November Thanksbookings

 We planned almost nothing for Thanksgiving, but then ended up making a nicer dinner than I had supposed--I just wanted the Magleby's Buns that we have not made for a long time! Then, we ended up having Michael Torrie come for dessert, which we did not get much notice about, and when I texted my brother to see if he wanted to come for dessert, too, found out that he was alone because Sara was in Hawaii (with Helaman and his family) so I asked him to come for dinner and stay for dessert (Michael was eating T-Day dinner with Heidi and family) and so that is what happened.

Here is our small Thanksgiving Day crew:

And now for the eight books of November reading. I started off the month with a Jennifer Lynn Barnes book, and then my hold came for a Katherine Cowley book, and guess what? I set aside JLB to read KC!! That is a compliment to Kathy, honestly, because Jennifer is a NYT best selling author, while Kathy is a newcomer author, and yet I chose to read her book first. Well, maybe I am not the best judge of books, but still, I stand behind my choice.

1. So, while it wasn't the first book I started, the book I finished first was the second book in the Miss Mary Bennett series, The true confessions of a London Spy (2022) by Katherine Cowley. In this book, Mary Bennett is living in London with the Darcy family, for the season. It is a little hard to sneak around spying with Elizabeth looking over her shoulder all the time! Again, Mary's so very Mary-like personality shines through, in all her social awkwardness. 

2. The first book I started and set aside was The Brothers Hawthorne (2024) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. As I stated last month, I should have read this book before the one I read last month. Now I understand the other book much better! I liked this book; it was good. Much focused on the middle two of the four brothers, though all four do make appearances.

3. Somewhere, I read about The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance (2009) by Elna Baker, and our library had it, so I read it. A very fun read about a Mormon girl living in the Big Apple, trying to live her religion and date and do all the things in a precarious balancing act.

4. Onions in the Stew (1955) by Betty MacDonald. I realized I had not read this particular Betty MacDonald title. (I had read The Egg and I and The Plague and I already, though years ago now.) This is about the MacDonald family's move to Vashon Island, and their house and garden, and the trials and joys of island life as their girls are growing from preteens into young womanhoood. Fun read of a very different time than the one we live in today!

5. The lady's guide to death and deception (2022) by Katherine Cowley. I really enjoyed this, the third and final book in the series. (I enjoyed this entire series!) Kathy is good at characterization, and that is very important to me as a reader. I was again impressed with how Kathy handles history while fabricating a story around it, and I appreciate her notes that explain what is fact and what is fiction in the story. Well done! 

6. My father's voice: the biography of Lorne Greene (2004) by Linda Greene Bennett. I got this book through ILL because of my research on the dancer Jo Anna Kneeland. Her son mentioned that she went to Canada and attended Lorne Greene's Academy of Radio Arts. I was all like... was that really a thing? When I wikipedia'd Lorne Greene, I found it was indeed true. I wanted to read more about it, so I looked in WorldCat and found the biography, and asked for it. Very interesting. Lorne Greene is often associated with Bonanza, but he was a Canadian who got his start during the war as "The Voice of Canada," and also "The Voice of Doom" because he often had to announce terrible things on CBC Radio. He ran the academy for seven years, 1945-1952, then moved to the US to get into television.

7. What's on Tapp? The Gordie Tapp Story (2006) as told by Gordie Tapp to John Farrington. I read this book because of reading the Lorne Greene book--Gordie Tapp and pretty much all the Canadians with recognizable names when I was a child were graduates of Lorne Greene's Academy of Radio Arts. I thought perhaps Jo Anna might appear in either book--she didn't--but I am glad I read the books. I think Gordie Tapp was a pretty great person as well as a great entertainer. I knew him as a child from "Don Messer's Jubilee," but most Americans would associate him with Hee Haw, which he was on for 25 years. 

8. Our library book club was reading books about food for November, and one person recommended Christmas Cupcake Murder (2020) by Joanne Fluke. So I read it, but I didn't love it. There was no murder (only an amnesia patient who was actually a victim of attempted murder, but nobody knew for sure) and there were so. many. recipes. And they were not short--they were pages and pages long! I do not love food that much, and also most of them were chocolate, so I am not even going to make them. Apparently Joanne Fluke is a big deal, a NYT bestselling author, with a dozen or so Hallmark movies based on her books. Huh. I did not know.

And that is all!!

Unofficial Library Visit

 Yesterday afternoon, I was just finishing up a conversation in my office with Mary and Kellie, my two desk supervisors, when a not very tall, mild-mannered unassuming man appeared in my doorway, calling me by name, and I was all "Oh, Mack! Hello! I have not seen you in person for a long time. Only on the screen."

It was Mack Wilberg. Sometimes he comes to the library to find folk songs to arrange, because he does a lot of choir arrangements for Oxford University Press, and sometimes he needs to hit up the library to find ideas. But I am sure it has been ten years since I last saw him. (In the flesh, and not on the TV or computer screen.)

Poor guy! He drove all the way down to Provo (because this is the library he knows best, having been both a student and faculty at BYU) and then we are in so much construction! He said, "I wanted to come and browse the stacks, but I can see that isn't a plan that is going to work today."

