Getting to Know Jessica Reeves

Hi. My name is Jess Reeves and I am one of the new library technicians at Langsdale. I’ve been here about three months and spend most of my time behind a computer, though you may catch a sighting of me wandering the stacks. I have a BA in English from Salisbury and before UB, I worked in circulation and tech services at Harford Community College.

What do you consider to be your hometown? Harford County, MD
What are your hobbies? Hiking, snowboarding, reading, cooking new things (or trying to), and pretty much anything that involves going outside
How about a brief list of your favorite books? A Moveable Feast (Hemingway), The Big Sea (Langston Hughes), The Town and the City (Kerouac), Player Piano (Vonnegut), Father Sergius (Tolstoy)
What are some of your favorite movies? Blues Brothers, Deathproof
Name some of your favorite foods. Ice cream
What do you like best about Baltimore? The Baltimore aquarium
For your a.m. fix, do you prefer coffee or tea? I prefer tea but usually need coffee
If I didn’t work in a Library I’d probably…... Be looking for a job in tutoring or some form of education.

Getting to Know Erin Toepfner

Welcome to the fourth and final installment of Getting to Know U: our staff's chance to show off their collections and suggest some of the books they like the most.

Our current display was created by Erin Toepfner, well know to most regular users of the Langsdale Library as one the customer-service driven members of our circulation department.

Erin has a wide variety of interests, but since many of her other collections are "too large" for our display case (think large antique furniture) she decided to share her latest passion: collecting vintage Pyrex. We asked Erin how she started collecting these colorful bowls and serving dishes.

Get to Know Jeffrey Hutson

Jeffrey Hutson, Associate Director

Jeffrey received a master's degree in library and information studies from Simmons College in 1999, where he graduated with honors. He also holds a master's in theology and a bachelor's in education, from St. John's University School of Theology and St. John's University, respectively.

Prior to arriving at UB, Hutson worked as a religious studies librarian at the Catholic University of America's Mullen Library, and as a public services librarian at St. John's before that.

As Jeffrey is sharing his collection of postcards in the display case located on the first floor of Langsdale, we asked Jeffrey to tell us a little about his collection:

For many years I’d been interested in postcards and would pick them up here and there. Then for a few years I managed a small library gift shop which afforded me the opportunity to go yearly to gift fairs in New York and/or San Francisco where I’d notice these free modern advertising postcard racks in restaurants and bookstores and movie theaters. So I’d make it a point to grab one of each of the cards. My collecting really took off when I was living in Boston while working on my library degree; the postcard racks were all over Boston and I had a list of venues where they were placed, so when I needed a break from studying, I’d go around and pick up cards on a monthly basis. With the help of friends who live in large cities, I’ve been able to add to the collection and over the years I’ve acquired about six thousand cards. My most recent acquisition (picked up at the American Library Association meeting in June) is a set of seven postcards promoting the services of a company named Backstage Library Works.

Welcome to A Few New Faces!

This summer Langsdale is fortunate to be joined by two budding librarians, Lindsay and Rachel. You may have seen their faces at the reference desk over the last few weeks or months. Now is your chance to learn a little bit more about them and what they’re doing here:

Lindsay has a master’s degree in library science from the University of Maryland. She has been loving her time at Langsdale and appreciates the variety of questions students ask at the reference desk because she gets to learn something new every shift. Lindsay currently works full-time at another career and we’re lucky to have her one night a week. She hopes to transition into the library field and wants to continue working with students in higher education or high school. When Lindsay is not at Langsdale or working at her other career she stays very busy. She plays rugby for the Chesapeake Women’s Rugby Football Club in Baltimore City. She has played for eleven years and been playing for the Chessie for more than five years. She finds that it’s a great community of athletes and a home away from home.  Please stop by and say, “Hi,” to Lindsay if you see her at the reference desk!

Rachel is dangerously close to receiving her master’s in library science from Drexel University. One of her final hurdles is completing her practicum at Langsdale, though we’re trying not to be too hard on her.  She has been enjoying her time at Langsdale thus far and has enjoyed meeting the students, library guests and librarians. Rachel is interested in librarianship because it allows her to support research, learning and curiosity. She loves research and trying to figure out how to make it easier and more effective. Her experience at Langsdale gives her the opportunity to apply what she has learned in school to the “real world.” When she leaves Langsdale, Rachel hopes to become a full-fledged librarian at a college or public library somewhere in the Baltimore area. If you see Rachel at the reference desk, please stop by and say, “Hi,” or ask her a challenging reference question!

