Volume 30 Number 2
www.floridabibliophilesociety.org
N President: Irene Pavese Vice President: Maureen E. Mulvihill Treasurer: Carl Mario Nudi Recording Secretary: Joan Sackheim FABS Representative: Carl Mario Nudi Newsletter Editor: Sue Tihansky Website Manager: Carl Nudi
Next Meeting September 15, 2013 1:30 P.M. SEMINOLE COMMUNITY LIBRARY At St. Petersburg College 9200 - 113th Street N. Seminole, Florida, 33772 727-394-6905
MEETING SCHEDULE 1:30 PM THIRD SUNDAY of the MONTH At times there will be exceptions, please check your newsletter. ODD MONTHS meet at Seminole Community Library JAN MAR SEPT NOV EVEN MONTHS meet at the University of Tampa Library (second floor) FEB APRIL OCT MAY: Annual Banquet TBA DEC: Holiday Party TBA No Meetings in JUN JULY AUG
Dear fellow bibliophiles, Every organization needs dedicated leadership and an infusion of new members to succeed and grow. Without both, the organization ends up being static and non-productive. After almost 30 years the Florida Bibliophile Society has found itself in a precarious position where its continued existence is in jeopardy. At the last meeting, only one member was elected into office. President Irene Pavese, interim Tresurer Carl Mario Nudi, Recording Secretary Joan Sackheim, and Newsletter Editor Sue Tihansky all said they will not serve in those position for another term because of other commitments. Thankfully, Maureen Mulvihill has graciously accepted to serve again as vice president. Since taking office, Maureen has consistently made sure the Society had an interesting slate of speakers for our meetings, often introducing them by taking on a character familiar to the speaker’s topic. But, Maureen has indicated she will only be able to serve until December, 2013 as vice president. Maureen cannot, and should not have to, do it alone. Most of those at the last meeting, which also served as our end-of-year banquet, have served the Society as president or in another capacity. We should not have to depend on them to carry on the functions of the Society. Besides, we need new blood to serve as officers with new ideas so we can grow and be a viable organization. The main source of new members has been from our volunteer efforts at the check-in table at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair in March. This past year we signed up eight new members. But we cannot expect these new members to step up and run an organization they are just getting to know. So where does that leave us? This is the question we will have to search our hearts to answer. If we want the Florida Bibliophile Society to continue some of the members who maybe joined three, four years ago, need to step up and get involved. Otherwise, come September, — dare I say it — the Florida Bibliiophile Society will be no more. Please contact me as soon as possible if you can help and I can suggest how you may serve. Sincerely, Irene past president
June 2013
By Rose Sabin David Hagberg, our speaker for our March 17 meeting, took us on two journeys. The first was his journey from his first writing attempt in 6th grade to best-selling author of 80 novels. And the second was the journey of a novel from idea to published book. He also offered advice for would-be authors. His personal journey as a writer began in fourth grade when the class was reading Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder, and his teacher said, "You know, people sit down and write books like this and get paid for it." That revelation gave birth to a determination to write that never left him. It persisted through four years in the U.S. Air Force, which he joined at age 17, and where he gained great experience and factual knowledge working as a cryptographer in Germany at the world's largest cryptographic center. That environment exposed him to international intrigue, CIA operatives, and clandestine activities, experiences that he still draws on in writing his thrillers. On leaving the Air Force, he studied at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Maryland, majoring in science, physics, and math. He worked for three years as a cub reporter on the Duluth Herald and News-Tribune, then as a news desk editor for Associated Press. During that time he was writing and submitting true crime stories. Those stories found homes in Inside Detective and True Detective, magazines published by Dell.
