Volume 8, November 29, 2012 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) FIRST TUESDAYS – WASHINGTON RURAL HERITAGE DIGITAL COLLECTIONS

2) WANTED – BRANCH LIBRARIAN

3) PUBLIC INPUT NEEDED ON EARLY LEARNING

4) PLA SEEKING FEEDBACK ON DIGITAL LEARNING CENTER

5) FREE WORKSHOP – FUNDING PRESERVATION PROJECTS

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

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“Jeannie Remillard is one in a million! She steals your heart the moment you meet her and you’ll never get it back. She’s truly an inspiration.”

“These statements from a co-worker couldn’t be truer,” notes Laura Sherbo, manager of Library Branches for the Washington State Library (WSL). “Jeannie has been the DOC and DSHS branches’ cheerleader for over 20 years, keeping spirits up in spite of devastating cuts to staff, resources, and the closure of several branches.”

Jeannie began her career with WSL at the Penitentiary (WSP) in 1991 and worked there until 2010 when she decided to leave eastern Washington for the Washington coast. The move from the tiny WSP-MSC Library to the spacious branch at Stafford Creek Corrections Center (SCCC) was a good one, though it took some time to adjust from the dry climate of Walla Walla to the rainy climate of Aberdeen.

“She brings laughter and love into her prison library,” says another co-worker. Jeannie’s unique sense of humor is one of the things ILS staff treasures about her and it has helped them through some tough times. It allows her to deal with difficult patrons in a way that disarms them and, coupled with her firm conviction that customer service is a top priority, she has legions of fans all across the state.

Here’s what one inmate at SCCC had to say: “You really made a difference in my life. I hope you are able to work in the library for a really long time because you exceed all of our expectations. You are a great librarian and a great person. Thank you very very much.”

Acting State Librarian Rand Simmons reflects, “Laura and I visited the Stafford Creek library last June. The library was filled with inmates and what’s more the inmates that train dogs were also in the library with their tail-whapping trainees. I constantly heard, ‘Jeannie, Jeannie, Jeannie.’ What appeared to be chaos was really a chorus of affection for their librarian. But don’t be fooled. Under that smiling exterior is an internal  drill sergeant. When it came time for the inmates to leave they bunched up in the security gates. Behind me bellowed a command, ‘Back up, back up, back up,’ and like  obedient school boys they all backed out of the security gates. ‘Now one at a time,’ and the “school boys” did just as Jeannie said. Then a chorus, “Bye Jeannie; We love you Jeannie.”

Jeannie exudes the wonderful spirit of our DOC and DSHS librarians. Kind when possible, firm when necessary, and always customer oriented. Thank you for your leadership.

One of my weekends this summer was spent helping with a Wounded Warrior Project event in our tiny towns of Sekiu and Clallam Bay.  Some of the officers at Clallam Bay Corrections Center and their spouses contacted the program and invited 18 wounded military personnel to come to our towns for a salmon derby.

 It was great fun!!  Fifteen were able to make it and thanks to other officers from the prison and members of the community, we were able to put each Warrior on a boat with a captain and a skipper to see to their needs when it was time to fish.

There were pot lucks, BBQ’s, prizes for the biggest fish and for the smallest fish and even for no fish at all!!  The whole community pitched in and it was a great time for everyone. 

More information about the Wounded Warrior Project can be found at this link: http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

From the desk of Rand Simmons

Washington State Library remembers former staff Harris Clark McClaskey who died September 21, 2012 at his home in Ocean Park, Washington. Born in Trenton, NJ, Harris received his BA degree from Wooster College (OH), attended Princeton Theological Seminary (NJ), then turned to librarianship, earning his MA and PhD from the University of Washington.

McClaskey worked for 20 years at the Washington State Library. Former State Librarian Maryan E. Reynolds described McClaskey in her seminal work, The Dynamics of Change: A History of the Washington State Library.

In the 1960’s the State Library agreed to facilitate a Washington Library Film Circuit and McClaskey was appointed its director in 1962. During Governor Rosellini’s administration, and working with Dr. Garret Heyns head of the State’s Institutions, McClaskey designed what is known today as Institutional Library Services. Despite devastating budget cuts Washington State Library still provides library services in the State’s psychiatric hospitals and maximum security facilities. While working on his PhD at the University of Washington Library School McClaskey developed a bibliotherapy program working with residents of Western State Hospital. The State Library has three of McClaskey’s publications including his University of Washington PhD thesis.

Former State Librarian Jan Walsh noted, “This man was an amazing personality. He remained interested in the State Library. When Governor Locke proposed closing the library, Harris called me and told me of his support for the State Library. He once stopped at my brother’s house to tell him how honored he should be to have a State Librarian in his family. (My brother called me to tell me he was highly amused!) Harris also created wonderful Christmas cards and letters that he sent to friends and acquaintances. With Mary Ann Reynolds, Dorothy Doyle, Dorothy Cutler and Harris McClaskey, WSL had some formidable staff.”

After 15 years implementing programs through the Washington State Library focusing on serving the underserved, Harris joined the graduate school faculty at the University of Minnesota to teach and mentor students for work in public and medical libraries, especially sharing his love for children’s literature, book illustration and story-telling.

After 20 years in Minnesota, Harris returned to Washington to be near his daughter and pursue his artistic interests. You can read more about Harris McClaskey’s years in Minnesota at the Star Tribune article cited below.

Resources

Star Tribune, September 30, 2012, Obituary: Harris Clark McClaskey.

Maryan E. Reynolds. The dynamics of change : a history of the Washington State Library / Maryan E. Reynolds, with Joel Davis. Pullman, Wash. : Washington State University Press, c2001.

Check out the latest issue of Dear Dewey from Kathleen Benoun at Western State Hospital!!!

Books became my friends when I was a child, sounds a little cliché I know, but it was true.  My family moved every year, sometimes more than once in a year.  I never went to the same school twice or lived in the same city or town, which made it hard to make and keep friends.  However, I always knew where the library was located.  Every time we moved, I didn’t want to unpack my boxes or play with my toys; I wanted to find the library.  I would bug my mom every day until she took me down to get my library card and books, lots of books.  The good ones where the ones that were in walking distance from the house, those I could go to all the time on my own.  The others I would have to wait for a ride.  It’s funny now, as I can drive myself, but I still like to live walking distance from the library, my current apartment is only ½ mile away.

I grew up in the inner city in uptown New Orleans. The public library was the old style Carnegie type building. This is the place I went to meet girls. I did check out a book every once in a while but mostly I checked out the girls. I quickly discovered at the age of about 13 that this was the place that girls hung out.

Years ago my nephew used to go to the library in Centralia “regularly”. He was such a regular user in fact that I when I was the lead in the Circulation Dept. at the Washington State Library, I went to a meeting for Innovative users and the librarian from the Centralia Timberland Library introduced me as Paul’s Aunt. I got a big applause. It still brings a smile to my face when I think about it. My family has always been big library users, as you can tell.