New Head of Special Collections: Ben Blake

Langsdale Library is pleased to welcome its new Head of Special Collections, Ben Blake, to the team!

Ben was selected after an exhaustive national search that drew candidates from far and wide. He brings over 12 years of experience working in archives and special collections to the table. Ben comes to UB from the Northeast Ohio Medical University where he worked as university archivist and records manager. He has also held positions as university archivist and head of archives and special collections at the William F. Maag Jr. Library, Youngstown State University; as a reference archivist for the labor archives and research center at San Francisco State University; and as an archivist for the pictorial collections department, Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, Delaware.

Ben earned a B.A. in Social Science from Hampshire College, an M.A. in American History from Cleveland State University, and an M.L.I.S. with a concentration in Archives and Records Management from the University of Pittsburgh. At UPitt, Ben served as a graduate research assistant under the prominent archival-science scholar Richard J. Cox. During his assistantship, Ben wrote a graduate paper on the history of labor archives which was successfully nominated by Cox for the Theodore Calvin Pease Award and published in the American Archivist.

Ben will bring a wealth of experience to bear in his new position including collection management, relationship building, exhibit design, successful grant writing, volunteer management, and community outreach. Langsdale Library staff hopes you will join us in welcoming Ben to the university community.

Ben can be reached at bblake@ubalt.edu or 410.837.5047.

Get to Know: Phil DeLoria

With such success last summer finding out information about the staff of Langsdale Library, we are bringing you four new faces from our library staff for you to "get to know."

This past winter, Phil DeLoria, the University Archivist in our Special Collections library, shared with the staff some of his bookbinding talents. Now we can share some of his art with our library users.

Q: We asked Phil about how his interest in bookbinding started. Here is his response:

I have always appreciated fine books, but while I was an undergraduate Classical Studies student, I had a job with the University of Michigan Papyrus Collection where I got to know the Senior Conservator, Leyla Lau-Lamb, who was also a bookbinder. She encouraged me in my interest, and directed me to a few books that outlined the process of bookbinding. The following year, I had an internship with Jim Craven, a master bookbinder with over 50 years of service to the University. Since, I have enjoyed binding books, journals, and sketchbooks for my personal use and for select acquaintances.

Getting to know U, Senior Year

Meet Adele Marley

Adele works in the Circulation department here at Langsdale. Having started here not too long ago, Adele has stayed close to her old place of employement, the Decker Library at MICA, only a few steps away from UB's campus and the Langsdale Library.

Adele is the last staff member this summer to participate in the "Getting to Know U" series of display cases and materials recommended by our staff. We asked Adele some questions to help everyone get to know her better.

Adele is a newlywed, and a voracious collector. Her favorite must be her Pyrex collection. For this display, Adele has shared her collection of hankies, napkins and table cloths designed by Tammis Keefe.

Why did you start collecting? How long have you collected? Which is your favorite?

"I am fascinated by graphics and textile design (even though I don’t sew), particularly vintage graphics. I’m not sure how I started noticing Tammis Keefe items except I was probably searching for kitty-themed tea towels, and found one designed by TK. The graphic was so charming that I started seeking her stuff out. She’s interesting to me because she was only active and prolific in textile design for a short time (during the “mid century” boom in design), but I think she was really a hard act to follow. Unfortunately Keefe’s career was cut short by fate (like my other fave creative genius, writer Flannery O’Connor.) Her designs are so witty—like showing drunken elephants dancing on cocktail napkins, or depicting pigs and cows on a BBQ-themed tablecloth. In my view, when you’re creative AND funny, you’ve got it all in terms of being an artist.

My favorite pieces are my kitty tea towel, my BBQ tea towel (where a pig and cow have little lines drawn on them highlighting their anatomy as cuts of meat.) My top favorite hanky I gave away. It had little raccoons on it, wearing bandit masks; they were carrying sacks of money. It was so cute. Anyway, I brought it with me to my father’s funeral, and my sister started to weep when we were at the gravesite, so I slipped her my hanky. She hasn’t given it back yet--- dang!"