His editor at Dell told him, "You can be better," and challenged him to write a novel. He submitted an idea and outline and received his first contract. Never having written a novel, before beginning he wanted to analyze how the experts produced best sellers. So he began by typing For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemingway, then read his typed copy, editing and changing it, rewriting the ending several times. He did the same with a novel by Harold Robbins. Finally, in 1973 he began writing his own novel, and in 1975 Dell published that first novel, Twister. Since that time he has continued to write daily, following the routine of reading the previous day's work, then writing five pages of new material. He has always had a literary agent, his current one being his fifth. By the time his publisher, Tom Doherty, left Dell and founded Tor, a publishing house that publishes science fiction and fantasy, he and his publisher had become good friends. Since Hagberg wrote suspense thrillers, not science fiction, Doherty added Continued
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Two Journeys and Wise Advice from a Real Pr Pro ro P ro
the Forge imprint for Hagberg's novels and others that like his fell outside the science fiction and fantasy genres. In order to have not just one but two or three or four novelss nder published per year, in addition to his own name, Hagberg writes under several pseudonyms. In this way he is able to make a comfortable living as an author. For a complete listing of his novels and the pseudonyms many are written under, see his website: http://davidhagberg.com/ Mr. Hagberg placed on the display tables a series of stacks of he paper and finally three editions of his novel Abyss that illustrated the second journey: that of a novel from idea to finished product. The journey begins with the pitching of an idea to his agent and/or publisher. His publisher, Tom Doherty, told him, "Dave, whatever you write we'll publish." So, unlike most authors, he no longer needs to o submit an outline—he receives a contract on the basis of his idea. His first contract was one legal-size sheet, back and front. He displayed his current contract, which is 30 pages long and contains many crossed out sections, where his agent has negotiated changes in the boilerplate contract to preserve for the author rights that would otherwise have gone to the publisher. Next in the display were two sets of notes. Stage one contains a series of notes expanding on the idea, contents of the first and the last chapters, post-it notes on the characters, setting, etc. Stage two is research. That stack contained newspaper and magazine articles, computer printouts, maps, transcripts of conversations. Hagberg admitted he likes research better than writing. But eventually he reaches a point when he says, "Enough of this stuff. It's time to start writing." So he begins, following the advice to "write the first scene so the reader is going to want to read the book and write the last scene so that the reader is going to want to read the next book." He displayed a large stack of papers representing his rewrites and many revisions. When he has a completed and revised manuscript, he prints it out and reads it through, making comments in red where he sees needed changes. That was the next stack on display. From that revision comes the manuscript that is sent to his editor via email. That will be returned with the editor's requests for revisions. When those are made, the copy editor gets that manuscript and goes through it using post-it notes to ask questions about spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. The manuscript is also reviewed by the legal department, the marketing department, and the art department, which will have questions for the author from the cover artist. These processes take about a year. The next stack on the display table contained the next phase of production: the galleys. These are printed sheets showing what will become the pages of the actual book. The author must go through these carefully to catch
typos made in the typesetting process and to make any last-minute changes that may seem needed. The next stage is the printing of ARCs—Advanced Reading Copies, to be sent for reviews in such publications as Kirkus and Publishers Weekly and to individual reviewers. Following the ARC of Abyss was the hardcover edition. Mr. Hagberg explained that it takes another year from the printing of the galleys to the release of the hardcover book. And finally, another year later, the book appears as a mass market paperback. E-books, audio books, and foreign editions follow. David Hagberg offered a lot of advice for writers. First and foremost was "Don't quit your day job." Around 95% of all authors in America don't make enough to live on their writing. Then he advised to do as he did: If you want to write like the pros, take a book from the best seller list, one in your genre, type it out, and analyze it to see what the writer does, what devices are used, how the author achieves certain effects. Study it carefully. Be sure to use a contemporary novel, as writing styles change through the years. Pick a current novel. Don't copy the best seller but strive to write as well as its author. Read everything. Characterize by dialog. Remember that all characters need motivation for their actions. Don't kill off your bad guy because without the bad guy there's nothing for the good guy to do. All good advice. We thank David Hagberg for taking us on these journeys and for challenging those of us who write in his enjoyable and profitable presentation. Thanks to Maureen Mulvihill for scheduling Mr. Hagberg. She was dressed as a KGB operative, trenchcoat and all when she introduced him to the FBS. Rose Sabin
