Louisiana LibrariesLOUISIANA L IBRARY ASSOCIATION

Remodeled & Revisited

Louisiana Libraries Go RED 2000:Relentless, Energetic, Dynamic! 28 Premiere Issue

Louisiana LibrariesPage

Content

on the cover

Photography by Lindsey Adams

Louisiana LibrariesLOUISIANA L IBRARY ASSOCIATION

3 State Library of Louisiana:The Purpose and Focus

by Thomas Jaques

From the EditorWelcome to Louisiana Libraries

Mary Cosper LeBoeuf

2

19 The Public Libraries of Louisiana

Part IVCompiled by David C. Duggar

28 Presidents PageGo RED 2000:Relentless, Energetic, Dynamic!

by Paige LeBeau

ReviewsSherry Moore, Column Editor

35

PeopleJoe Landrum, Column Editor

33

CalendarVirginia Rogers Smith, Column Editor

32Association News29

Welcome to Louisiana Libraries! This isthe first volume of the re-named and redesignedLLA Bulletin. It’s sad to say good-bye to old tradi-tions, but progress and change make for an excit-ing life. After more than 60 years as a 6x9 journal,the LLA Bulletin was long overdue for a facelift.Members of the present and past editorial boardsand I have taken this decision very seriously. Weasked for LLA members’ input and sought the ad-vice of James Stewart, head of mass communica-tions at Nicholls State University. After much dis-cussion, we jumped off the cliff and took theplunge. We hope you enjoy the new look. We alsohope you allow us to work out the kinks, becauseI’m sure there will be some glitches.

We thought it would be great to have thetopic of the first issue be the State Library of Loui-siana. Many people, even our colleagues, do notknow the scope of services that the State Libraryprovides The Bulletin was not the only thing goingthrough drastic changes. Our wonderful State Li-brary has a new look, even a new address, althoughit’s the same building. Of course, when anythingor anyone has a major change happen to it, thereare exciting times, disappointments, and a lot ofapprehension. After seeing the renovated State Li-brary and knowing the strain that the staff was un-der during the process, I think the redesign waswell worth it. It’s your State Library take time tovisit it, so you can be proud of what our State Li-brary has to offer.

In redesigning this journal, I have beenworking with Lindsey Adams. Many of you mayremember Lindsey as the photographer for the LLAconvention this past year. Lindsey is a very cre-ative guy. It’s his creation, imagination, and vi-sion that gave this journal its new look. We aregoing to be working as a team. Lindsey is going todesign and lay-out the issues. I will be on the edit-ing end; however, Lindsey will be e-mailing andfaxing me his ideas and creations. I don’t evenwant to think of life without these two telecommu-nications devices. They have proven to be a timesaver.

I also want to thank Dedria Givens for herhelp in editing this issue. Dedria is in charge ofpublic relations and communication for the StateLibrary. She sought out the authors and helpedwith the editing.

Remember, Louisiana Libraries is yourpublication. If you have ideas, suggestions, a de-sire to write an article (greatly appreciated), pleaselet me know.

Sit back, enjoy the issue and then pass italong to a friend.

From the Editor

Mary Cosper LeBoeuf

EditorMary Cosper LeBoeuf

Terrebonne Parish Library424 Roussell StreetHouma, LA 70360

504 876-5861fax: 504 876-5864

mcosperl@pelican.state.lib.la.us

Advertising ManagerJackie Choate

Vermilion Parish LibraryP.O. Drawer 640

Abbeville, LA 70510-4645318 893-2655

xxx1136@ucs.usl.edu

Section RepresentativesAcademic Library 1998/00

Marilyn HankelEarl K. Long Library

UNO, LakefrontNew Orleans, LA 70148

504 286-6556

Government DocumentsRound Table 1997/99

Francis SkiffingtonEarl K. Long Library

UNO, Lake FrontNew Orleans, LA 70148

504 286-7276

Louisiana Association ofSchool Librarians 1997/99

Susan Cheshire16446 Centurion Ave.

Baton Rouge, LA 70816225 272-2268

Louisiana Support StaffAssociation of Libraries 1998/00

Luci ParhamEast Baton Rouge Library

11300 Greenwell Springs Rd.Baton Rouge, LA 70814

225 274-4440

NMRT 1998/00Sharilynn Aucoin

State Library of LouisianaP.O. Box 131

Baton Rouge, LA 70821225 342-4939

Public Library 1998/00Bob Cornes

Lafourche Parish Library303 West 5th Street

Thobodaux, LA 70301225 446-1163

Subject Specialists 1997/99Dr. Beth Paskoff

LSU-SLISBaton Rouge, LA 70803

225 388-1480

Trustees 1998/00

E d i t o r i a l B o a r d

Column Editors

Acquisitions, Grants, and GiftsAvailable

BuildingsDavid Duggar

1705 Holiday Pl.Bossier City, LA 71112-3706

318 675-5472

CalendarVirginia Rogers Smith

State Library of LouisianaPO Box 131

Baton Rouge, LA 70821225 342-4931

New TechnologyAvailable

PeopleJoe Landrum

State Library of LouisianaPO Box 131

Baton Rouge, LA 70821225 342-4933

ReviewsSheryl Moore

Edith Garland DupreLibrary

University of Louisiana,Lafayette

Lafayette, LA 70504318 482-6030

We are pleased that the State Library of Loui-siana is the focus of this issue of the Louisiana LibraryAssociation’s Louisiana Libraries. There is much to tellabout the State Library, both in describing the tradi-tional services that evolved since the Library’s begin-ning in 1925 and in relating present-day developmentsthat are bringing significant change to the Library, itsrole and functions.

What is the State Library? What does it do?Why is it important? The mission of the State Libraryis to build an informed, literate and democratic societyby ensuring access to information to all Louisiana citi-zens. Every program and service of the State Libraryaddresses some part of the mission. The articles thatfollow detail the way that mission is achieved.

The dedicated library leaders who created theState Library in 1925 developed a model that is solidand vital to this day. The leadership of State Librar-ians Essae Culver and Sallie Farrell filled the StateLibrary’s first 50 years with great accomplishments.Their goal was to establish a public library in everycommunity across the state. Much effort was spentconvincing local and state politicians of the value ofbooks, reading and libraries, and persuading citizensto tax themselves for public library service–in a stateof few readers, few books, and very few libraries. In-terrupted by floods, the Great Depression, and twoworld wars, the State Library initiative to establish apublic library in every parish in Louisiana was com-pleted in 1968. Today, with 331 public libraries acrossthe state, we can proudly say that no Louisianian isfarther than a 20-minute drive from the nearest library.

The completion of the parish library demon-stration program has allowed the State Library to fo-cus on service to its constituents–to public libraries, tocitizens, and to government officials and state employ-ees. The Library’s collections have been greatly ex-panded. Louisiana and non-fiction materials and au-dio-visual resources are available to library patronsacross the state through interlibrary loan. Materialsfrom the special collections for the physically and vi-sually impaired are mailed directly to the patrons, post-age free.

Reference librarians assist patrons in theirsearch for information–researching and answeringthousands of questions for government officials andlibrary users. State Library consultants assist publiclibrary administrators and staff in addressing manage-ment issues, legal issues, technology deployment, illit-eracy and a host of other administrative, programmatic,

and operational concerns. Their involvement with cus-tomer groups, libraries of various types, and other stateagencies strengthens relationships and underscores thereality of interdependence among information provid-ers.

The last five years of the twentieth centuryhave brought remarkable changes to the State Library.In March 1999, the State Library dedicated its newlyrenovated and expanded building, a three-year con-struction project that added 50,000 square feet to theexisting structure at a cost of nearly $9 million. Over60 personal computers now provide users with quickaccess to the Library’s catalog, electronic databases andthe Internet. A new automated system providing pa-tron access to the catalog has just been installed.

Louisiana Libraries Connect, a State Library ini-tiative to provide all Louisiana public libraries withhigh speed Internet and database access, was com-pleted in December 1998. A $7 million grant from theGates Learning Foundation placed personal comput-ers for use by patrons in every public library in the state.With $2 million in state funds for telecommunicationsservices, and a strong local effort, public libraries canboast of having over 2,000 public access computers in331 buildings networked by T-1 or 64 KB dedicatedlines.

Other recent activities address long-standingchallenges facing the library. The Louisiana Center forthe Book was founded in 1997 to promote books andreading through workshops, author programs andother special events. A public relations program to cre-ate greater public awareness of the State Library’s valu-able collections and services has been implemented. Inprocess are several major initiatives–a new web basedinterlibrary loan system, technology grant awards tothe few public libraries, which are not yet automated,and a master plan for continuing education for librarystaff members.

The State Library closes this century well po-sitioned to meet the needs and demands of the nextmillennium. An outstanding and ever-expanding col-lection of resources in a wide range of formats, an en-thusiastic and competent staff, an inspired and coop-erative statewide library community, and strong part-nerships with state and federal agencies, private indus-try, and non-profit organizations provide a foundationfor continued progress and creativity.

Tom Jaques is the state librarian for Louisiana

State Library of Louisiana: The Purpose and Focus

by Thomas Jaques

The Same Building, But A New Look: State Library of Louisiana

The Baton Rouge land which the State Libraryof Louisiana resides has a rich past. Just across the streetZachary Taylor rocked on his porch scanning the Mis-sissippi, awaiting the vessel which would take him toWashington to be inaugurated as the 12th President in1849. A block north, right after Lincoln’s portentouselection, Governor Moore ordered the federal arsenal’sweapons and munitions removed by state militia inJanuary 1861 and sent for safe keeping to Pineville.There they were entrusted to the care of the foundingsuperintendent of the new Louisiana Military Seminary,William Tecumseh Sherman, whomodeled it after the Virginia Mili-tary Institute. The weapons andSherman soon separately landedin border state ambiguity in St.Louis before war erupted, but theschool moved after the war to thearsenal’s vicinity in Baton Rougein 1866 and evolved from “the oldwar skule” into Louisiana StateUniversity.

A new library buildingfor the university was donated in1903 by John Hill. A Scotsmanwhose foundry and brick busi-ness in Baton Rouge had been de-stroyed during the Civil War. Hehad then moved his family acrossthe river to reestablish his fortune as a sugar planter,but his mark on the capital remained in the form of theiron fence, which surrounds the Old State Capitol. Headded as a legacy the domed and column Hill Memo-rial Library to honor a son who died before him.

The State Library of Louisiana was born theLouisiana Library Commission in 1925, with offices inthe Old State Capitol and a mission to establish publiclibraries in every parish. As the agency grew, its vari-ous functions were housed in multiple locations, andits headquarters was moved in the 1930s into the newState Capitol on the 18th floor. By 1940, after the LSUcampus was moved south a few miles to its presentlocation, the State Library took over the former HillMemorial Library building, and by 1956 was operat-ing a 90,000 volume collection as well as continuing topioneer public library development. In that year thefirst building expressly designed to house the State Li-brary began to take shape, overseen by architect JohnDesmond. Its initial excavation so close to the westfront of Hill weakened the latter’s foundation to suchan extent that it was suddenly condemned as unsafe.The State Library vacated the premises over three hec-

tic June days to several temporary locations, includingthe Welfare building across Third Street and the Com-merce building downtown.

When the new white marble Louisiana StateLibrary building at 760 North Third Street opened itsdoors in 1958, it had a measured floor space of 80,000square feet and a shelf capacity for 350,000 volumes.Ten years later the Library concluded an importantphase of its historic mission by successfully establish-ing its final demonstration library in 1968, havingbrought public library service to every parish. Not

missing a beat, in that same year the State Library be-gan to concentrate its attention on statewide libraryresource sharing. The Library set up a rudimentarycatalog of the holdings of over 60 public and academiclibraries in 1968, using a Library of Congress numberassigned as a stand-in for a book’s title and other bib-liographic data: the Louisiana Numerical Register.

This emphasis on collection building resultedin a greatly expanded State Library book acquisitionsprogram for the next decade, so that by the end of the1970s the collections had already surpassed the build-ings designed capacity. The Library kept its size man-aged by crowding additional stacks into areas formerlyassigned to workers and library users, by aggressiveweeding of less used material, and finally by storingtens of thousands of volumes temporarily off site atLSU’s newly expanded Middleton Library.