So I offered to set him up in the reading room (which is embarrassingly drywall dusty everywhere, even though there is plastic up and theoretically it is supposed to be clean) and have a student bring him a cart of American folk song anthologies, which is what he wanted to look through.

I led him over to the students and said, "Hey, do you guys want to meet Mack Wilberg?" They were affected differently, the two Annas who were at the desk. One Anna was like, "Who?" and the other Anna was like, "Who!!!" That is the Anna who went and confronted the horrible, drywall-dusty plastic shrouds to find a bunch of books for Mack.

She said, "Would it be appropriate for me to ask for a selfie with him?" 

I told her to go for it--Mack is the nicest, most humble person. I figured it would make him secretly happy to be recognized, because when he isn't in a suit in front of the world, he looks very ordinary. 

But she was too scared to do it. I am not scared, so when I went in to check on him, to see if the materials were what he needed, I said, "Anna was too shy to ask you, but she would really like a selfie with you. Would that be okay?"

And he smiled and said, "Sure."

So here it is:

Made her day!! I think her help to Mack also made his day--he drove all this way, and was confronted with not only complete change, but chaos on our floor! So her help finding what he needed was pretty great.

The other Anna said that he first came to the desk and said, "Do you know where David Day's office is?" Because I don't know if he peaked behind the tarp in that hallway, but if he did, clearly all the places that used to be there, like David's office, are gone! So Anna, clueless to who he was, said, "His office is now in L. Tom Perry Special Collections."

And he may have trooped down there, only to find out that David is out of town, something that I knew, but Anna did not know. David is always Mack's first choice, because they were college roommates for many years. Mack's second choice would be Janet, but he would already know that she is retired--he also has known her since they were students, and also Daron still plays in the Orchestra at Temple Square, so he is up on what they are doing. So I am his third choice, and that's okay with me.

So I imagine him trooping back upstairs, and asking the same Anna about me, and she pointed him toward my office. (By then, she knew who he was, because one of her friends who was studying nearby came up to her after his first question and said, "Do you know who you were just talking to?" and she said "No." And then she was told who it was.)

So, that is when he came and talked to me, and I showed him the cart I had in my office full of saxophone quartets I have for Daron, and I said we could easily make a cart of American folk songs for him. (Easily was a lie. Making that cart of quartets for Daron was awful. I had to wash a lot of dust off myself after I got them. And also I got a lungful of drywall dust when I got an unexpected drywall dust shower in front of my face!) 

But this cart of folk songs for Mack was easier (for me!) because I delegated it to the other Anna, the one who knew who it was, and who was tickled pink to get to help him AND to end up with a selfie to prove it!)

Visiting Scholar

Every year, we invite a guest librarian as a visiting scholar that we can all learn from. This year, we have Ann Thornton, who is both Vice Provost and University Librarian at Columbia University. Her talk this morning was titled "Leadership Lessons from Iconic Libraries." Libraries, plural, because before being recruited by Columbia, she was at New York Public Library. These two libraries are both iconic and both  private institutions--we think NYPL is a public institution because "public" but actually, the way it is funded puts it in the private category. Who knew?

Libraries are about people: to strengthen their knowledge, to advance their knowledge, to strengthen their communities, to help them draw inspiration from those who came before, and those who are currently able to inspire them.

New York Public Library was founded in 1895. By 1911, there was a huge influx of immigrants who began using the library. The library workers wanted to make it accessible for them, so they invested in 100,000 foreign language books to fill the needs of people who spoke 25 languages. In 1911!! Because libraries do what communities need. They were heavily criticized by patrons and the press, some of whom saw immigrants as a threat. But library workers understood that in a democracy, our culture is enriched by newcomers who bring things we can learn to the table. And we want them to learn to thrive in their new environment, so we need them to be able to have information accessible in their own language AND to help them learn English AND to help them learn to become good citizens. (Fastforward 99 years, and NYPL is an official setting for naturalization ceremonies, which Ann finds to be very moving.)

When Ann went to NYPL in 1996, her role was as the library's first internet training person. She saw the library's role as a great equalizer--to bring this new technology to all people. To teach all people digital literacy. To be a part of the library's ability to change lives. 

One person who inspired her was Pura Teresa Belpré y Nogueras who was the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York City, who joined NYPL in 1921. She initiated storytelling sessions. She believed that stories bridge cultural divides. She was also an author and translator. Even though she has been gone from NYPL since 1968 (although she then began working at the South Bronx Public Library) and died in 1982, her influence for good is still felt in NYPL, and initiatives she started continue today. 

Ann was recruited by Columbia and began her work there in 2015. There, one person who inspired her was Pat Battin. She was the first woman to lead a library at an Ivy League institution. (Fun fact: Melvil Dewey was also a Columbia University Librarian back in the day.) Pat was no longer at Columbia, but her influence was still very apparent. She was a leader in (book) preservation and access, and in digital libraries and digital preservation. Ann called her a "thought leader"--a person who has good ideas, and can influence the thinking of others.