For this 1930s photo, the cryptic markings were filled with chalk. Since this valuable picture was made, the rock has continued to erode, making serious study increasingly difficult. photo courtesy Jerry Parker
From North Carolina History Project by Jonathan Martin on Internet Within the Nantahala National Forest in Jackson County, an interesting petroglyph (a prehistoric carving) rests in an open pasture. Known as the Judaculla Rock, many tourists and archeologists have visited the mystic rock to admire the markings and develop theories on the origin of the large landmark. The Judaculla Rock is a soapstone rock with numerous Native American symbols etched throughout. It is a deeply associated with the Tsu’kalu or Judaculla (meaning “ he has them slanting” or “slant-eyed giant”) legend of the Cherokee. Like most Native American tribes, the Cherokee believed the spirit world influenced the things of the physical world and that every man and piece of nature (animals, weather, plants, etc.) exhibited a spirit. The gods of the spiritual world controlled the spirits, and often times the Cherokee relied on a mediation between the physical world and the spiritual world; Judaculla Rock served as a landmark for a the hunting god. According to the tale, Judaculla was a giant who had slanted eyes along with superhuman-like powers. He selected a bride from the Cherokee tribe, but the bride’s mother and brother wanted their sister back after Judaculla had taken her into the spirit world. To see the bride, both the mother and brother had fasted for seven days outside a cave in which their sister lived with the other god spirits. However, the brother was famished after six days, and he ate a piece of meat before the end of the seventh day. Judaculla came back into the physical world to punish the bride’s brother, and he entered through the Judaculla Rock, believed by the Cherokee as “ the spirit’s stepping-stone into the physical world of mortal beings”. In his fit of anger, Judaculla killed the bride’s brother with a thrash of lightning, grieving the bride to the point that she wished to return to her earthly tribe. Yet, Judaculla refused to give up his wife and he compromised with the Cherokee to keep her in the spirit world. Judaculla allowed all brave and faithful tribesmen and women to enter into an eternal life in the spirit world after their deaths. After his deal with the Cherokee, the tribe discovered the markings on the Judaculla Rock, and they have since been believed to tell of how one can enter into the spiritual world. The Cherokee declared Judaculla Master of all Game Animals and the sustainer spirit of the tribe. Tribesmen and women started several rituals that focused on honoring the giant. Other Cherokee traditions hold the Judaculla Rock to be a remnant of Judaculla’s great leap from his high mountaintop. For those who doubt the ancient Judaculla tradition, theories have been proposed in regards to the rock’s possible practical origins. Some historians believe the etchings to be a map of the Battle of Taliwa where the Cherokee defeated the Creek tribe in 1755. Yet, archeologists and geologists refute this theory because the Cherokee were not known for etching their history on stone or rock. Subsequent archeologists have theorized that the Judaculla Rock was a remnant of a pre-historic tribe who lived at the end of the Ice Age. Despite the mystery of the Judaculla Rock, the place remains a historic landmark to the Eastern Band of Cherokee. Some adamant Cherokee tribesmen continue to fast at the site of the rock to understand the ancient message left by Judaculla. Recent restoration efforts have been made to preserve what is left of the sacred rock.
The ICFA Opening Panel, showing from left: Guest Scholar Constance Penley, Guests of Honor Neil Gaiman and Kij Johnson, Panel Host Andy Duncan. Photo by Juan San Miguel
By ELENORA SABIN
For many years attending the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts was the highlight of my year. Unfortunately, from 2008 through 2012 I was unable to attend this wonderful event. This year I was able to return, and from March 20 through 23 again enjoyed the experience of spending time with and hearing talks and readings by some of the top authors and scholars in my field of science fiction and fantasy. Why do I think this would be of interest to members of the Bibliophile Society? The conference, presented by the International Association on the Fantastic in the Arts (IAFA) has as its purpose, as stated on the IAFA website, "‌ to promote and recognize achievement in the study of the fantastic, mainly through the organization and management of an annual academic conference, the International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA). IAFA also publishes the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, which is a peer-reviewed journal for scholarship within the field of the fantastic." The "field of the fantastic" covers all media: film, theater, art, short stories, poetry, and, of course, books. Attending scholars come from all over the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Near East, Australia, South America, and the Caribbean. This year I didn't note anyone from Asia or Africa, although there may have been; those areas have been represented in past years.