The State Library made its first official capitaloutlay request to expand the 1958 building in 1983, butno funds were made available until 1988, when archi-tectural planning funds were appropriated and theBaton Rouge firm of Bani and Carville was selected. Afuture partner, Richard Brown, designed and oversaw

by Michael R. McKann

the expansion and renovation project, which brokeground in late 1995 and was dedicated in March 1999.

A total of 50,000 square feet was added to theoriginal front and rear faces of the five above groundfloors of the building, which was reoriented to face theavenue leading to the Capitol. Its new address became701 North Fourth Street. The 130,000 square foot build-ing is clad in polished granite and its total cost includ-ing furnishings and equipment was close to $9 million.The primary contractor was the Woodrow Wilson Con-struction Company of Baton Rouge.

The construction and renovation project was aparticularly complex one because the Library remainedopen for business during its over three year duration,except for a few weeks when internal moving of col-lections or offices made public access dangerous. Itwas further complicated by the need to evolve the de-sign in midstream to accommodate the rise to promi-nence of the Internet. Over 60 stations providing pub-lic access to the World Wide Web were added whilethe building was being built. And although theLibrary’s old card catalog had been replaced with anintegrated computer system in 1991, a replacementusing current technology from a different vendor wasincorporated during construction as well. In addition,the building’s self-contained air conditioning systemwas removed completely in favor of an undergroundchilled-water loop, which serves capital complex build-ings from a central plant.

To minimize the risk of damage and disorderto the library’s collections when being moved to tem-porary internal locations so existing arms could be de-molished and renovated, the State Library staff itselfperformed all materials relocation. Over one millionitems were thus expertly handled most of them twice.Every office location and employee was also moved,usually to a temporary internal site and then again to anew or renovated one.

Because the State Library of Louisiana beganthis project with a well designed and constructed build-ing which did not have to be leveled and rebuilt, the1999 rebirth of the State Library can be considered amodel of financial restraint and resourcefulness. Byreinvesting the existing structure, reusing some of itsoriginal equipment, and mounting its new portions andfurnishings on an original solid frame, and ingeniouslyreapportioning and redesigning its functional elements,the State of Louisiana achieved essentially a new StateLibrary building at less than $70 per square foot, orless than half the cost of an average similar structurefully furnished.

Michael R. McKann is deputy state librarianfor the State Library of Louisiana.

User Services Branch of theState Library of Louisiana

by Virginia R. Smith

The User Services Branch of the State Libraryof Louisiana is made up of the Louisiana section, refer-ence and bibliography section, serials and loan refer-ral section, the Recorder of Documents Office, and thesupport services unit. It is responsible for the general,serials, and special Louisiana collections, all the StateLibrary mailroom operations, and administers the Loui-siana Public Documents Depository Program. Refer-ence, Serials, and Louisiana Sections librarians provideinformation to those who visit, telephone, or write theLibrary, and assist Louisiana public and institutionallibraries in filling requests for information from theirpatrons. Staff of User Services processes and fills inter-library loan requests from other libraries, and borrowsmaterials through OCLC for Louisiana public librariesand State Library registered borrowers. The LouisianaGovernment Information Network (LaGIN) is coordi-nated by the branch. Thirteen librarians, 14 library para-professionals and eight part-time students make up thestaff of User Services.

CirculationThe circulation section is responsible for check-

ing in and checking out library materials, maintainingpatron records, generating overdue notices and invoicesfor lost materials, re-shelving library materials andmaintaining order on the shelves, and all mailroomfunctions. The circulation librarian supervises six li-brary paraprofessionals and three part-time studentworkers. The staff circulates materials to walk-in pa-trons and interlibrary loan materials going out to, andreturning from other libraries. The mailroom processesall items sent and received by the Library through theU.S. postal service and private couriers, including in-terlibrary loan books and shipments of supplies andequipment, and provides messenger service within thelibrary and between the library and other state agen-cies.

Materials in the collections of the State Libraryare available for use at the library by anyone. Louisi-ana government officials and employees, retired em-ployees and officials, and students enrolled in theSchool of Library and Information Science at Louisi-ana State University are eligible for borrowing privi-leges. Others may borrow State Library materialsthrough interlibrary loan. Most circulating materialsin the collection are lent for 28 days with the option oftwo renewals. Materials with waiting lists are lent for21 days and may not be renewed. The circulation sec-tion does not check out or check in materials in theAudiovisual and Blind Sections’ collections.

In 1998, the State Library checked out over62,000 items from the general, serials, and Louisianacollections. Materials in the Audiovisual and Sectionfor the Blind collections are not included in the statis-tics for the circulation section. Borrower cards were is-sued to 910 new patrons during 1998. The mailroomsent more than 37,000 items through the U.S. PostalService, and over 7,000 shipments of library materialsto Louisiana public libraries by private couriers.

The Internet and the installation of the Hori-zon online catalog and circulation system have pro-vided new access possibilities. The State Library’s cata-log is on the Library’s web page. Patrons can searchthe catalog from their office or home, and registeredborrowers can place reserves on materials that are incirculation. Remote access to several online databasesis available to registered borrowers. A registration formfor borrowing privileges is on the web page. Overduenotices can be sent either by regular mail or e-mail.

Reference & Bibliography SectionLouisiana public and institutional libraries

send subject requests to the reference and bibliographicsection, and the reference staff searches the material inthe collection to assist in answeringthe questions. The six librarians in thesection also answer brief referencequestions, assist walk-in patrons, andanswer telephone requests at the reference desks. Ref-erence desks on the first floor and the third floor arestaffed by the librarians during the hours the library isopen. During 1998, the reference staff answered almost7,000 requests for information from individuals andother libraries.

The reference staff compiles Recent Acquisitions,a series of subject bibliographies prepared for stateemployees listing new materials in the library collec-tion. Finding Study Guides for State Civil Service Exams:A Manual for Public and Institutional Libraries, currentlyin 4th edition, assists librarians selecting study materi-als for their patrons on civil service exams. Other bibli-ographies and reference guides are prepared as neededor by request.

The reference librarians select monographs,serials, and reference tools for the general collection,including online databases and other special formats.Each librarian is responsible for the currency and rel-evance of specific subject areas within the collection.

The State Library’s collection supplements thecollections of the state’s public, academic, institutional,and special libraries and is also a research collectionserving the needs of state government. Materials forthe general collection are selected through an approvalprogram, recommendations in standard review jour-nals and bibliographies, and requests from library us-ers. Special emphasis is placed on examination studyguides, foreign language publications, literacy materi-

als, library and information science, public adminis-tration, and materials to support social science and sci-ence projects in Louisiana schools. Other areas of in-terest include vehicle repair manuals, southern agri-culture, art books, American and British literature, Af-rican-American history and culture, computer softwareand hardware manuals, crafts and collectibles, andsouthern literature, history and travel. As a general rule,juvenile books, textbooks, highly specialized technicalbooks and serials, and popular fiction are not collected.The collection is housed on the first, third and fourthfloors of the library.

The State Library is a selective depository offederal government documents distributed by the Gov-ernment Printing Office under the depository program.The federal documents collection within the State Li-brary is administered by the recorder of documentsoffice. The reference staff reviews the list of titles re-ceived on a regular basis deciding to add or deleteitems. The departments work together to provide ac-cess to the federal documents collection.

The reference collection and federal documentscollection are shelved on the first floor near the mainreference desk. A microfilm reader printer, photocopy

machine, and public access computers with printers arelocated near the reference collection and the referencedesk. Study carrels and public access computers withprinters are conveniently placed throughout the bookstacks on the third and fourth floors. All the comput-ers have access to the Library’s online catalog, a num-ber of databases, the Internet, and word processing andspreadsheet software.

Interlibrary Loan and Loan ReferralSince its founding in 1925 as the Louisiana Li-

brary Commission, providing an information servicefor the citizens of Louisiana has been a major functionof the State Library. Parish libraries mailed requests tothe State Library for information for their patrons thatcould not be answered at the local level. Librarians re-searched the questions and mailed the appropriatematerials to the parish libraries. Parish libraries alsomailed requests to the State Library for specific mate-rials that were not owned by the parish libraries. If thematerial requested was not available in the collectionof the State Library, the request was referred to otherlibraries.

The development of the Louisiana NumericalRegister (LNR) facilitated a statewide interlibrary loansystem. The LNR contained the holdings of all the con-tributing Louisiana libraries, arranged by Library ofCongress catalog card number, on microfiche. Parishlibraries were able to search LNR by Library of Con-

gress number to borrow materials directly from par-ticipating Louisiana libraries for their patrons. The StateLibrary continued filling requests for materials in theState Library collection, referring requests to other li-braries, and answering subject requests.

Lasernet, a statewide, automated interlibraryloan system, was initiated in the fall of 1987. The unioncatalog was built from LNR records and the StateLibrary’s catalog records, and updated regularly bymember libraries.1 Library staff can now search thedatabase for titles their patrons want to borrow. A bib-liographic record with a list of libraries owning the titleis displayed. A title is requested with a few keystrokes,and the system automatically selects a list of three lend-ers according to a predetermined hierarchy. Requestsfor titles not filled by one of the three lenders defaultto the State Library. The requested materials are sentfrom the State Library collection or referred to otherlibraries through OCLC. Libraries are able to initiate“subject” requests through the system to the State Li-brary. Librarians in the reference and bibliography, se-rials, and Louisiana sections answer the requests bysending relevant materials to the requesting library.Louisiana institutional libraries and a few parish librar-ies that are not members of Lasernet, and some out-of-state libraries continue to mail their requests to the StateLibrary. Requests for materials are also receivedthrough OCLC.

In 1925, one Louisiana Library Commissionemployee filled all the requests for library materials.The staff member ordered the titles if they were not

available at the library, cataloged the books, performedall shipping functions, and kept records and statistics.Between 1925 and 1930, 8,800 requests for materialsfrom individuals and libraries were processed by theLibrary Commission.2

Today, Lasernet and mailed requests are re-ceived by the four staff members working in supportservices, who distribute requests to the various depart-ments in the library to answer, and pull all materialsrequested by title. Requests for materials not ownedby the State Library are taken to the serials and loanreferral section to be borrowed through OCLC. In 1998,the State Library received almost 53,000 requests forlibrary materials from Louisiana libraries throughLasernet and by mail, and over 13,000 OCLC requests.

Louisiana SectionThe State Library has always collected Louisi-

ana related materials to provide information about thestate. Between 1925 and 1948, the materials werehoused with the general reference collection and main-tained by the reference staff. In 1949, a full-time librar-

ian was given the responsibility of the growing Louisi-ana collection.3 The new State Library building, com-pleted in 1958, provided space for a great expansion ofthe Louisiana collection.

Today, the Louisiana section is housed on thefifth floor of the Library with a magnificent view of theMississippi River and the state capitol grounds throughfloor to ceiling windows. Thirteen public access termi-nals with printers, four microform reader printers, anda photocopy machine are available to researchers. Com-fortable reading chairs are located in the periodical dis-play area, and tables and study carrels are convenientlyplaced throughout the section. Three reference librar-ians, a library paraprofessional and two part-time stu-dent workers assist patrons, answer telephone and mailrequests for information, and maintain the collection.

The Louisiana section collects materials aboutLouisiana, materials written by Louisiana authors, fic-tion with a Louisiana setting, and general works con-taining material relevant to Louisiana. Louisiana legalmaterials, genealogy, periodicals, telephone books andcity directories, and major newspapers are included.Extensive newspaper clipping files, an historical pho-tograph collection, a large map collection, and a collec-tion of original artworks are features of the department.The State Library is a complete, historical depositoryfor state government documents which are retainedindefinitely in the Louisiana section. A separate, non-circulating collection of genealogy materials relatingto the southeastern and southern states is administeredby the section. Searching For Your Louisiana Ancestors …

And All That Jazz, produced by theLouisiana section, serves as a guideto the genealogy collection in theState Library of Louisiana. The pub-

lication is available both in paper and on the Library’sweb page.