From Pat and others, Ann has learned to value longevity in libraries. That is a leadership lesson: build on what came before. To build on it, you have to learn to know it. Ann has learned to value the creators of metadata (cataloguers) who give us a foundation that can be leveraged to use with new tools, including AI, to assist in enhancing discovery. 

This has been a challenging year for Columbia. (You can find out why by googling news from Columbia in 2024.) But Ann has gotten through by clinging to her library's core values, which mirror the ALA core values:

1. Access for everyone.

2. Equity and an inclusive environment.

3. Intellectual freedom, which allows for curiosity and encourages people to get ideas because they can explore diverse points of view.

4. Privacy, so individuals can research what they wish.

5. Public good. Libraries help create informed, connected, empowered communities.

Ann spoke about how libraries need to be LED from every level. Her library is huge. She leads, but she depends on the leadership of others at every level. 

What impressed me about Ann was her humility. She said that she continues to grow and learn as a leader. Even though she is leading this super important library, she knows that she doesn't know everything and doesn't do everything perfect, and she polls her workers every year so that she can do better. She encourages people throughout the organization to be able to meet because innovation comes when people get together and share ideas.

The last question Ann took from the audience was from one of our AULs, who has known her for many years. He said "I know that you are a woman of faith. How has your faith impacted your library leadership?"

She responded "I am a woman of faith." Her husband is in fact a clergyman. She said that from her faith she has learned one most valuable lesson: LOVE YOUR PEOPLE. You can't really lead unless you love because PEOPLE ARE HARD. They are DIFFICULT. She said it takes a lot of prayer to love your people sometimes.

She ended the session with a poem by Beatrice Warde, which was originally called "This is a printing office."  But Ann had adapted it to a library. (Thanks to Janice for taking the picture of the slide.)

This poem reminds me of a quote from a BYU president, Howard S. McDonald who said, "He who invades the domain of knowledge must approach it as Moses came to the burning bush; he stands on holy ground; he would acquire things sacred; he seeks to make his own the attributes of Deity..."

October Books

 I was surprised today when I went to add the book I finished last night to the spreadsheet to discover that the date I needed to record was indeed November 1! Even though of course I knew that Halloween had happened, and so therefore it was of course November, it still took me by surprise!

That meant that I had read only six books in October. Which is fine--just recently I seem to have been reading eight or ten, even though I am perfectly okay with only reading six, because there are more things to do than read.

1. Sweetgrass Basket (2005) by Marlene Carvell. I didn't like this book immediately, and was going to give it a pass, but due to not wanting to read other books I had on hand on a weekend, I did in fact read it, and grew to like it. The book was about Mattie and Sarah Tarbell, who are two Mohawk sisters sent to the Carlisle Boarding School in Pennsylvania. I had no argument about the content, and in fact that was what had interested me in the book. It was the fact that the book was told in prose poetry in alternating voices. I am not the biggest fan of prose poetry for an entire novel. 

2. Poppy Done for Dead (2009) by Charlaine Harris. This was a quick, light, mystery read--another Aurora Teagarden book. Even so, there was a lot going on in this book. Roe's sister-in-l aw Poppy is murdered. Her little brother hitchhikes to Georgia from Los Angeles, and Roe has to figure out how to parent a teenager for awhile, since he doesn't want to go back home yet. And Robin proposes. All while there is a murderer on the loose. 

3. What time the sexton's spade doth rust (2024) by Alan Bradley. I read this book because my book group was reading The sweetness at the bottom of the pie (2009), the first one in the Flavia de Luce series. I didn't need to re-read book one, which I read before I started tracking my reading (which was in 2014) so I read the last book (11th in the series) instead, having read all the rest. Bradley was 71 years old when the first in the series was published, and is now 86. There was a bit of a gap between books 10 (2019) and 11, and I really got the idea in this book that he is ready to stop writing about Flavia. He kept her age 11 or 12 for many of the books, but I think she is more like 14 or 15 in this book, and he gave hints that she was ready to grow up. I have loved this character he created, but also, I think he is right in not wanting to carry on with her. 

4. The secret life of Miss Mary Bennett (2021) by Katherine Cowley. This debut novel by Nancy's friend Kathy was nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award. Why did I read this book? I think Nancy asked me about was it in our library? Anyway, I emailed my colleague Robert, asking him if he knew about this series by a BYU graduate, letting him know about the award nomination, and he immediately ordered them. However, I got this book through ILL before it arrived in our library. I really liked it. Mary is so delightfully awkward, just like Mary should be! Jane Austen Fan Fiction done so well.

5. The re-invention of Edison Thomas (2010) by Jacqueline Houtman. This was a lovely story about a young neurodivergent socially awkward young man, and his character is so well-done! To quote from the Amazon blurb: "Eddy Thomas can read a college physics book, but he can't read the emotions on the faces of his classmates. He can spend hours tinkering with an invention, but he can't stand more than a few minutes in a noisy crowd, like the crowd at the science fair, which Eddy fails to win." It is lovely to watch Eddy develop friendships without even realizing he is doing it!

6. I had been listening to The New Testament while exercising, and I finished it this month. July 8 to October 27, 5-10 minutes a day.