This year's conference theme was "Fantastic Adaptations, Transformations, and Audiences." The opening panel featured the two author guests of honor and the guest scholar discussing transformations in their own lives that led them to their current positions. A later featured event was a special panel on Adapting Shakespeare, discussing the many ways in which Shakespeare's plays have been adapted, whether such adaptations are good or bad, and why. Decision, decisions! The most difficult part of the conference was deciding what session to attend among the ten or eleven scheduled for each time slot. These sessions included papers and panels on: fan fiction, graphic novels, films and TV programs, novels, short stories, children's books including picture books, and poetry. There was truly something for everyone. How I wished I could clone myself and attend them all. Continued
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Panel on Adapting Fairy Tales: from left, Scholars Veronica Schanoes, Cristina Bacchilega, Helen Pilinovsky; Author Kij Johnson, Artist Charles Vess, Author Delia Sherman. Photo by Elenora Sabin
Poetry Readings 1: Words and Worlds. from left, Lorraine Schein, Don Riggs, Geoffrey Landis, David Lunde, Gina Wisker. Photo by Elenora Sabin
Author Reading: Suzy McKee Charnas. Photo by Elenora Sabin
Attending authors give readings, talks, and interviews, and a very well stocked bookroom offers their books, which attendees can purchase and then have signed by the authors. Guest of Honor Neil Gaiman gave a wonderful reading filled with both humor and pathos from his forthcoming book The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Special events during the conference are the Guest of Honor Luncheon, the Guest Scholar Luncheon, and the Awards Banquet. At these events attendees are treated not only to speeches by the Guest of Honor and the Guest Scholar, but to free books placed at every place setting, at least two per person, and sometimes more. Now what bibliophile could resist the offer of free books? Not this one! I came home with ten free books, including one by our immediate past speaker, David Hagberg (Abyss), and four others purchased either in the bookroom or directly from the authors. I attended readings by some of my favorite novelists and poets and by some with whom I was unfamiliar prior to the conference. I heard panel discussions featuring both authors and scholars, papers by professors and graduate students, stimulating discussions and speeches, saw three short plays written, directed, and acted in by conference attendees, and had the chance to chat with old friends and new acquaintances, all of whom share my interest in the field of the fantastic. I've returned inspired and motivated and already looking forward to next year's conference, to be held March 19-24, 2014, in the Orlando Airport Marriott. the conference theme to be Fantastic Empires. Maybe some of you other bibliophiles will join me there. Elenora Sabin
By Sue Schulze
Bibliophiles of the Florida Bibliophile Society were given a rare treat on Sunday afternoon, April 21st, when they visited member Dave Barry's St. Petersburg establishment and learned about his book preservation service. Located in a block of stores on Central Avenue just off Pasadena, is Griffin Bookbinding Company, of which he is the owner and operator. If anyone had anticipated a musty old workshop piled with torn pages from old novels presided over by a feisty old world aging guy, as folklore would have it, they had another think coming. A thoroughly modern shop, brightly lit, with a thoroughly modern proprietor, everything in its place and a number of lighted cabinets faced visitors as they entered.
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On the right wall were the delicate tools of the trader, all lined up and ready for use. On the left wall were shelves full of volumes ready for Barry's preservation work. Such is his reputation that he has contracts for eight months' work ready for his expertise. Down the center of the shop is a long heavy table ready for the painstaking efforts needed for restoring valuable volumes. Barry spoke from this worktable as he demonstrated the many steps in bringing a book to its original condition and discussed the various materials used for bindings.
Maureen E. Mulvihill, a fellow member who had arranged the programs, introduced the speaker, describing his seven year apprenticeship in Wales. Well established as a binder and preservationist in Britain, Barry told of how he had come to the States on an occupational diversity visa lottery. Arriving on the West Coast, he had established himself there before moving to this community and taking over the Griffin shop. Barry's website "Griffinbookbinding.com" brings up a listing of the many aspects of the work which he performs: Bible restoration, clamshell boxes, custom covers, designer bindings, document binding/repairs, hotfoil stamping, periodical binding, restoration and slipcases.