Most materials in the Louisiana section arepurchased in duplicate so that one copy may be circu-lated. Currently, there are over 76,000 cataloged items,approximately 121,000 non-cataloged state documents,and over 18,000 reels of microfilm in the collection. Thedepartment receives more than 90 periodical and fivenewspaper subscriptions. During the first two quar-ters of 1999, the staff of the Louisiana section answeredover 5,000 requests for information from individualsand other libraries.

Louisiana Government Information Network(LaGIN)

The Louisiana Government Information Net-work (LaGIN) was formed to identify and share infor-mation resources produced and housed in LouisianaState agencies. A LaGIN steering committee wasformed in response to House Concurrent Resolution245, 1979 Regular Session. The committee developedgoals, objectives, and a plan of operation for the net-

work, and designated the State Library of Louisiana asadministrator of the program. LaGIN members are stateemployees who collect, develop, organize, maintain,and use information resources in and for their agen-cies. All state agencies are eligible to participate.

The head of the Louisiana section at the StateLibrary serves as LaGIN coordinator. The Support Ser-vices Unit provides clerical support. Meetings are heldquarterly and special programs are planned through-

out the year. LaGIN produces a newsletter, InformationResources Exchange (IRE), that is mailed to about 700state officials and employees. IRE contains informationabout new resources, workshops, conferences, stateagency projects, and LaGIN meetings and programs.Other LaGIN publications include LaGIN Directory ofState Government Information Resources and Recent Ac-quisitions, a semi-monthly list of new books added tothe State Library collection. Recent Acquisitions is pre-pared with the assistance of the librarians in referenceand bibliography, and is distributed to interested stateemployees and officials who may borrow the listedtitles from the State Library. All LaGIN publicationsare available on the State Library’s web page and inpaper.

Recorder of Documents OfficeThe recorder of documents administers the

Louisiana Public Documents Depository Program. Theprogram was established in the office of the secretaryof state in 1948 by Act 493. In 1977, the functions of theprogram were transferred to the State Library. Thepurpose of the depository program is to provide ac-cess to state government information as a basic rightof citizenship through efficient distribution and maxi-mum availability of Louisiana public documents. Therecorder of documents is responsible for obtaining stateagency publications, preparing and distributing the of-ficial bibliography of state documents, and transmit-ting the public documents received from state agen-cies to the depository libraries. The recorder providesassistance to depositories for maintaining and usingtheir collections of documents. In addition to the statedocuments duties mandated by law, the Recorder ofDocuments Office administers the selective federaldocuments depository collection within the State Li-brary. The recorder works with the reference and bibli-ography section to provide access to federal documents,and acts as a liaison between the State Library and theU.S. Government Printing Office. The recorder’s officeis staffed by the recorder, who is, by law, a librarian, alibrary paraprofessional, and a part-time studentworker. In 1998, the office received and distributed todepository libraries over 5,000 state documents.

The official bibliography of state documents isissued by the recorder of documents semiannually, bothin paper and on the State Library’s web page, as PublicDocuments. Official Publications: List of the Public Docu-ments of Louisiana is a five-year cumulation of PublicDocuments. The Official Documents series facilitates ac-cess to all official Louisiana publications since territo-rial times.

There are 42 designated depositories for Loui-siana State documents. Most of the de-positories are in college or universitylibraries in Louisiana. Twelve are inLouisiana public libraries and three are

in state agency libraries. The Library of Congress is alsoa depository. There are four types of depository librar-ies. The State Library and Louisiana State UniversityLibrary at Baton Rouge are legally designated complete,historical depository libraries. They receive two copiesof all public documents collected by the recorder fordistribution, and retain permanently one copy of each.Complete depositories receive one copy of all publicdocuments collected by the recorder of documents fordistribution and retain each for a minimum of six years.Selective depositories receive one copy of a predeter-mined core collection and all public documents col-lected by the recorder for distribution in the categoriesselected by the depository. Each document is kept for aminimum of six years. Limited depositories receive onecopy of the documents identified in the list of core col-lection titles and retain the latest edition of each.

The increasing importance of electronic pub-lishing and the Internet have had a great impact onaccess to information. Recognizing these changes, thestate librarian has formed a committee to study thecurrent Louisiana State Documents Depository Pro-gram and to draft new legislation governing the pro-gram. Committee members represent depository librar-ies, agencies that produce documents, and users ofdocuments.

Serials and Loan ReferralThe head of the serials and loan referral sec-

tion oversees two important library functions: man-agement of the serials collection and all OCLC loanreferrals. The librarian supervises two library parapro-fessionals and a part-time student worker. The serialsreading room provides comfortable chairs for leisurereading, tables for researchers, a microform reader-printer, and five public access computers with print-ers.

The section orders and receives over 1,000 sub-scriptions to periodicals and newspapers, both schol-arly and popular titles. The current year of 300 titles isdisplayed on open periodical shelving in the room.Other current titles and back files of paper copies arestored in closed stacks. Back files include approximately33,000 periodical paper volumes, 4,500 reels of micro-

film, and 47,000 sheets of microfiche. Online access toperiodical and newspaper articles is provided throughMagazine Article Summaries, InfoTrac, Library Literature,and, for Louisiana newspapers, ProQuest Direct . TheLibrary subscribes to paper copies of Reader’s Guide andLibrary Literature as well as about 30 specialized indexes.The State Library circulates all periodicals in all for-mats except the current issue of each display title. Li-brarians in the reference and bibliography section andthe Louisiana section assist the head of the serials sec-tion in the selection of periodical and newspaper titles.

Materials requested by Louisiana public librar-ies and State Library patrons that are not available inthe collection of the State Library are borrowed by theserials and loan referral section from other librariesthrough OCLC. The section also fills incoming OCLCrequests. In 1998, the section received over 13,000 re-quest for materials from other libraries and borrowedapproximately 17,000 items for State Library patronsand Louisiana public libraries.

Support ServicesThe support services unit administers the in-

terlibrary loan program within the StateLibrary and provides clerical support foruser services. Four full-time and onepart-time student staff member receiveand answer all Lasernet and mailed interlibrary loanrequests, distribute the requests to other departmentsfor action, pull all general collection books that havebeen requested by title, and prepare statistical reports.Support services works with the reference and bibli-ography section and the Louisiana Government Infor-mation Network (LaGIN) preparing and distributingpublications. The unit is responsible for purchasing,payroll, and inventory control paper work for user ser-vices.

Virginia Smith is coordinator of user servicesat the State Library of Louisiana.

State Library of Louisiana:Special Services Branch

by Sharilynn Aucoin

The Special Services Division consists of twodepartments: The Audiovisual Resource Center and theSection for the Blind and Physically Handicapped. Bothof these departments have a long history of service tothe citizens of Louisiana.Audiovisual Resource Center The department now known as the AudiovisualResource Center began as simply a film service in 1949as the result of a study which determined the need forsuch a program in the State Library. This first film ser-

vice was organized under the administration of the firstState Librarian Essae M. Culver. The original collec-tion included 30 films for both children and adults.Subjects in this early collection included juvenile sto-ries, travel, nature, geography, history, and child care.

Demand proved to be strong. In the first ninemonths of the service, with 39 films in circulation, atotal of 1,230 showings reached an audience of nearly51,000 persons. Usage grew steadily, and by 1971 thecollection contained 944 titles and a total number of1,314 prints. In 1971 there were 16,945 bookings.

In a report to the State Library Board of Com-missioners in 1954, it was stated that 130 films werethen in the collection, which was “well rounded...anddoes not duplicate the titles available from other (state)agencies.” Note was made that the films were usedprimarily by groups, such as home demonstrationclubs, parent-teacher associations, civic clubs,sportsmen’s leagues, music clubs, and various youthgroups such as 4-H, scouts, etc. The same report alsoobserved that 65 of the state’s public libraries ownedtheir own film collections, and about 130 libraries par-ticipated in a system by which they received small de-

posit collections each month, thus saving them fromthe expenses of buying their own films. The StateLibrary’s budget for films in the biennium 1954-56 wasprojected to be $3,000.

In May 1960, recordings were added to the col-lections, and it became known as the films and record-ings section. The State Library report for 1960-61 re-vealed that the film collection was in constant demand,with 439 films being shown 6,259 times to more than337,565 persons. By 1961 the recordings collection num-bered 1,691, with circulations of 5,218. Music genresincluded were classical, jazz, musical theater, folk mu-sic, spoken recordings, and language instruction. Therecordings collection was heavily used during its ex-istence, especially the jazz and classical records. Asnewer formats for recorded music were introduced, therecordings collection was phased out. By the late 1980sno vinyl recordings remained in the collection.

In the mid 1980s, the films and recordings sec-tion was re-named the Audiovisual Resource Centerwith a collection today of approximately 7,000 video-cassettes, 2,000 audiobooks, 1,100 compact disks, 100language cassettes, 170 music cassettes, 300 spokenword cassettes, and almost 300 16mm films.Audiobooks have become very popular with the trav-eling public, and every effort is made to acquire timelyfiction and non-fiction titles in recorded book format.Language instruction cassettes are also heavily used.The 16mm films are used primarily for children’s pro-gramming and for Christmas programs.

Section for the Blind and Physically HandicappedAn integral part of the State Library’s mission

to serve ALL Louisiana citizens, the Section for the Blindand Physically Handicapped (SBPH) dates back to 1958.The service started when the then-new library build-ing was completed and included specially designedquarters. Prior to that time, service to blind patrons(physically handicapped were not served until later)had been provided beginning in 1932 by the New Or-leans Public Library, which served citizens in both Loui-siana and Mississippi. Our sister state took over ser-vice for its citizens in 1970.

In 1966, the service was expanded by theUnited States government to include other handi-capped persons: those who cannot handle books dueto physical limitations; people visually impaired, butnot legally blind; those temporarily eligible due to ac-cident, illness, or surgery; or persons certified as hav-ing a reading disability or dyslexia. Certification of eli-gibility may be done by a variety of professional prac-titioners: medical doctors; osteopathic doctors; ophthal-mologists; optometrists; registered nurses; therapists;social workers; caseworkers; counselors; rehabilitationteachers, or, in special cases, professional librarians.

All materials, including the machines for play-ing the recorded items, are supplied by the NationalLibrary Service in the Library of Congress. The service

is, and always has been, free to its users, just as routinelibrary service to sighted persons is free (tax-sup-ported). There is no charge to mail materials to or fromthe patrons, nor is there any cost to the patrons for re-ceiving and using the playback machines.

Since the early days of the service, the formatshave included Braille, discs, tapes, and large printbooks. Current magazines, as well as all types of fic-tion and non-fiction, are provided in the several for-mats. In the near future, a state-of-the-art recordingbooth will be purchased and installed so that customrecording of books may be done on-site by trained vol-unteers or paid professional readers. Such productionwill include textbooks of state or regional interest forLouisiana students.

The collection of SBPH presently contains ap-proximately 29,415 volumes of Braille; 118,943 titles onrecorded cassettes; 473 titles on recorded disk; and 9,950large print titles. For persons who were either bornwithout sight or who have lost their sight, and for per-sons who cannot physically handle normal books, ac-cess to the wide variety of reading materials availablefrom SBPH is a real godsend. In the period October1997 through September 1998, 4,020 individual patronsreceived materials, as well as some 400 institutions.Upon certification, each patron is assigned to a reader

advisor, who then works with him or her to select ma-terials according to an interest profile supplied by thepatron. A toll-free telephone number (800-543-4702)makes it possible for any patron to call the departmentto talk to his advisor at any time.

Service to children and young people has al-ways been an important part of the SBPH program. Alibrarian works with schools across the state into whichvisually impaired children have been “mainstreamed,”as well as with the Louisiana School for the VisuallyImpaired in Baton Rouge. The librarian serves as thereader advisor for all patrons from birth to age 19. An-other youth-oriented program is the annual summerreading program held across the state as part of theState Library’s program for all young readers in Loui-siana. Visually impaired, blind, and physically handi-capped children take part in summer reading activi-ties at their local public libraries, along with other chil-dren of similar ages and reading abilities.