What story does your family always tell about you?

"I’m the youngest in my family by far, so my brother and sisters have a lot of dirt on me.

Story 1: I don’t know how funny this is. To me, it’s just weird. Anyway, I’m told that I loudly declared I wanted to be a nun at the dinner table when I was in 2nd grade. My siblings snickered, and my father shot them a dirty look. Dad was probably remembering that Sunday in my infancy when a bunch of nuns asked if they could “borrow” me for a few minutes. For some reason, my father consented. The nuns all gathered ‘round and prayed over me—they needed an infant for some “offering.” This ritual had to do with what Catholics call the Sacrament of Vocation. The hope is that if they pray over the infant, the baby—or some baby somewhere—will someday become a nun like them. My father was overjoyed that this had happened to me. I was a teenager by the time he confided this incident. No slur on Catholic nuns, but I found it very unsettling. Also, it didn’t take. Oh, well. Never say never.

Story 2: Another sister recalls that as a toddler I locked her and my mother in the basement when they were surprised by huge black snake while doing laundry. Honestly, what’s the big deal? I didn’t want the snake to come upstairs. Besides, they wouldn’t stop screaming."

What was your favorite food when you were a child?

"A hamburger. So boring, right? My mom HATED packing lunches because I didn’t really like anything but tuna fish or cheese and crackers. Once in a blue moon, I’d open my Holly Hobby lunch box, and she would have packed a cold hamburger as a treat."

What is one of your favorite quotes?

“Drinking is the cause of—and solution to—all of life’s problems.” -Homer Simpson

If you could be any fictional character, who would you choose? 

"Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, no question. Not that I’m really into Disney stuff, but I love my Maleficent costume so much that I wish I could have worn it to my wedding! It’s completely BADASS."

If you could paint a picture of any scenery you’ve seen before, what would you paint?

"I love the photorealist streetscapes of painter Richard Estes. If I had his ability and art smarts, I would definitely paint urban scenery. His work makes everything seem so hyper-real and detailed. You realize that your perspective on street scenes is selective—you seldom notice telephone wires, trash in the gutter, discarded gum darkened and hardened in splats on the sidewalk. But it’s all there."

And finally, Adele has recommended some library materials to be added to the the display, we asked Adele to tell us a little about her choices.

'I like trash! No, really…I do. I think the theme that runs through what I like to read and watch is that there’s an exploitation aspect to it. For instance, in Sayo Masuda’s Autobiography of a Geisha, the author reveals that her life as a low-level geisha at a Japanese spa is tantamount to sexual slavery. Masuda was sold into this life by her impoverished family, and the worst part is that she’s pretty bad at what she does. Eventually she loses 'sponsors' in her work as concubine, and has to make her own way—a nearly insurmountable task given her lowly social status. That Masuda survives on her own terms and still manages to find joy somehow in her life is amazing to me. So, really, you can learn a lot from trash—or at least what the ratings board would call 'adult situations'. "


Check out Adele's list of recommended items here:


http://ubalt.worldcat.org/profiles/HorizontalDisplay/lists/3002739

Getting to know U, Junior Year

Meet Ivy Patterson Owens. Ivy is the full time cataloger for the Langsdale Library.

Ivy absolutely belongs in a library. Reading is her passion. She enjoys old fashioned mysteries, historical novels, fairy tales and anything Jane Austen.

As part of our "Getting to know U" summer display series, Ivy has shared her collection of children's books illustrated by the acclaimed artist, Trina Schart Hyman. Many of you might remember enjoying these exquisitely illustrated fairy tales from your youth.

We asked Ivy a few questions about her collection, here are her responses:

What do you collect?

"Trina Schart Hyman’s illustrated books."

Why did you start collecting?

"I love her illustrations.  She won the Caldecott Medal!"

How long have your collected?

"I have been collecting her books for about 25 years."

Which one is your favorite?