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Reading that list most of us would wonder who might be the clients for all this expensive work. About a fifth of the books brought in for service come for sentimental reasons of the owner. Bible restorations are frequent examples. Other books which families wish to preserve are also items worthy of restoration. One of the members of the Society brought to the meeting a book which had received Barry's expertise. It was an Eighteen Century geography book of her grandfather's which he had found in poor shpae, and missing several pages. They had managed to find another copy via the internet, copied its pages, and Barry had tipped them in before rebinding and building a slip box to fit, rewarding a very happy owner. Over time book bindings begin to disintegrate from air or water pollution, mishandling or overhandling, It is worth the expense to many owners to have these volumes restored, even though it is a time-consuming demanding work for an experienced hand. The major contracts for Barry's work are for the book's monetary or commercial value Libraries must bind many serial publications and must preserve their valuable books in good shape. Book dealers need to bring up the quality of individual items for sale to obtain the best price. Barry demonstrated the condition of books brought to him and the various steps he takes. This sometimes includes retaining the gold decoration of the original binding. For a very useful listing of the conditions of books dealers refer to when offering them for sale such as "fine" or "very good" see AbeBooks.com "guide to Book Conditions" on the internet. Barry used many of these terms as he entertained the membership in a very interesting and educational Sunday afternoon. Sue Schulze
From the Newsletter of the University of Delaware Library Associates. Continued from opposite page
GORDON A. PFEIFFER, an out-of-state FBS member, is widely known throughout the book, library and collecting world as major collector as well as an expert on book cover design, papermaking and the book arts. He is the editor of the book, An Anthology of Delaware Papermaking (Oak Knoll Press and the Delaware Bibliophiles 1991). As a founder of the Delaware Bibliophiles in 1977, Gordon Pfeiffer served as its President for many years. He is serving as the editor of the newsletter of the Delaware Bibliophiles, Endpapers. Pfeiffer has been a generous donor to the University of Delaware Library, especialy to Special Collections. In 2004, he gave his major 200-volume Margaret Armstrong collection to the Library. Margaret Armstrong (1867-1944) is considered the most influential woman in book cover design. In 2011, he gave the Library a collection of printing, literary and design magazines, many featuring the work of Will Bradley, in whom he has had a longtime special interest. He also donated his extensive trade binding collection to the Library. The collection holds a wide array of the various binding styles employed by publishers and bookbinders in the 19th and early 20th centuries. As handmade objects, these bindings employ a variey of materials and decorative designs, which often vary from copy to copy. Many of these bindings were signed by their initials, cypher or full name, usually somewhere on the front cover.
source for the word’s appearance in 1852 (“Where that cosmetic…Shall e’er revirginize that brow’s abuse,” the listing says), she tried to locate the book. All she could find was the one little mention in a bookseller’s catalog from 1854. It’s unusual for there to be such scant evidence for the existence of a source in the first edition. Furthermore, the O.E.D.’s team of bibliographers--they are the unsung heroes of the O.E.D., according to Martin--are intimately familiar with the handwritings of the champion slip-writers, and Hurst did not recognize the writing on the slip for “revirginize” that made mention of “Meanderings of Memory.” This book is cited forty-eight other times—a high number of citations for an obscure work. I asked Martin if she had a pet theory about who wrote the book and whether it even existed: Would someone have made up a source for forty-nine different words? Martin thinks that the tiny entry in the bookseller’s catalog is evidence that the book is out there somewhere. She suspects it may have been a vanity project—self-published, narrowly distributed—that sold badly. Maybe the writer of the slips citing “Meanderings” was the author of the book! “Here is a book that everyone has forgotten,” Martin said, “but it is immortal. It is in the O.E.D.” A clever bid for a footnote in posterity. “Meanderings of Memory” may be sitting, neglected, on some library shelf (many library books that have not been requested for check out by patrons for years have not been digitized). Will the book’s fate be discovered? No leads yet, Martin said. “ I’m hoping some inspired librarian will crack the case.” A moment later, she corrected herself, wanting to be more precise “some intrepid librarian, I meant.”