The Special Services Division occupies most ofthe fourth floor of the new building, with book stacksoccupying the remainder. The current staff of SBPHincludes two professional librarians. Five reader advi-sors work with the patrons, while six other support staffhandle the physical receiving, processing, and shippingof materials and machines.

As the State Library looks to the future, theSpecial Services Division pledges tocontinue to provide its unique servicesto Louisiana citizens. More outreachneeds to be done to identify potential

users, particularly persons eligible for SBPH services.Plans are in the formative stages.

Sharilynn Aucoin is coordinator of special servicesat the State Library of Louisiana.

The Progress of Technologyat the State Library of Louisiana

by Sara Taffae

In 1985, the State Library bought its first com-puter to perform interlibrary loan through the OCLCsystem. OCLC had just switched its equipment fromthe dumb terminals previously used to the recentlyintroduced IBM personal computer. The IBM pc in-stalled in the State Library was the first installed byOCLC in the state. That first computer had 64K of RAMand a 5 1/4” floppy drive. It had no hard drive.

Fourteen years and seven generations of com-puters later the State Library has 150 networked com-puters, all connected to the Internet. This includes 60machines available to the public to use for word pro-cessing and spreadsheet applications, to search the

World Wide Web, to access the Louisiana Library Net-work Databases, to search the State Library’s catalogand to access local resources at the State Library.

There were some major stepping stones on thepath to our current state of technology:

Lasernet In September 1987, 35 parish libraries began

using the Lasernet Interlibrary Loan System. Developedby Library Systems and Services, Lasernet was the firstoptical disk based ILL system in thecountry. The system was initially in-stalled using an IBM PC with one or twoPioneer 12” Laser Disk players. Theunion catalog housed on these disks had been createdfrom the Louisiana Numerical Register, a database con-sisting of Library of Congress numbers and the hold-ings codes of the libraries owning that particular title.The State Library had converted its holdings to a mi-crofiche catalog, CATFICHE, which was accessible byauthor, title and subject. The Louisiana Numerical Reg-ister and CATFICHE were combined and matchedagainst MARC records to create the union databasewhich was accessible by author, title, subject, ISBN/ISSN, and LC number. In 1988, the catalog was trans-ferred to CD-ROM, and the IBM pc was replaced bythe PS/2, which became the standard configuration forthe system. ILL transactions were transferred via mo-dem. LSSI polled each of the libraries every other nightand retrieved the previous day’s activity. The informa-tion was then sent by modem to the libraries beingasked for materials. By 1989, Lasernet had grown to 54members. In 1996, Lasernet moved to an online data-base. Transactions were now handled via the Internet,and since each parish library had an Internet connec-tion, Lasernet’s membership now included all of thepublic libraries in the state. The current system is nowavailable via the World Wide Web, which allows formore searching points and better access.

GalaxyIn 1991 the State Library installed Gaylord’s

Galaxy library automation system. The system ran ona VAX mini computer running the VMS operating sys-tem. Access in the library was from dumb terminalsand was strictly text based. Soon after the system wasup and running in the library, remote access was addedand patrons could access the catalog through a modemfrom their home or office at the speed of 2400 baud.Patrons could also remotely check on the books theycurrently had checked out, what books they had onreserve, could request that reserves be placed on itemsnot currently available in the library, and could send amessage to the State Library. When the Galaxy systemwas installed it was the only networking in the StateLibrary. This was to change dramatically in 1993 duemostly to the awarding of an U.S. Department of Edu-cation Grant.

Louisiana Library NetworkIn 1993, a Department of Education grant was

awarded to the State of Louisiana. The grant was ad-ministered by the LOUIS group, headed by Ralph Boeat LSU. Part of the grant was to provide Internet accessto each of the headquarter libraries in each parish. AnIBM PS/2 486 was installed in each headquarter libraryas well as one at the State Library. The World Wide Webwas just getting started and the most important researchtool was gopher. Within the year the State Library was

running an e-mail server, had a web page, and 20 net-worked computers. The expansion of the network forthe entire State Library building was accomplishedcoincidentally with the completion of the expansion ofthe State Library building in 1999.

This year has seen both the expansion of theState Library’s networking throughout its building andan increase in networking services provided to thepublic libraries such as e-mail hosting and DNS ser-vices. The year 1999 has also seen a move to a new au-tomated library system. The State Library has installedAmeritech’s Horizon system in the library and can nowoffer remote access to the catalog over the Internet.

Much has changed in the 14 years since thatfirst computer was purchased for the library and muchlies ahead in the area of technology.

Sara Taffae is the management consultantfor information systems at the State Library.

The Gates Library Foundation in Louisiana

by Danny Gillane

Bill and Melinda Gates founded the Gates Li-brary Foundation (GLF) in 1997 to partner with publiclibraries to bring access to computers, the Internet, anddigital information for patrons in low-income commu-nities in North America. In 1998, the State Library ofLouisiana applied for and received a statewide grantfrom the Gates Library Foundation. Louisiana becamethe second state, after Alabama, to receive a statewidegrant.

The Statewide Library Partnership Grants arecooperative relationships between GLF, state libraryagencies, schools of library science, and local librarieswithin a state. GLF provides broad funding and,through the Technology Resource Institute, suppliestechnical assistance and training to libraries. TRI, origi-nally created by a grant from the GLF, has since mergedwith the larger philanthropic effort of the Bill and

Melinda Gates Foundations, and has renamed itself theGates Center for Technology Access.

The Gates grant put at least one computerworkstation in every public library building in Louisi-ana, over one thousand computers in all. Most librar-ies received more than one computer. The computerscame loaded with software, including the popularMicrosoft Office Suite. There is software for childrensuch as Magic School Bus and Barney titles, trip-plan-ning software, an atlas and an encyclopedia, and sev-eral other titles. Patrons can surf the Internet, check e-mail or type a résumé at their public library.

In addition to the public access workstations,regional training hubs were placed in Monroe,DeRidder, Houma, Gonzales and Minden. Each re-

gional training hub features ten networked computersand a display monitor. Initially, the Gates staff usedthe hubs to provide training to public library staff. Thetraining hubs can be used for additional computer train-ing for the libraries conducted by public libraries, theState Library, or outside trainers. When not being usedfor training, the computers provide additional publicaccess at each of these libraries. Eight additional pub-lic library systems serving populations over 100,000received a training facility identical to the regional hubs;these are for providing training to their staffs.

Along with the computer hardware and soft-ware, Gates provided training for the libraries. De-pending upon the size of the library, staff was trainedin one or two-day sessions. Some of the training wasdone in the regional training hubs, some at individuallibrary branches and, for those working in the largesystems, some training occurred in Seattle, Washing-ton. Members of the Gates staff were assisted by in-terns from the School of Library and Information Sci-ence at Louisiana State University. By the time thethree-month installation process was completed, everylibrary had been visited by at least one intern or mem-ber of the Gates team.

Not only did the libraries receive assistance inthe form of training, they received unlimited telephonesupport from the Gates team for the first year and willcontinue to receive that support in limited fashion forthe next two years. In all, Louisiana public librarieswill have received over $7 million worth of hardware,software, training and support as a result of the State-wide Partnership Grant.

Danny Gillane is a library consultant incomputer services at the State Library.

Universal Service andLouisiana Public Libraries

by Danny Gillane

The Universal Service Fund (e-rate) was cre-ated by congress in the Telecommunications Act of 1996to make modern telecommunications affordable forevery K-12 school and public library in the nation. Theprogram provides discounts ranging from 20% to 90%toward the purchase of telecommunications services,Internet access, and internal connections and appliestoward existing services as well as toward new services.For libraries, discounts are based on the percentage ofstudents in the school district who are eligible for the

National School Lunch Program and onlocation in an urban or rural area. Ur-ban or rural status is determined byusing Office of Management and Bud-

get Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Individual librariesor consortia may apply for e-rate funds.

In Louisiana, libraries applied individually forbasic telephone service and for equipment such as rout-ers and Internet servers. The State Library filed anapplication as a consortium for Internet access for allof the public libraries in the state.

In order for libraries to apply for e-rate funds,Federal Communications Committee rules require atechnology plan covering current, next, and futureyears. The technology plan must address: goals forimproving service using information technology;needs, such as hardware and software, facility up-grades, maintenance and support needed to reachstated goals; staff training to assure that purchasedtechnologies can be used effectively; a budget thatshows how the library will pay for its share of servicesand for training, computers and support services notcovered by e-rate funds; and a means of evaluationthat will allow a library to know if the information tech-nology investment is helping it to reach its goals of li-brary service.

The State Library worked with Louisiana pub-lic libraries to help them develop or refine their tech-nology plans. State library staff also provided work-shops to assist the libraries with the e-rate fund appli-cation which, as with any federal program, the e-ratecame with its own set of paperwork.

Libraries first file Form 470 to request services.Form 470 presents a sort of wish list of services that thelibrary would like to offer if funds are available. TheSchools and Libraries Division of the Universal ServiceAdministrative Company posts the Forms 470 on itssite so that potential service providers may contactschools and libraries.

After the application has been posted for 28days, the libraries fill out Form 471 to request fundsfor services for which they have a provider. With the

exception of tariff services, such as basic telephone ser-vice, libraries must have signed contracts in order torequest funds for services on Form 471. Form 471 pro-vides a more-detailed description of the services re-quested and asks for more-detailed information aboutthe library and its constituents.

Once libraries have filed Form 471, the wait-ing begins. A number of Louisiana libraries, includingthe State Library, were contacted for additional infor-mation before their forms would be processed. In De-cember 1998, nearly a year after applying for funds,the Schools and Libraries Division began sending outfund commitment letters, and the requisite number ofadditional forms to be filled out in order to process thefunds.

The funding commitment letters came withForm 486, which allowed the Schools and LibrariesDivision to release funds allocated to a library to theselected service provider. Additionally, since process-ing the large number of applications took longer thanexpected, Form 472, the Billed Entity Applicant Reim-bursement (BEAR) form, came with the funding com-mitments. Libraries filled out the BEAR forms to re-ceive e-rate funds for services that they had requestedand been approved and for which they had alreadypaid providers. Libraries had the option to receive theirreimbursements in the form of a check from the pro-vider or credit toward future service. Use of the BEARform was at the discretion of the individual serviceproviders.

Early on in the e-rate application process, thestate librarian decided that the State Library would usemoney earmarked for the Louisiana Libraries Connectproject to pay for Internet access in the public libraries.This money would complement the Gates LibraryFoundation grant from the previous year to give Loui-siana citizens unequaled public library Internet access.

The State Library worked with LaNet,BellSouth, CenturyTel, and Eatel to provide T1 connec-tions, frame-relay and 64kb connections to every pub-lic library building in state. In the first funding year,which was extended to include services from January1, 1998 through June 30, 1999, the State Library appliedfor and received over $500,000 in funding. In the sec-ond funding year, July 1, 1999, through June 30, 2000,the State Library applied for over $1 million in e-ratefunds to continue providing Internet access in the pub-lic libraries.

As of this writing, the State Library and Loui-siana public libraries are awaiting word on fundingcommitments for fiscal year July 1, 1999, through June30, 2000, and preparing for the next round of Univer-sal Service Fund applications.

Danny Gillane is a library consultantin computer services at the State Library.

Louisiana Center for the Book

by Sharilynn Aucoin

The Louisiana Center for the Book, a majorproject of the State Library, is one of 36 such centersacross the country. The pilot program on which the cen-ter is modeled began in the Library of Congress about20 years ago. The Center for the Book exists to pro-mote the literary heritage of the state, host programson subjects such as how to write, how to get materialspublished, research techniques, the importance ofbooks and reading, and similar topics. Many centersalso co-sponsor literary festivals, establish databasesof state authors and events, publish newsletters, andfurnish the services of consultants to assist local librar-ies in planning their own programs, particularly pro-grams featuring Louisiana authors, poets, and illustra-tors.

Since the goals of the State Library are tostrengthen public libraries, provide access to a widevariety of materials and services for the citizens of Loui-siana, and to promote reading and literacy, the Centerfor the Book is a logical venue through which to ac-complish some of the goals.

