ways people have lived, which opens up and legitimizes possibilities for current and future generations

What do you meme?

Jessica Ashcraft

Enjoy that Audiobook

Finer

I am one of those people that when I find something I like, I cannot get enough of it And so I am always searching and downloading that next great audiobook. I wonder how everyone cannot love audiobooks but then I ask. William, an undergraduate journalism student, changed his mind more than once between the unicorn and the sloth library card design and insisted audiobooks don’t work for him. “Lack of attention span,” he said. Ninety-year-old Jean waved away the thought of listening to another audiobook “It was so boring.” She leaned closer to gather her books off the front desk. “Maybe it was a bad narrator.” I mentioned that downloading audiobooks opened my world and she said she might give it another try I agreed with her that it is too hard to sit still and listen.

For me, the story behind Audible makes me love audiobooks even more Don Katz, a writer, frustrated with yet again changing his audiobook tape cassette mid-run, worked for years to find a better way. His ideas about downloading audiobooks were way ahead of the technology

He was not a tech guy, yet he used his skills as a journalist covering world events for Rolling Stone Magazine to think in a bigger way After he first launched a dedicated device to download audiobooks in 1997, Audible almost went out of business many times. His belief in what he was creating was the motivating factor, not money, even though Audible was eventually sold to Amazon for three hundred million. He believed in the power of oral storytelling, the joy of listening to audiobooks and the positive impact reading along with a recorded book has on language processing challenges

Katz’s literary mentor, the writer Ralph Ellison, woke him up to the influence of oral culture on American literature “The sound of our language is beautiful, and to have it professionally intoned and interpreted—it’s just another interesting intellectual dimension of longer storytelling.”

As storytellers and librarians, we see the pleasure children get from being read to, and why does that need to stop as we age? As Katz defending his decision to leave a good literary career for ‘this inferior form of audio transmission, reminded critics that “Greeks were dead set against text in every way. Everything that made the difference intellectually, for thousands of years, was oral culture ”

Alyssa

Stock Photo

It is easy to forget how different the experience with audiobooks was before having the ability to download them. Lynette, recently retired, was excited that the Libby app I helped her download gave her access to audiobooks in addition to ebooks. “I used to listen to audiobooks on CDs in the car but it has been so long,” she said as she moved her reading glasses to the top of her head She smiled about having a good use for the bluetooth speaker gifted to her. Things today are so different than when Katz was starting Audible. Then there would be a small shelf in the back of the bookstore with audiobooks that all cost too much The market was small and when publishers gained traction with people who wanted to listen to audiobooks, they raised prices. It was considered industry growth when audiobooks increased from $19 95 to $40 00

If Jean decides to give audiobooks another try, she will have a much better chance of finding a ‘good’ narrator as actors are encouraged to add an interpretive layer to the reading of the book. Audible has a digital self-service platform for authors and actors to meet, hold auditions, and produce audiobooks remotely. There is a whole community of trained actors, who can keep forty and fifty characters in their head, reading books to us

Katz’s excitement is contagious but sometimes it takes science to convince people about the benefits of audiobooks Research at the University of California, Berkeley, found the brain responses of people listening or reading stories lit up the same areas on brain scans. “[W]ords tend to activate the same brain regions with the same intensity, regardless of input ”

In addition to his desire to make listening to an audiobook as easy as possible on his runs, Katz saw firsthand the benefits of audiobooks on learning through the experience of his oldest daughter. As a kid, she had language processing challenges, a dyslexia-like learning problem. She learned to read by synchronizing Library of Congress tapes with a paperback so she could listen and read at the same time. Beyond what they were told to expect, his daughter became a teacher, an A student, earning dual Masters’ degrees

Cosmo put down the books he was processing and agreed there is a benefit to listening to audiobooks, but ‘only those books that don’t take too much concentration’ since he does more than one thing as he listens He prefers to hold a book that takes more concentration in his hands as he reads. Maybe there is a reason the first downloaded book was the self-help book, Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus, rather than a literary masterpiece

Whatever type of audiobook you choose to listen to even as you exercise, drive, clean, cook or engage in any other task, there are still so many benefits even if you are concentrating less Listening to audiobooks keeps you engaged, improves pronunciation, listening skills, focus and attention. You experience the story in a lively way and develop empathy for the characters I am proof to the claim that listening to audiobooks boosts our mental health.

References

1. Guy Raz (host), November 21, 2021, Audible: Don Katz, How I built this with Guy Raz

2 Uzoamaka Maduka, Interview with Donald Katz, CEO & Founder of Audible com, August Issue, The American Reader (stopped publishing in 2015)

3. Maduka, August Issue, The American Reader.

4. Maduka, August Issue, The American Reader

5 Maduka, August Issue, The American Reader

6 Jennifer Walter, Audiobooks or Reading? To our Brains, it Doesn’t Matter, August 22, 2019, Discover Magazine (on-line).

7. Raz, Audible: Don Katz, How I built this with Guy Raz

8. Subodh Sharma, 10 Amazing Benefits of Audiobooks Every Book Lover Should Know, posted on Gladreaders

Staff Tattoos

As we say goodbye to the freezing temperatures of the winter, it’s time to show off some skin! Tattoos used to be taboo, but have become increasingly more common. Here is a spotlight on some of your coworker’s unique body art and the stories that inspired them.

By Jessica Ashcraft

The inspiration: The tattoo:

On Dec. 20, 1999, my then-sister-in-law brought a little black puppy to my office in Craig. He was wrapped in a red bow that was almost as big as he was. I named him Boris, and he was the dog of my heart, seeing me through a rotten divorce, a couple of graduate degrees, illness, an evacuation by helicopter... all the things. Boris was named for Boris Pasternak, whose family were Ukrainian Jews. The name Boris comes from Saint Boris, who in 864 AD adopted Christianity and converted Bulgaria. My Boris died in 2016, but his warrior heart will always remain with my own.

-Karen Bowen

The inspiration:

The tattoos:

When I first moved to Colorado a little over a year ago, I only had 2 small tattoos Since living here, I’ve acquired 13 more! I love my tattoos because they feel like they allow me to express myself as my truest form Some of my tattoos represent my bookish librarian side, like my original sketch of Paddington drawn by Peggy Fortnum, and a Pride and Prejudice quote. I also have nerd tattoos, like my Princess Leia and Jiji from Kiki’s Delivery Service. My tattoos make me feel like a walking art gallery, full of everything that's important to me.

-Jessica Ashcraft

The tattoo:

The inspiration:

-Melissa Holladay

My tattoo is an image from a BTS album, but I couldn't decide which way I wanted it to face, towards me or away, so I took to Word and created these interconnected hearts to do both.