Illustration by Philippe Weisbecker. This post has been updated to reflect clarifications about the number of editors and bibliographers at the O.E.D. and how they go about revising the dictionary.
ABCDEFGHIJK Boy: I think you are A B C D E F G H I J K Girl: What does that mean...? Boy: Adorable, Beautiful, Charming,Delightful, Elegant, Feisty, Gorgeous, Hot Girl: What does I J K stand for? Boy: I'm Just Kidding!
On Friday afternoon, the Oxford English Dictionary’s Web site appealed to the public for help in identifying a mysterious book, “Meanderings of Memory.” The book is cited as an early source for words like “chapelled” (“adj. placed or stationed in a chapel”), “revirginize” (“trans. to render virginal again”) and forty-seven others. “We have been unable to trace this title in library catalogues or text databases,” they announced, All these quotations have a date of 1852, and some cite the author as ‘Nightlark’. The only evidence for this book’s existence that we have yet been able to find is a single entry in a bookseller’s catalogue:
Have you ever seen a copy of this book? Can you identify the ‘well-known connoisseur’ mehttp://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/meanderings-of-memory.pngntioned by the bookseller? The humorous particulars of the plea (the connoisseur who calls himself “Nightlark,” the title that sounds like the work of a French flaneur) will surely stoke the energies of lexicographic sleuths the world over. On Twitter, there was some excited speculation, but so far, the case remains unsolved.http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/mystery-book-290.jpg I asked Katherine Connor Martin, head of U.S. dictionaries for Oxford University Press, about how the search had come about. Her answer amounted to a mini-history of the O.E.D. ’s longtime practice of calling on the general public to aid its lexicographers. “We like to say the O.E.D. has been crowdsourcing since before there was a word for crowdsourcing,” she said. In 1879, James Murray, a leading member of the British Philological Society who edited the first edition of the O.E.D., put out “An Appeal to English Speaking Readers,” asking for volunteers to comb through periodicals, pamphlets, works of literature, and scientific and philosophical treatises, and note down unusual words and to quote the sentences in which they appeared. “Anyone can help,” Murray wrote, “especially with modern books.” Readers took down their findings on six-by-four index cards —called “slips”—and submitted them to the dictionary’s editors. Over a million quotations were collected before the publication of the dictionary’s first installment. (The practice has continued, with a few lapses, since then—now it exists in digital form.) According to the O.E.D.’s Web site, “The quotations are one of the most important aspects
of the entries contained in the OED. They document the hhttp://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/mystery-book-290.jpgistory of a term from its earliest to its most recent recorded usage.” Among the project’s participants were historians and scholars, but many of the most prolific word-scavengers were laypeople consumed, apparently, by a fiery curiosity about the English language. Martin mentioned one William Chester Minor, a physician who suffered from mental illness and was incarcerated in the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, who submitted a huge number of slips (he’s the subject of Simon Winchester’s book “The Professor and the Mad Man”). “A slight amount of insanity might be a good thing for the practice of lexicography,” Martin told me. Think of encountering the word “revirginize” for the first time sometime in the mid-nineteenth century, when the project was in its heyday. You couldn’t go to Google books to find other instances of it. You had to search obsessively—through libraries, newspapers, goodness knows where else—for other examples of the word. “The level of work required…it’s an insane undertaking,” Martin said. Another insane—I use the word colloquially—fact: Minor is a distant cousin of Martin’s “ Like to think I’m carrying on a tradition,” she said with a laugh. Every entry in the O.E.D. shows the full history of a word as far back as the editors can trace it. The dictionary is currently undergoing its first comprehensive revision since the first edition was completed in 1928; its staff of over seventy editors adds new sources to reflect contemporary usage, and its smaller team of bibliographers checks every citation for accuracy. But when Veronica Hurst, the O.E.D.’s chief bibliographer recently encountered the slip for “revirginize” and saw “The Meanderings of Memory” quoted as the first Continued on opposite page