As with each state center which has its ownparticular focus and mission, so does Louisiana. Themission statement reads: “The Louisiana Center ForThe Book exists to celebrate the state’s literary heritage,to promote reading among its citizens, to recognize thecontributions of Louisiana’s authors, publishers, andothers involved in the creation and use of books, andto acclaim the value of books and reading through avariety of programs and activities.”

Louisiana is blessed with an abundance of au-thors: best-selling novelists, such as James Lee Burke,Anne Rice, John Ed Bradley, Ernest Gaines, and StephenAmbrose; great names of the past such as Kate Chopin,Tennessee Williams, Walker Percy, T. Harry Williams,and Harnett Kane; and up-and-coming new writerswho need guidance and encouragement.

Sadly, at the other end of the spectrum, thereare too many Louisiana citizens who can’t read a res-taurant menu or instructions on a prescription medi-cine bottle or the warning labels on machinery, muchless read to their children or for their own enjoyment.As long as Louisiana remains at the bottom of the listfor literacy, the State Library and the Center for the Bookhave much work to do to in promoting reading, lit-eracy, and use of public libraries.

The Louisiana Center is funded primarily fromtwo sources. First, it is a program of the State Library.Thus, the director’s salary, office costs, duplication ser-vices, travel expenses, some printing costs, and similarexpenses are paid from the State Library’s budget. Forprogramming, the center depends upon a combinationof memberships in the Louisiana Library Foundation,

corporate sponsorships, and grants.The first “official” activity of the center was an

inaugural gala in March 1995, which included a din-ner and a literary symposium. At the banquet, notedauthor and scholar David McCullough spoke to morethan 600 people on the importance of literacy, reading,libraries, and lifelong learning. The symposium thefollowing day, attended by approximately 400 persons,featured a panel of scholar/experts on several well-known Louisiana authors: Kate Chopin, Ernest Gaines,Walker Percy, and Tennessee Williams.

The full-time position of director for the Loui-siana Center for the Book was approved in the 1996legislative session. The director is assisted by an advi-

sory council which includes members from varioustypes of libraries, the academic community, the media,authors, professional associations, publishers, libraryvendors, corporations, and lay persons. This wide va-riety of viewpoints assures that the center meets theneeds of all segments of the population. A newsletter,Prologue, is published three times a year. It reports oncurrent and future plans of the center, features Louisi-ana authors, publishes a calendar of events of interestto the literary community, and fulfills other similar ob-jectives.

The center co-sponsors the annual summerreading program of the State Library, as well as year-round reading programs for young adults. These pro-grams foster enjoyment of books, reading, and libraryuse and are utilized in virtually every parish. They areenjoyed by children and young adults, including thoseregistered with the Section for the Blind and PhysicallyHandicapped at the State Library and those in institu-tions across the state. More than 100,000 youngstersparticipate each year.

Another very worthwhile activity in which thecenter is involved is the Letters About Literature Na-tional Writing Contest. Students are invited to writeletters to an author, living or dead, discussing how oneof that author’s books influenced their lives. Louisi-ana has been an active participant in this program forthe past several years, and in 1997 had a national semi-finalist. In 1998, 600 Louisiana students participated,and in 1999 that number jumped to 1,000, a 60% in-crease. Once the state winners are determined, the di-rector of the center travels around the state to presentthe students with their awards, usually at a school hon-ors program, but sometimes at the public library in theparish where the student resides.

On November 9, 1997, the center sponsored asecond major program. Stephen Ambrose, retired di-rector of the Eisenhower Center at the University ofNew Orleans and author of the highly-acclaimed ac-

count of the Lewis and Clark expedition, UndauntedCourage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Open-ing of the American West, spoke to an enthusiastic audi-ence of some 350 persons at a dinner in Baton Rouge.Related activities included three informational sessionsled by prominent Louisiana historians David Madden,Glenn Conrad, and Samuel Hyde, as well as an exhibitassembled by the Louisiana State Museum featuringearly maps.

A major ongoing project of the Louisiana Cen-ter is the establishment of a database of contemporaryLouisiana authors. More than 325 names have beeninput so far, and more authors are invited to partici-pate as their names are brought to the attention of the

center. This database contains muchmore than just names, addresses, anda list of books written, but includes ex-tensive personal data on each author.

The information is now accessible via the State Library’sweb site on the Internet http://smt.state.lib.la.us/.

Future activities will include workshops ontopics such as how to get materials published, how todo historical research, poetry appreciation, and simi-lar subjects. Also, author “showcase” workshops willfeature well-known Louisiana authors discussing theirworks and holding autograph sessions. These eventswill be both regional and statewide in focus. For fur-ther information on the Center for the Book or the Loui-siana Library Foundation, contact the center at (225)342-9714 or toll-free at (888) 487-2700.

Sharilynn Aucoin is coordinator of special services at the StateLibrary of Louisiana and the former director

of the Louisiana Center for the Book.

Technical Services Branch

By: Elisabeth Spanhoff

Book buying, cataloging, processing, mainte-nance and repair for the State Library of Louisiana allfall within the domain of the Technical Services Branch.In years past, Acquisitions, the section now responsibleonly for buying books, was an independent area thatworked closely with Reference and User Services andhelped select new titles for the collection. Today, bibli-ographers from the Reference Department take care ofmost selection, assisted by persons in the Library re-sponsible for maintaining professional materials or forbuilding special collections, such as the literacy collec-tion, which is maintained by Library Development, orthe audiovisual collection, managed by the Audiovi-sual Resource Center.

From 1968 to 1989, the State Library ran theCataloging Processing Center, which provided catalog-ing and book processing for any Parish library system

that cared to pay for it. Under this arrangement, theState Library was one of many customers, whose ma-terials were cataloged after all other customers had beenaccommodated. The special cataloging and interlibrarylending of Louisiana materials to other libraries withinthe state was another service supported for many yearsby the Technical Services Branch through its mainte-nance of the Louisiana Union Catalog and later ofLAsernet.

The Louisiana Union Catalog, a card catalogrepresenting the holdings of many of our State’s librar-ies on the subject of Louisiana, was maintained by theState Library from 1958 to 1998, when it was officiallyclosed. Over the years, the Library issued many find-ing aids to its use, both in print and microfiche. Until1996 it mailed to every contributing library and postedon the Internet the LUC Updates, a listing of new ad-ditions to the catalog, which aided the State’s librariesin identifying, locating, and cataloging many of thesematerials.1

The Louisiana Union Catalog, as first con-ceived by the Louisiana Library Association, was tohave been a comprehensive union catalog of all itemsin Louisiana college and public library collections. Asa compromise to what was considered too ambitiousan undertaking, the LUC developed as a union catalogrestricted to Louisiana materials. In 1987, however, theState Library developed a comprehensive catalog.LAsernet was the nation’s first statewide interlibraryloan system on CD-ROM, based on a union catalog ofpublic and college library holdings. From LAsernet’sinception in 1987 and throughout its existence as a CD-ROM product, all locally produced cataloging addedto the catalog was examined, de-duplicated, and up-graded by Technical Services staff. The Library func-tioned as a clearinghouse for all new titles submittedto the catalog and all deletions and changes made. Li-braries throughout the state consulted Technical Ser-vices and continue to consult them today regarding thepolicies and procedures for preserving and maintain-ing this valuable statewide database.

Today, the Parish libraries catalog and processtheir own materials, but rely on the State Library forspecial assistance, which may take many differentforms. The State book contract, an agreement with alarge book wholesaler to deliver library materials atsubstantial discounts, is bid out every third year andmade available, on behalf of the State Library, to allParish and institutional libraries in Louisiana. A sec-ond contract similarly available provides for the bind-ing and rebinding of library materials. From time totime or upon special request, the Library offers or spon-sors workshops on cataloging and book repair. Spe-cial training is given when needed to persons seekingto master their cataloging software. Advice is given toothers looking to change their automated systems. Li-braries frequently send catalogers to take advantage

of the State Library’s cataloging aids, including accessto bibliographic utilities, such as OCLC, to furnish cata-loging for difficult titles. They phone or e-mail withproblems and questions that run the gamut of techni-cal services concerns, from how to locate a publisherto standard specifications for bindery.

The Acquisitions budget has fluctuated a goodbit over the years, but for the last seven years has seena fairly steady rise. In 1992, for example, about $230,000was made available for the purchase of new mono-graphs and periodic publications, such as annuals andguidebooks. This year’s budget is about $573,000.Around 40% of new purchases come through an Ap-proval Program, which the State Library entered intowith Baker & Taylor about 20 years ago. The other 60%represents titles selected by the bibliographers to roundout the collection or respond to patron requests. Twolibrary technicians, managed by a professional librar-ian, staff the Acquisitions Section, which brought intothe Library about 18,000 new items last year

Acquisitions works very closely with Catalog-ing, where the new titles are given a computer record,are bar-coded, processed, and made ready for theshelves. The Copy Cataloging Unit, made up of fivelibrary technicians, catalogs and processes all new ac-quisitions, including selected state and federal docu-ments that are forwarded to us by the Recorder of Docu-ments, whose office is in the State Library. Catalogingrecords are purchased from the vendor whenever pos-sible. Titles not furnished with cataloging copy aresearched on OCLC and the records are imported intothe local automated system, which since March of 1999has been Ameritech’s Horizon. Titles not found onOCLC receive original cataloging, which is then addedto the OCLC database. Two professional librarians, thechief cataloger and the Assistant Coordinator, performall original cataloging. Quality control is the responsi-bility primarily of the Coordinator and is achievedthrough a combination of manual and computer-aidedtechniques.

The Database & Materials Control Unit, staffedby one technician and overseen by the Assistant Coor-dinator, was formed in 1998 to manage the growingnumber of serial and continuing publications acquired,as well as to handle database maintenance, bindery,supplies and equipment purchasing and control. Bookrepair is done by the Copy Cataloging Unit, all of whosemembers have received training in simple mendingtechniques. Books requiring more extensive repairs aresent to the bindery, but exceptions are made for older,more valuable items, which receive archival treatmentin-house.

In addition to its regular operations, TechnicalServices has been preparing specialized bibliographieson a variety of topics, usually upon request. These areproduced in print and as HTML documents residingon the Library’s home page. Since 1992, Technical Ser-

vices has also maintained an electronic catalog of lit-eracy materials available from the State Library. Twoeditions were printed as state documents and distrib-uted to libraries and literacy providers throughout theState. 2 Recent manifestations have taken the form ofcompact bibliographies on specific literacy topics, suchas family literacy and English as a second language(ESL). These have also, been posted on the Internet ona special literacy site of the State Library home page.

Marion T. Reid, Gary L. Phillips, and Betty JoFinley, “The Louisiana Union Catalog,” LLA Bulletin53, no. 3(1991): Spanhoff, Elisabeth de Rijk, “Using Pro-Cite to Produce a Printed Union Catalog,” LLA Bulletin58, no. 4 (Spring 1996): 199-203.

Spanhoff, E. de Rijk. Catalogue of Adult Literacy Materialsat the State Library of Louisiana. 2nd ed. Baton Rouge:

State Library of Louisiana, Library Development Division, 1995.

Library Development Division

by Dorothy White

The history of library development in Louisi-ana is both the history of a movement and the creationof a key division in the State Library of Louisiana. Thispaper discusses the contiguous nature of the develop-ment of the State Library and public libraries in Loui-siana.

The first library law in Louisiana was passedin 1910 but did not provide for funding or staff. AfterWorld War I, the Louisiana Federation of Women’sClubs campaigned for a bill in the legislature to createthe Louisiana Library Commission, which became Act225 in 1920.

By 1925, Louisiana’s five public libraries wereall inadequately equipped and funded. Over half thepopulation—1.2 million people—had no access tobooks.

Help would soon arrive, however, in the per-son of Essae Martha Culver. Miss Culver was a gradu-ate of Pomona College in Claremont, California, andattended the New York Library School at Albany (whichlater became the School of Library Services at Colum-bia University). She had had nearly 20 years experi-ence working in public libraries in Oregon and Cali-fornia and at the California State Library.

