Dateline Dayton, Ohio, 1961 — a group of fourth-graders from a Catholic school decide to go out the back door of their branch library and set off the fire alarm. Yep, I was one of those kids. We thought we were very daring and for sure very bad Catholics!
Dateline Indianapolis, Indiana, 1970 — To protest the library closing too early in the evening, a group of female Marian College students shut the lids on the toilets and stood on the toilets while the library was closing and stayed after-hours. The protest was not effective though, as they could walk out of the building and no alarms sounded! Yes, I was there, and why did the alarms sound at my branch library but not at my college library?
Is it hard to imagine that this person became a librarian?
No, not really.
Mom and dad instilled a love of reading in their six children. I used to save my allowance and then browse the wonderful book selection at Rike’s department store in downtown Dayton. That was back when department stores were somewhat magical and had lots to offer. I recall one time when I not only purchased a book, but also bookplates.
We always visited the bookmobile when it made its rounds. When our branch library opened, we were there! There were also trips to the main library in downtown Dayton.
I had planned on a career in broadcasting and loved spinning records for the University of Dayton campus radio station. But then other things happened. Six-months in Montana; a year in Groton Long Point, Connecticut, and a year in VISTA.
And then the biggie, an unplanned pregnancy. How do I support my son? I know! I’ll be a librarian and go to library school.
My adventures in librarianship began at the Seymour Library in 1980. My first “desk” was a typing table located by the steps in a cramped work area. But that was OK. I had a job as the reference librarian and loved it. Toss in some romance that led to a marriage in 1982 and another child in 1984 and all was grand.
It was also grand seeing the change in libraries while at Seymour. We went from digging through Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature for information to the online resource INSPIRE.
Another change: offering free classes to the public. I distinctly remember a patron bringing in a brochure of classes from Cooks & Company to the library director. The patron thought the library should offer classes. The director agreed and gave the task to me. Longtime residents of the county may remember Cooks & Company.
And so began my path of organizing library programs. When in VISTA, I organized community classes for a small county in western Kansas, so, not that much of a difference, but still exciting to watch libraries expand their reach.
Another chang: switching jobs and working at the Bartholomew County Public Library in January of 2000 as a reference librarian. A year or so into the job, the local library began offering classes too. After a bit, I was assigned the task of organizing adult programs/events and then marketing them to the public.
At about the same time, more libraries were offering classes/events, libraries were becoming more involved with community events and with community based organizations. It has been wonderful watching the involvement the library has with various community agencies.
Classes, events, concerts, community involvement are all roles of libraries, as is the essential role of checking out books and other materials, for free, to everyone. I am glad I have witnessed the growth of libraries over the past 40 years. I am retiring at the end of this year, thus the stroll down memory lane.
It has been my pleasure to work at the Bartholomew County Public Library. I will miss the super people I have met over the past 20 years, including library staff.
Perhaps on my last day I will set off the fire alarm.
Bartholomew County Public Library Community Services Librarian Mary Clare Speckner can be reached at [email protected], but only for a few more months.