County's oldest library a West Tampa treasure By Kathy Steele | Tribune Staff WEST TAMPA - The West Tampa Free Public Library was a gift from one immigrant - Scotsman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie - to many more immigrants who sought the American Dream. On New Year's Day 1914 a grand celebration marked the opening of the first library in Hillsborough County. It was one of 10 Carnegie libraries built in Florida from the early 1900s to about 1917. According to an account in the Tampa Morning Tribune, the building was filled with potted plants and flowers and the flags of the United States, Cuba, Spain and Italy. Three languages were spoken - English, Spanish and Italian - in acknowledgement of Tampa's immigrant population, many of whom worked in the cigar factories of Ybor City and West Tampa. As the 100th anniversary of the library approaches, a Library History Roadshow is on a three-year journey to gather oral histories, memories, artifacts and photographs from past and current users. The first day-long event, sponsored by the Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library System, was held on a recent Saturday at the West Tampa library (now known as the West Tampa Branch Library) at Howard Avenue and Union Street. The West Tampa library, with its Spanish-language reading section, was a success. Often the readers, or lectors, who entertained and enlightened the cigar factory's workers found their books at the West Tampa library. "There was a real desire for books and reading materials," said Margaret Rials, coordinator for the Friends of the Library of Tampa-Hillsborough County. Again in the late 1950s and 1960s, the West Tampa library was a special place for a new influx of Cuban immigrants who fled Fidel Castro's communist regime. "I had many people who came to this library who spoke no English or had to get someone, often their children or grandchildren, to help," said retired librarian Bernadette Storck, 75. "They were so grateful to find it here." Carnegie began donating money to build libraries in the early 1900s. He had amassed a fortune as a steel magnate and builder of bridges, locomotives and railways. His family migrated from Scotland when Carnegie was 13 years old. Carnegie's first job was in a Pennsylvania cotton factory. In an 1889 essay, "The Gospel of Wealth", Carnegie preached that the wealthy were morally obligated to use their money to benefit the "common man." In 1913 he offered to donate $17,500 for construction of a library building in the city of West Tampa. Residents voted in a special election to accept the donation and a yearly tax to pay for the library's operating costs. The vote was 352 to 1. The identity of the lone dissenter isn't available. But critics of Carnegie said the industrialist was more interested in vanity monuments than in doing good works. A tract of land off Howard Avenue was bought for $6,000 from Macfarlane Investment Co. and construction began on what today is the oldest of Hillsborough's 25 operating libraries. Carnegie had a reputation for being exacting in how he wanted his libraries designed. Patrons, he thought, should walk up grand stairways to enter the library as if climbing steps toward higher learning. Many of the more than 1,600 libraries built with Carnegie's donations were sturdy, imposing structures. The West Tampa library is in a Neo-classical revival style and is part of the West Tampa national historical district. Carnegie even insisted on something rare in Florida: a basement.
A Tampa city clerk, James Biggars, tried to explain basements were not successful in Florida, said Rials. Carnegie got his way. But Storck, who worked at the West Tampa library in the early 1960s, said, "Every time it rained the basement flooded. The mosquitoes just chewed me up." There were other issues. "The building was like a refrigerator on cold days," Storck said. Electricity was turned on and off at a wall panel. "That was an adventure," she said. "I got shocked one day turning the lights on and off." Through the years library patrons reflected the changing demographics of West Tampa, said Hillsborough County Library Director Joe Stines. Early Latin immigrants found rentals along Union Street but some later moved to Town 'N Country and other areas. Later more blacks moved into surrounding neighborhoods and today, Stines said, "It's very much diverse." The Ada T. Payne Friends of Urban Libraries supports three libraries: West Tampa, College Hill and Robert W. Saunders, Sr. Mary James is the granddaughter of Payne, who was the first black librarian. She remembers going with Payne to the whiteonly libraries to pick up books to loan out at the Harlem Academy Library. Payne and James had to enter those libraries through back doors. James gave an audio interview talking about her grandmother and the work of the friends' group in support of the urban libraries summer reading programs and bookstores. "It's all about the community," she said. "My life has been reading, reading and reading." In 2004 the library completed a major renovation and expansion. The library's main floor became a second floor meeting room. An extension of 5,000 square feet was added to the back of the building and what was once the basement level became the library's main reading room. A lobby is decorated with paintings by Ferdie Pacheco and stained-glass windows were installed in the reading room. A cork tile floor was pulled up from the old reading room, revealing a wooden floor peppered with tiny nail holes which remain visible.