A colleague of hers, Milton J. Ferguson, waspresident of an organization called the League of Li-brary Commissions. He asked her to travel to Louisi-ana to conduct an experiment. Mr. Ferguson had se-cured from the Carnegie Corporation of New York athree-year grant (later expanded to five years) of $50,000

to demonstrate free library service to the people of onestate whose service was inadequate, with the hope thatthis would serve as an example for other states. Forobvious reasons he chose Louisiana as the demonstra-tion state; and he chose Miss Culver to head the project.

On a white hot day in July 1925, Miss Culverarrived in Baton Rouge where she would serve as ex-ecutive secretary and the entire staff of the LouisianaLibrary Commission. So uneasy had she felt about thismove that she had bought a round trip train ticket justin case this experiment proved a failure.

Alone in Baton Rouge, installed in a shabbycubbyhole in the building now called the Old StateCapitol, Miss Culver began her work with a borroweddesk, chair, and typewriter. If she had misgivings—andshe confessed later that she was more than slightly dis-mayed at the prospect—at least she had her mission tosustain her: she had come to Louisiana to run the Loui-siana Library Commission—to spend the Carnegiemoney—to establish free public library service.

The first service established by the Commis-sion was book-lending by mail to individuals anywherein the state. The first year saw 300 requests answered.Other major objectives set at the first meeting of theLibrary Commission included the establishment ofpublic libraries, the establishment a library school, theprovision of library service to legislators, and the cre-ation of a new and more nearly adequate public librarylaw.

At this point, Mr. J. O. Modisette, a lawyer inJennings, offered to help further library developmentin Louisiana. One of his first tasks was to draft newpublic library legislation which in July 1926 became law.Also in 1926, he became a member of the Library Com-mission Board; and at his first meeting, he proposednine practical suggestions to promote interest in andsupport for libraries. from the Commission’s appropria-tion; however, this was vetoed by the governor becauseof insufficient funds.

Another setback in 1940 occurred when theCommission had to give up its offices in the new StateCapitol for the cramped and unsatisfactory quarters ofthe old Hill Memorial Library on the capitol grounds.Lack of space meant that the preparation of books forthe demonstration libraries was slowed down consid-erably, and several special collections that were offeredto the Commission were refused.

With the onset of World War II, libraries be-came even more important to the people of Louisiana.Not only did they need to provide books for soldiers attraining camps who were looking for a wide variety ofinformation from technical training books to recre-ational reading, but also for the general public whowanted information on such diverse topics as the coun-tries where the soldiers were going, or women prepar-ing themselves for war-time jobs.

An important new service was begun in 1943:the Library Service for Colored People, with the namechanged to the Negro Reference and Loan Library thenext year. Given the lack of space at the Commission,the service was housed at Southern University in spaceoffered by the University’s President, Dr. F. G. Clark.Use of the branch grew steadily, and it was moved tothe new State Library building upon completion in1958. It was renamed the Negro Services Department,and in 1964, it was incorporated into the ReferenceDepartment.

In 1946 the legislature enacted a law changingthe name of the Louisiana Library Commission to theLouisiana State Library., and Sallie Farrell began work-ing at the State Library as a field representative. A na-tive of Mississippi with Louisiana roots, she had gradu-ated from the library program at the University of Illi-nois. In 1954, she became the Director of Field Services,that is, the person who worked with local officials andinterested citizens to get the libraries started.

In 1947 a significant and unusual demonstra-tion library began that was unlike previous demonstra-tion projects. The Department of Institutions requesteda library at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. It was setup with a headquarters and branch libraries in each ofthe inmate camps, and was a great success. The inmatesused the library stocked with fiction and non-fictionenthusiastically, and they also borrowed books just asif they were patrons at the parish libraries. It was hopedthat the library would be supported at the end of thedemonstration by the Department of Institutions. Al-though penitentiary officials agreed that the library wasa success, they were unable to support the library fi-nancially, and the State Library withdrew the books andclosed the library.

In 1954, the State allocated $2 million to con-struct a new State Library building on the site of theold Hill Memorial, and in November 1958 the projectcame to fruition when the move into the new buildingwas completed.

In 1962 Miss Culver retired. By this time theLouisiana State Library had succeeded in creating au-tonomous, locally supported library systems in 51 ofthe state’s 64 parishes. Sallie Farrell was appointed thenew State Librarian. She had excellent, relevant expe-rience—as the head of Field Services, she was directlyinvolved in the establishment of library systems in 44parishes. She has great personal charm and a love ofpeople, and could convey the value of public libraryservice to all those people who had to be convinced iflibrary service was to happen. Miss Farrell would be-come known as “the super salesman of Louisiana li-braries”5 .

In 1969 permanent public library service inevery parish became a reality with the opening of theJefferson Davis Parish Library headquartered inJennings: Jefferson Davis Parish was, with Richland

Parish, one of the first two parishes to host a demon-stration library and the first parish to fail to pass a mill-age to support the library, and it was the last parish tohost a demonstration and then pass the millage.

Sallie Farrell commented after the dedicationof the Jefferson Davis Parish Library, “Now that ourcommitment to the establishment of public libraries isdischarged, our efforts will be directed to the improve-ment of these libraries through cooperative and coor-dinated endeavors.”6 She went on to say, “Althoughwe take justifiable pride in local library service beingavailable to every Louisiana citizen, we are not unmind-ful of the job ahead. Now we will be concerned withdevising ways for better utilization of total library re-sources and personnel.”7

After the demonstration libraries were set upand funded locally, the work of the Library Develop-ment Division changed its focus. The consultants con-tinued to visit every public library in the state, and hadnumerous telephone consultations with directors andtrustees, covering many topics, such as tax elections,bookmobiles, book selection, personnel administrationand management.

In order to help the State Library serve thepublic libraries in the best way, the State Library in 1966asked John and James Humphry to conduct a compre-hensive survey of the Louisiana library system. TheHumphry report, Library Service in Louisiana: KeepingPace with Progress in the State, gave these major recom-mendation:8

1. the establishment by the State Library of a pilotlibrary system,

2. a statewide survey of library resources,3. expansion of the rapid communications network,

and4. expansion of the State Library Processing Center.

In 1975, Sallie Farrell retired and Thomas F.Jaques was appointed State Librarian. Early in his ten-ure he wrote about the goals of library development,“We’re grateful for the past. Its accomplishments haveplaced Louisiana’s library program on a firm founda-tion. Now we must search with vitality and imagina-tion for ways to expand the horizons of service. A strongState Library, providing effective leadership, is essen-tial to this effort.”9

Today, the Library Development Division con-tinues with the State Library’s primary focus of theproviding help to public libraries throughout the statein many ways. Some of these are:1. Consulting services on every aspect of library man-

agement, administration and automation.2. Continuing education and training with work-

shops by state library staff and guest speakers.3. The Summer Reading Program, begun as a pro-

gram of the State Library in 1984, as well as guid-ance in providing services to youth.

4. Grants administration, including state aid, and

Federal and state grants for library technology.5. Various publication, such as the collection and com-

pilation of statistics.Although Library Development no longer as-

sists parishes in establishing libraries, the developmentof library services in local libraries remains the primaryfocus of the State Library, and, thus in many ways, theoriginal “Objects and Purposes” of the Louisiana Li-brary Commission remain objectives of the State Li-brary today.

“The development of library service, the estab-lishment and organization of new libraries andthe improving of those already established, theencouraging of the library movement and theadvancement of library science, the securingto the people of Louisiana library servicethrough public libraries, maintained from thepublic treasury and supervised by trained andexperienced librarians, and to further the causeof education and cultural development amongthe people, and particularly the rural popula-tions through the establishment of libraries andlibrary service, are the aims and purposes ofthe Louisiana Library Commission.”10

BibliographyCazayoux, Vivian. “Sallie Johnson Farrell” LLA Bulle-

tin 50.1 & 2 (1987):19-23.Dixon, Margaret and Nantelle Gittinger. The First

Twenty-Five Years of the Louisiana State Library: 1925-1950. Baton Rouge, La.: Louisiana State Library, n.d.

Farrell, Sallie J. “Louisiana Demonstrates Library Ser-vice.” Wilson Library Bulletin 23.8:611-614,619.

Holtman, Wilbur C. The Second Twenty-Five Years of theLouisiana State Library: 1950-1975. Baton Rouge, La.:Louisiana State Library, 1975.

Humphry, John and James. Library Service in Louisiana:Keeping Pace with Progress in the State. New York,1968.

Jones, Sarah I. “A Goal is Realized: Parish-wide LibraryService Throughout Louisiana” LLA Bulletin 31.3(1968):92-94.

Jumonville, Florence. “Books Along the Bayous: Read-ing Materials for Two Centuries of Rural Louisian-ians.” Unpublished paper presented on June 26,1999, to the American Library Association LibraryHistory Round Table at the ALA Annual Confer-ence in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Landrum, Joe. “The State Library and Louisiana’s Pub-lic Libraries: A 75-Year Association.” Presentationto the Graduate School of Library and InformationScience Graduation, May 1999.

Second Biennial Report of the Louisiana Library Commis-sion, 1926-28. Baton Rouge, La., Louisiana LibraryCommission, n.d.

Shaw, Thomas S. “Miss Essae Martha Culver, First Ladyof Louisiana Libraries.” LLA Bulletin, 50.1&2 (Sum-

mer/Fall 1987):11-17.Stephenson, Shirley K. “History of the Louisiana State

Library, Formerly Louisiana Library Commission.”Diss. Louisiana State University, 1957.

Tenth Biennial Report of the Louisiana Library Commission,1942-43. Baton Rouge, La., Louisiana Library Com-mission, n.d.

Foot Notes1 Dixon, Margaret and Nantelle Gittinger. The FirstTwenty-Five Years of the Louisiana State Library: 1925-1950.(Baton Rouge, La., Louisiana State Library, n.d.), pp.11-122 Farrell, Sallie J. “Louisiana Demonstrates Library Ser-vice.” Wilson Library Bulletin 23, no. 8, p. 611.3 Ibid.4 Dixon, Margaret and Nantelle Gittinger. The FirstTwenty-Five Years of the Louisiana State Library: 1925-1950.(Baton Rouge, La., Louisiana State Library, n.d.), p. 145 Cazayoux, Vivian. “Sallie Johnson Farrell” LLA Bulle-tin 50, nos. 1 & 2, p.19.6 Jones, Sarah I. “A Goal is Realized: Parish-wide Li-brary Service Throughout Louisiana” LLA Bulletin 31,no. 3, p. 93.7 Ibid., p. 94.8 Humphry, John and James. Library Service in Louisi-ana: Keeping Pace with Progress in the State. (New York,1968).9 Holtman, Wilbur C. The Second Twenty-Five Years ofthe Louisiana State Library: 1950-1975. (Baton Rouge, La.:Louisiana State Library, 1975), p. 35.10 Second Biennial Report of the Louisiana Library Com-mission, 1926-28. (Baton Rouge, La., Louisiana LibraryCommission, n.d.), p.5

1 Sara M. Taffae, “LAsernet: Harnessing New Technolo-gies for the Citizens of Louisiana,” LLA Bulletin, 53:158, Winter, 1991.2 Debora Abramson, “Reference Service,” The Bulletinof the Louisiana Library Association, 13:50, Spring,1950.3 Fourteenth Biennial Report of the Louisiana State Li-brary, formerly Louisiana Library Commission: 1950-1951 (Baton Rouge: n.n., n.d.), p. 12.

The Public Libraries of LouisianaPart IVCompiled by David C. Duggar

Calcasieu Parish Public Libraryby David Comeaux

The Lake Charles Public Library was foundedin 1901, when W. S. B. McLaren, President of the NorthAmerican Land and Timber Company of London, En-gland, visited Lake Charles, and through area managerAustin V. Eastman, donated land at the corner of Pujoand Bilbo Streets. The land was given provided thatAndrew Carnegie would donate $10,000 for a build-ing, and the city would appropriate not less than $1,000annually for maintenance.