"I’m torn between St. George and the Dragon, especially the dragon picture, and Little Red Riding Hood, with all the cats on every page." (Little Red Riding Hood, illustrated and retold by Trina Schart Hyman, based on the Brothers Grimm version of the tale.)

In 1989 the Empire and Culver City, California school districts banned this Caldecott Honor award winning version of the fairy tale because the cover shows a bottle of what might be wine in Red's basket for her grandmother. Authorities said the story "condones the use of alcohol." My daughter (and I) love Hyman's versions of classic fairly tales and she received this one, and several others, as gifts as a child."

We asked Ivy to recommend some materials from our collection;

"I made a list of all the fairy tale materials we have here in Langsdale, and that is what I would display.  The movies that I like best are not available on DVD: 'The 39 Steps' (1976 with Big Ben & sword sticks) and 'The Winged Avenger' episode of the 1967 Avengers (John Steed & Emma Peel)"

Here is a link to a list of books that Ivy encourages anyone with a fondness for fairytales to enjoy.

Getting to know U, Sophomore Year

The library is making an effort to help you get to know us better, this is our second combination of a staff member's collection, along with recommendations for materials in our own collection.

Meet Aiden Faust, the Digital Collections Librarian and member of the Special Collections staff.

Aiden responded to our call for collectors, and even thouigh he specializes in photographic preservation, his collection puts a "spin on wax" and features LP, EP records, and old 45's. Here are some reponses to a few questions we asked Aiden about his collection, and a few questions to help us better get to know him.

Why did you start collecting? How long have you collected?

"Records had a place in my imagination from around age five on, but I resisted the urge to begin collecting outright until I was in my twenties. My dad had a toy record player and collection of 45s from his own childhood that he passed on to me when I was growing up. In my teenaged years, my mom shared her old records with me, too – Grand Funk Railroad, Jefferson Airplane, the Moody Blues. As an undergrad in the 1990s, I got into electronic music and was exposed to the love of vinyl in DJ culture. But it wasn't until MP3s began to replace CDs in the music market that I finally made the choice to begin buying music on vinyl as my default. I'm a music lover more than a collector, and my format of choice for the last ten years has been vinyl. I like caring for records as tangible objects and, with the proper care, I think they stand the test of time admirably well."

The library materials that you have suggested, is there anything you’d like to say about any/all of the books and/or movies?

"I like sourcebooks and compilations by people writing about what they do best—artists writing about art, poets writing about poetry, folklorists writing about folklore, etc. That interest is certainly reflected in my book choices. I think my belief in the political power of cultural work also makes itself apparent in the handful of books selected"

Click on this link to see Aiden's list of recommended books from our collection

http://ubalt.worldcat.org/profiles/ambientbee/lists/2981201?view=&count=50&se=ts&sd=asc&qt=sort_ts_asc

What story does your family always tell about you?

"My family enjoys re-telling the story of me and the terrible teeth. I came home from kindergarten one day with a packet of purple dye tablets that I was eager to test out. In school, we'd been given a presentation about dentistry and proper care of our teeth—brushing, flossing, and the like. Each magical tablet, when chewed, would faintly stain areas of tartar on our teeth and reveal inadequate brushing techniques. Eager to assess my skills in the toothbrush department, I made a beeline to the bathroom mirror and chewed the entire pack of purple pills. To my horror, my mouth overflowed with dye and I became a hysterical frothy purple mess. Through her laughter, my mother tried admirably to console me about the fate of my doomed purple teeth."

What was your favorite food when you were a child?

"As a kid, everyone was under the impression that I loved raisins, but in reality, I found them completely distasteful. It took a long time for my parents to discover that the exclusive consumer the daily raisin ration that went with me to daycare at Grandma's was, in fact, her miniature poodle, Suzette"

What is one of your favorite quotes?

"One of my favorite quotes appears in a mural by Tom Miller at the intersection of Harford Road and North Avenue. I've got a lot of Baltimore memories that are evoked by that mural, which includes the Yoruba saying: 'However far the stream flows, it never forgets its source.'"

If you could paint a picture of any scenery you’ve seen before, what would you paint?

"If I could paint, I'd paint the places in East Baltimore that I find beautiful and that are fading parts of the urban landscape. I would paint the places I see everyday and that shape my ideas about this city."