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2013-14 MEMBERSHIP DUES ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED
Next meeting September 15 . Mark your Calendar! DIRECTIONS TO SEMINOLE COMMUNITY LIBRARY FROM THE NORTH \Take Hwy. 19 south to Ulmerton Road/State Road 688 in mid Pinellas County. \Turn right onto Ulmerton /SR688. \Continue for 5 miles to 113th Street (a large state Government office building is at the intersection) \Turn left onto 113th, continue for about one and a half miles to entrance of St. Petersburg College, Seminole Campus on right. The library is the two-story building closest to the street. FROM THE EAST WHAT YOU SEE? \Take I-4 west into Tampa, getting on I-275 southDO at the junction. \Take I-275 south through Tampa over the Howard Frankland Bridge into Pinellas County. FRONTISPIECES OF \Take the exit to Ulmerton/State Road 688 westbound. MARGARET CAVENDISH \Continue on Ulmerton /SR688.for about 9 miles to 113th Street AUTHORITY, BOOK ARTS (a large state Government office building ~is INVENTION, at the intersection) \Turn left onto 113th Street. Maureen E. entrance Mulvihill, of St. Petersburg half miles to \Continue on 113th for about one and aBy Princeton Research Forum, Princeton College, Seminole Campus on right. The library is the two-story buildingNJ Keynote Speaker, closest to the street. Annual U.S. Margaret Cavendish Society Conference 3:00PM, 13th July 2013. Sundance Resort, Sundance, Utah.
FROM THEthe SOUTH !Take Sunshine Skyway Bridge (I-275 north) across Tampa Bay. !Take the 31st Southwomen exit, EXIT 20, art on history, the left.and book culture will be Students of Street 17th-century writers, !Turninterested slightly to left to takeobservations the ramp toward Island/Tropicana Field. in the Dr Mulvihill’s on the Treasure articulate frontispiece portraits of !TurnMargaret left ontoLucas 31st Cavendish, Street South. Marchioness of Newcastle, published in Cavendish’s !Turnremarkable left onto Fifth Avenue South. corpus of work. With digital images and a table display of rare books !Take the 3rd right onto 34th Street South/U.S. 19. (Mulvihill Collection), our speaker will engage with these visual constructions as !Turn left onto Fifth Avenue North/US-19-Alternate North/SR 595 West. physical artifacts of 17th-century book design and as text to be read and parsed on the !Turn right onto Tyrone Boulevard North/US-19-Alternate North/S.R. 595 North. writer’s character andPines identity. Our speaker is a and broadly specialist !Continue past the Bay Veterans Hospital staypublished in the right lane. on She has studiedBeach. at women writers, rare books, and the London & Dublin book trade. !Merge onto Tom Stuart Cswy/SR-666 West toward Madeira Beach/Redington Wisconsin, the Yale Center for British Art, the Columbia University Rare Book !Turn right onto Durham Road/S.R. 321. Continue north, road becomes 113th Street School, and, as an NEH Fellow, Johns Hopkins University. Since the 1980s, she has North. !Lookbeen for aSt.visiting Petersburg College building right, turn leftShe intoisSeminole professor and speaker onon many campuses. at work onCommunity right nextpolitical to college entrance. Library Irishwomen’s writings and response pre-1801.
DoraLynn Books 15020 Madeira Way
(across from the post office)
Madeira Beach, FL 33708-1912
(727) 392-0372 Proprietor: Sean Donnelly