By March 1904, the Carnegie Memorial Librarywas open to the public, serving a population of 5,000with a collection of 706 volumes. The library was notdamaged in the Great Fire of 1910, partially due to theprivate water supply of the Majestic Hotel, which wasthen located across the street.

Hurricanes and time weathered the li-brary, and in 1949, a bond issue was passed bythe citizens of Lake Charles to build a new li-brary. After three years of construction, the new LakeCharles Public Library opened on March 14, 1952.

In 1944, members of the first Calcasieu ParishPublic Library Board of Control met in the police juryoffice of the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse. There wasto be a demonstration library, supervised by the Loui-siana Library Commission, which would operate forone year. At the end of the trial period, residents ofCalcasieu Parish would have the oppotunity to voteon whether they wanted a public library system to re-main in the parish. Sallie Farrell was appointed as thefirst parish librarian of Calcasieu Parish. Headquar-ters for the system was in Lake Charles, with 15branches located in municipalities throughout the par-ish.

At the end of 1944, when the parish-wide elec-tion was called, a .75 mill tax for the next decade wasapproved to take effect in May 1945. Over the nextyear, two more branches were opened bringing the to-tal number of libraries throughout the parish to 18.

On April 4, 1973, the Calcasieu Parish PoliceJury passed Ordinance #1442, effecting the consolida-tion of the Lake Charles Public Library and theCalcasieu Parish Public Library. On August 1, 1973,the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury authorized its presi-dent to enter into a joint services agreement with theCity of Lake Charles with respect to the number ofmembers of the library board and means of selection.The consolidation of the two library systems was ef-fective January 1, 1974.

On January 20, 1990, the voters of CalcasieuParish voted to renew the library’s millage, and increasethe millage to 4.57. Also approved that day was a $12million bond issue to upgrade the parish-wide collec-tion, automate the card catalog and circulation system,and fund Sulphur Regional Library in 1993, at a cost of$1,647,177. The library houses 94,000 volumes. Thelobby of the library features a unique brick sculpturedepicting life in Calcasieu Parish.

The Westlake Library opened April 6, 1944.The library relocated in 1949 and to a newly constructed2,134 square foot building in March 1967. A donationin memory of long time board member Rudolph E.Krause, by his daughters, allowed for the construction

of the building. The Capital Improvement Programfunded the construction of the new 6,012 square footlibrary at a cost of $522,177. The library houses 15,800volumes.

The Central Library, or Headquarters, as it wasthen known, opened on April 4, 1944, in downtownLake Charles. It was the first library in the parish sys-tem and located in a former store building. The popu-larity of the library led to relocations in 1947, 1949, 1954,and 1965. Due to a large jump in circulation and a popu-lation shift to the south, the Calcasieu Parish Police Jurypurchased a 3.2 acre site in south Lake Charles in 1977.Ground was broken for the new Central Library in April1983, and the 10,000 square foot library was completedin December 1984.

Despite the new and larger building, the needfor even more space quickly became apparent. Thanksto the Capital Improvement Program, plans were madefor a new and larger Central Library. The new 40,000square foot Central Library opened on August 6, 1995,at a cost of $3,686,821, and was the culmination of theLibrary System’s Capital Improvement Project. Thelibrary houses 125,000 volumes, features an 84-personmeeting room, and a 17-person conference room, bothavailable for public use. The conference room is dedi-cated in memory of Della Thielen, a longtime memberof the Lake Charles Public Library Board and the con-solidated Calcasieu Parish Library Board.

A meditation garden, dedicated in November1998 in memory of Lynda M. Carlberg, is located onthe north side of the building, and features a sculptureby New Orleans artist Arthur Silverman, entitled Alu-

minum Stele. Carlberg, who passed away on Novem-ber 17, 1997, was director of the Calcasieu Parish Pub-lic Library System from 1978 until the time of her death.Through her leadership, the Capital Improvements tothe Library System came to fruition.

The Capital Improvement Project providedfunding for automating the library’s card catalog andcirculation system in 1993. The library system beganproviding parish-wide, text-only Internet access in 1996and 1997, funded from LSCA grants. Networked, edu-cational CD-ROM products are in progress at the Cen-tral Library, funded by a grant from the Rotary Club.The Challenge Grant, from the Calcasieu Parish SchoolBoard, will provide a computer at Central and SulphurRegional Library for use by patrons for word process-ing. Of course, Calcasieu received a very generous giftfrom the Gates Library Foundation.

David Comeaux is assistant facilities managerfor the Calcasieu Parish Public Library,

301 West Claude St. Lake Charles, LA 70605.

History of Grant Parish Libraryby Helen Sorrell; revised by Doris Lively

The Grant Parish Library began as part of theState Library of Louisiana’s first tri-parish library dem-onstration in 1937. The other two components of thedemonstration were in Winn and Jackson parishes. Theheadquarters branch for Grant was located in a two-story building in the corner of the Colfax Cemetery.Branches were in Montgomery, Verda, Dry Prong, Pol-lock, Georgetown, and Rochelle. A bookmobile servedall three parishes during the demonstration. The dem-onstration lasted until May 1940. In 1940 a propertytax election was held for the continued maintenance ofthe Grant Parish Library, but unfortunately it was de-feated and Grant Parish was without library servicefor the next 19 years.

In 1958, the Rock Hill Community Develop-ment Organization petitioned the Grant Parish PoliceJury to request the State Library to sponsor anotherdemonstration library in Grant Parish. On September19, 1959 the State Library’s 49th demonstration librarywas opened at 609 Eighth Street in Colfax in a 22' x 68'store front building with an 8,000 volume book collec-tion.

Anna Kribs from Alabama was the first librar-ian for the Grant Parish Library. Virginia Gremillionwas assistant librarian; Margie LaGrone, headquartersassistant; Mrs. Willard Vaughan, branch assistant; andAgnes Meeker was the bookmobile driver. Membersof the Grant Parish Library Board of Control were JamesReese, Mrs. Henry Pinckard, Mrs. George Foster, Mrs.Vernon Hartwig, and Mrs. Melvin Hall.

When the property owners of Grant Parishwere asked to support the library maintenance tax inthe spring of 1960, the vote was overwhelmingly infavor of the tax, thus assuring library service.

In the 1960s Library Services and ConstructionAct’s funds were available for construction of librarybuildings throughout the nation. The Grant Parish Li-brary Board of Control applied for and received a grantof these funds to provide 60% of the monies necessaryto construct and furnish a library building. In the springof 1967 the property owners of Grant Parish once againsupported the library and passed a $75,000 bond issueto complete the funding necessary for a building de-signed and built to be used as a library. In January1967, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at 300 MainStreet in Colfax.

Maintenance taxes successfully passed in 1970,1980, 1990, and in 1999 providing the people of GrantParish with continuous library service through 2010.

Bookmobile service has been available to thepeople of Grant Parish during these years and contin-ues to be a much-used service of the Grant Parish Li-brary. However, bookmobile service has limitations.Recognition of the limitations has prompted the estab-lishment of branch libraries. The Montgomery Branchopened in 1987, Pollock Branch in 1990, Dry ProngBranch in 1993, and Georgetown Branch in 1996. Eachof the branches have been made possible because ofthe willingness of the people of the communities towork to raise funds, remodel buildings, or whateverwas needed to be done to see a branch library estab-lished in their area. The mayors and town councils ofeach town have been extremely cooperative in work-ing to provide the needed and desired service for theirconstituents. The towns provide a building and payutilities for the branch library in their town and GrantParish Library provides a staff member, library mate-rials, and phone service for the branch libraries.

The establishment of branch libraries in eachof these incorporated towns in brought to fulfillment adream of the Grant Parish Library Board of Control andHelen Sorrell, Grant Parish librarian for 35 years. Nowthe board and current Library Director Doris Lively,look forward to automation of the card catalog and cir-culation functions, providing information using alltypes of media, providing courier service betweenbranches, providing other services, and extending thehours of service at each of the branches.

Doris Lively is the current library director forGrant Parish Library. Helen Sorrell was the former Grant

Parish librarian. The main library is located at300 Main St., Colfax, LA 71417.

Jennings Carnegie Public Libraryby Emma Jean Goodreau

The history of the Jennings Carnegie Libraryhas been recorded in two very popular books aboutJennings, The Birth of Jennings by Walter D. Morse andAs I Remember by Franklin Hildebrand. The materialfor this article comes from these two books.

The Jennings Carnegie Library was foundedafter long and hard work on the part of the ladies ofthe town, known as the Ladies Library Society. Thisorganization was formed February 7, 1885. The LadiesLibrary Society was able to purchase two lots on MainStreet for a building, but later decided that the location“was too far uptown.” They gave the lots to the city

and in 1889 the women voted for a more central sitefor the library and bought a lot with a house for $500.

The ladies began in earnest to create a real li-brary. The real purpose for their endeavors was civicneed. As stated in the minutes of the women’s libraryunit, “So many northern homesteaders were pouringin each week and came into Jennings on the weekendswith nowhere to go and little to see, that a reading roomand library were necessary to their comfort.”

Through suppers and bazaars to raise moneyto buy books, cash donations, and books donated fromas far as Iowa and the Midwest, the library was at lastopened in 1889. Thomas Rathe was the librarian.

The library went up in smoke as many otherframe buildings did in the disastrous fire of 1901. Thebooks were saved and the ladies lost no time in plan-ning a better library. They decided to sell the lot onMain Street for a more suitable location.

With $4,100 from the sale of the lot and $300from fire insurance, the ladies began looking for a newsite for the library. They purchased a house and twolots on the corner of Cary Avenue and Market Streets

from M. L. Freree for $2,000, which is the present siteof the Jennings Carnegie Library.

It was about this time that Andrew Carnegiebegan making philanthropic gifts to libraries across thecountry. The Ladies Library Society began negotiationsfor the Jennings Library. Carnegie agreed to give$10,000 for a building but stipulated that the gift wasnot to include the land on which the building was tostand. He further said that the city must maintain thelibrary and the books.

The ladies faced another hurdle, the idea of thecity taking over what they had built. Finally they agreedjust so they could meet the requirements: Carnegie’sdonating $10,000 for the building and the city’s own-ing the land and maintaining the books and library.

The city agreed and then, as the city kept hands offthe operation, running the library was left entirelyto the library board as a separate entity.

On February 6, 1908, the contract was letfor the construction of the present library. The build-ing cost only $8,479. With the money left over fromthe Carnegie grant and the money from their otherfunds, they had approximately $7,500 in the trea-sury. This was used to purchase furniture and morebooks. The original building still stands with a newwing added in 1956. The building was placed onthe National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Whereas, the Jennings Carnegie Library isnot large today, in comparison to many, it does con-tain a wide variety of books and magazines enablinga person to find material on almost any subject de-sired. Also, the library was a recipient of the GatesLibrary Grant to begin the road to modern technol-ogy. Work is being done to have the library auto-

mated in the near future.

Hildebrand, Franklin. As I Remember: Stories of JeffersonDavis Parish, Louisiana. Jennings, La: Creative Printing; 1977:p. 56-7.Morse, Walter D. The Birth of Jennings and Jennings Firsts.[S.l.: s.n.; 1961] p. 38-40.

Emma Jean Goodreau is the new director of theJennings Carnegie Public Library,

located at 303 Cary Avenue, Jennings, LA 70546.

History of the Ouachita Parish Public Libraryby Ben Brady

How does one go about establishing public li-brary service where there is none and the public wishesto see it exist? The formative events leading to theOuachita Parish Public Library’s existence began earlyin the 20th century. In 1915, the Monroe Civic Leagueappointed a Library Committee to investigate the fea-sibility of establishing public library service. As in mostundertakings of this nature, many, many obstacles hadto be overcome before this reached fruition.

As is common, financial support was the firstobstacle to overcome. The Library Committee launcheda membership drive in which interested citizens couldcontribute $2.50 annually toward public library fund-ing. The drive was considered successful when 100contributors responded to this request. A turn of lucksurfaced when a local judge discovered the bequest ofa one-room building for library purposes.

The building, used originally to store coal, tooka great deal of work to transform into a public library;but the conversion was successful. On May 8, 1916,the Monroe Public Library opened its doors with 731books donated by the Monroe Book Club. The dreamtook form.

The success of the library was evident whenthe one-room structure on Wood Street was quicklyoutgrown. However, circumstances to correct this situ-ation did not occur until January 1921, when the willof Anna Ruth Meyer revealed that a five-room housewas left for library purposes along with a small trust.With very little delay, the executive board of the Mon-roe Public Library moved to its new location at the cor-ner of Jackson and Calypso Streets.

Meyer estate funds lasted until 1932 and, forthe next eight years, a combination of monies from theCity of Monroe and the Ouachita Parish Police Jury keptthe operation functioning. In 1940, the Monroe PublicLibrary was reorganized and the name changed to theOuachita Parish Public Library under a charter of theOuachita Police Jury and the cities of Monroe and WestMonroe. From these three entities the library wasjointly funded until a parish-wide, one-half mill prop-erty tax was voted by an overwhelming majority in July1947.

Francis Flanders, Neville High School librar-ian, was hired in 1946, and until her retirement in 1973,forged the library system into its modern form withmany innovations and added services.

The first branch library was opened October8, 1941, in West Monroe to meet the post-war growthof the community. The first bookmobile was set inmotion in 1948, providing about 800 books to the ruralareas of the parish. A second bookmobile was addedin 1963. On February 1, 1949, a second branch, Carverwas opened.

To maintain the library growth already evident,the board asked the public for funds to construct mod-ern, up-to-date buildings, to replace the crowded, ex-isting structures so much in need of repair.

In 1956, an overwhelming majority of the vot-ers passed a $700,000 bond issue to construct four newbranch buildings over the next six years. A new WestMonroe Branch was the first one built: 8,530 square feet,completed in 1958. This was closely followed by a18,552 square foot headquarters building in 1959. AnnaMeyer Branch was the third new building (6,500 squarefeet) completed and occupied in 1960. In 1964, the new

5,278 square foot Carver Branch opened on a site leasedfrom the Monroe City School Board for 50 years.

The next growth took place when a combina-tion of federal funds and funds derived from the willof a West Monroe resident made possible the additionof the Joseph Bennett McGuire Genealogy Room toheadquarters. It was opened for service January 12,1969.

A new 14,000 square foot branch built on thewestern edge of West Monroe was opened in 1977 as aresult of a successful 1.6 million dollar bond issue votedin 1975 under the leadership of librarian, Julia Avant.To more closely meet public library standards, 14,000square feet was added to headquarters in 1978. Thesefunds provided a second floor for a board room, busi-ness offices, a special collections room, and additionalshelving. Downstairs, an enlarged children’s area anda foyer reorienting the front of the building were added.

In 1991, St. Francis Medical Center approachedthe library board to purchase the Anna Meyer Branchwhich occupied a corner next to the medical complex.The library board, citing the branch’s declining usage,moved to sell the property and use the funds to con-struct a branch on the south side of Interstate 20. Thenew branch opened for service in the spring of 1993 onU.S. 165 Bypass South.

In the tax election held November 19, 1995, a.50 mill was included for building purposes. After care-ful consideration of the growth areas within the par-ish, it was determined that a new branch will be addedto provide library service to the people in westOuachita, beyond the present Ouachita Valley Branchin West Monroe.

Besides the above mentioned .50 mill for build-ing purposes, an additional 2 mills is being used to in-crease the hours of service in the genealogy and spe-cial collections area, upgrade facilities to meet Ameri-cans with Disabilities standards, hire professional li-brary staff for the establishment of a young adult pro-gram, establish a full-time friends/volunteer coordi-nator position, increase the library materials budget,initiate a circulating CD-ROM collection, upgrade edu-cational requirements in reference, add a professionallibrarian assistant position in reference and children’s,purchase 1.83 acres of property contiguous to presentheadquarters branch for future expansion, increaseprogramming at all branches, rewire all branches, up-date technology, and install a new telephone system.

The library was completely automated in 1988under the direction of Library Director Agnes Harris.ASubsequent technology grant funds, federal and state,from the State Library of Louisiana, the Gates Founda-tion, and local funds have made available to Ouachitacitizens a large array of state-of-the-art technology. Inaddition to in-house public access catalog (PAC), eachbranch has workstations dedicated to Internet accessin both the adult and children’s areas. The web page

offers general information on all of the services, accessto database, as well as many online full-text databasessuch as Searchbank, ProQuest, UMI Newspapers,GaleNet, and more. At home access can be accom-plished through the web page, Dialpac, or telephonerenewal and information service called Telecirc. UniqueSpecial Collections documents will soon be online, com-plete with graphics and web links.

Anticipating the challenges of the 21st

century,the Ouachita Parish Public Library is working towardthe goal of providing “24 - 7” service — 24 hours a day,7 days a week. Whether the buildings are open orclosed, the library services and resources will be avail-able.

From its humble beginning in a coal shed tosoon occupying 72,000 square feet of library space, from$2.50 annual membership dues to an annual $3.7 mil-lion budget, Ouachita citizens have come to expectquality library service. The library board, staff, anddirector try hard to meet and exceed those expectations.That is what good, solid, public library service is allabout!

Ben Brady is the library directorfor the Ouachita Parish Library in Monroe, Louisiana.

Ouachita Parish Library, 1800 Stubbs Ave, Monroe, LA 71201.

Washington Parish LibraryCompiled by Bonnie Dier, Mary Magee McDaniel,

Brenda Coleman; revised by David Duggar

The Washington Parish Library celebrated its50th anniversary in 1996. The official opening ceremo-nies were held on Sunday, April 28, 1946, but the storyof the Washington Parish Library begins much earlier.

The library owes its existence to the LouisianaLibrary Commission, the forerunner of the presentLouisiana State Library, and to the demonstrationmethod of public library development. The Washing-ton Parish demonstration was one of a series that theLouisiana Library Commission conducted between1925-1968. In 1925, the Carnegie Foundation awardeda $50,000 grant to Louisiana to demonstrate library ser-vice on a statewide basis. Under the leadership of thefirst state librarian, Essae Mae Culver, the LouisianaLibrary Commission began operations from an officein the old State Capitol.

Washington Parish became the 22nd

parish inLouisiana to host a demonstration library. For over 20years interested groups in the parish had wanted par-ish-wide library service. The Waverly Club ofFranklinton was one of the organizations instrumentalin persuading the commission to select WashingtonParish as a site for library development. With the ini-tiative coming from local citizens, and after the policejury had passed an ordinance establishing the library,

the Louisiana Library Commission agreed to set up aparish library and staff to operate for one year. Tenthousand books were shipped from Baton Rouge anddeposited in the Franklinton and Bogalusa libraries. Itwas understood that if the special library tax passed,the books furnished by the state during the initial yearwould remain as a gift.

The organizational meeting of the WashingtonParish Library Board of Control was held on March 19,1946, at the courthouse in Franklinton. Griffith Johnsonof Franklinton was elected president. J. Pat Horton,pastor of the First Baptist Church of Franklinton, waselected vice-president. Helen Dykes, parish librarian,served as secretary. Arnold Fussell, police jury presi-dent, was an ex-officio member of the board. Othermembers of the original Board were Mrs. A. R. Yates,Mrs. Zeke Warren, and Mrs. J. M. Stafford. At this meet-ing the board discussed plans for the opening in Aprilof the Washington Parish Library Demonstration.Branches were to be established in various communi-ties throughout the parish. These were Bogalusa,Franklinton, Varnado, Mount Hermon, Enon, Thomas,Pine, and Angie.

The Washington Parish Library Demonstrationcelebrated its formal opening on Sunday, April 28, 1946.The headquarters library in Franklinton held its open-ing ceremony 2:30 p.m. at the Masonic building. TheBogalusa Branch was formally opened the same day at4:30 p.m. in the library room of the OPA building onAustin Street. Civic leaders responsible for the library,representatives of the Louisiana Library Commission,interested citizens from other parishes, and local resi-dents gathered to commemorate the event.

The demonstration began with two libraries—one in Franklinton, the parish seat, and the other inBogalusa, the parish’s largest city. The headquarterslibrary was located in Franklinton at the Waverly ClubBuilding. The library staff included Helen Dykes, theparish librarian, Dona Lee Webb, the FranklintonBranch librarian, and Frankie Miller, the clerical assis-tant. The Bogalusa Branch Library was located in halfof the OPA building on Austin Street. Ellis A. Stringerwas the branch librarian.

In the period immediately following the open-ing of the first two libraries, smaller branches wereopened at Angie, Enon, and Mount Hermon. The AngieBranch Library was located in the Sones Store and Mrs.Murray Sones served as custodian of the collection.Mrs. George McIlwain was the custodian at the EnonBranch which was located in the polling booth. TheMount Hermon Branch Library was located in the OttBrothers Store and Mrs. John Ott was custodian.

By August 1946, real progress had been madein extending library service throughout the Washing-ton Parish. Nine branches had been established in thetowns of Angie, Bogalusa, Johnson, Thomas, Crain,Franklinton, Enon, Mount Hermon, and Richardson.

The Terrace Branch in Bogalusa and the Sunny HillBranch were added in September. By January 1947,the Varnado and Pine Branches had opened bringingthe total number of branches to 13.

On February 25, 1947, a tax election was heldfor the maintenance and support of the library. The taxwas passed and the Washington Parish Library becamepermanently established. The people of WashingtonParish had realized their dream—a public library withits storehouse of educational, cultural, informational,and recreational resources free and available to everycitizen of the parish.

Helen Dykes, served as the first parish librar-ian from April 1946 to December 1952. She was fol-lowed by Helen Lord from January to June 1953;Thelma Castleberry Dixon from July 1953 to Septem-ber 1971; Rhoda Norman from December 1971 to April1974; Mary Brand from August 1974 to February 1983;Elizabeth Lloyd from February 1983 to September 1986;and Anita Rhuble from March 1987 to July 1990. FromJuly 1990 to March 1991, Washington Parish had twoacting librarians, Debbie McNeese and Mary McDaniel.McNeese served during the first three months at whichtime during September McDaniel replaced her. InMarch 1991, Francis X. MacFarlane became the next full-time parish librarian, staying for two years before de-parting in June 1993. Washington Parish again had twoacting librarians, Veronica Westbrook from June 1993to June 1994, followed by Hazel Wilson until mid-Julyof that year.

Brenda Coleman became the ninth full-time li-brary director in July 1994 for Washington Parish. In1996 the library celebrated its 50th anniversary. It wasat this time that Bonnie Dier, Mary Magee McDaniel,and Brenda Coleman compiled an anniversary book-let about the Washington Parish Library which formedthe basis of this article. In March 1998, Juanita S. Barkerbecame the first African American library director forthe Washington Parish Library system. It is also be-lieved by members of the Washington Parish LibraryTrustees that she may be the first African American li-brary director appointed in Louisiana.

The Franklinton Branch and headquarters forWashington Parish Library had opened on April 28,1946 in the Waverly Building, known as the “RockHouse”, formerly occupied by the R.E.A. on ClevelandStreet. During the month of April 1960 the librarymoved to Dobson Street. On February 23, 1969, a newlibrary was built and dedicated at 825 Free Street, wherethe library continues to reside to this day.

The Bogalusa Branch also opened on April 28,1946. It was located in the Office of Public Assistance(OPA) building, the old ration board office, at 110 Aus-tin Street. Ellis Stringer was the first branch librarian,starting in September 1946. He resigned in Decemberand was followed by Kay Werner. This library alsomoved and on June 26, 1967, opened at 304 Avenue F,

where it is presently located. In November 1988,Emmett Guy became the branch manager, a positionhe has held for over a decade.

Four other branches were opened in Bogalusaduring the library’s history. Some of the details aresketchy. The Johnson Branch opened on Wednesday,June 12, 1946 on Sixth Street. It was named after JamesWeldon Johnson, a noted writer and composer. OuidaB. Fabre was the branch librarian. The library wasmoved in July 1947 to the front room of the Y.M.C.A.on Avenue S, where it remained until closing in 1949due to poor building conditions. L. M. Verdum thenerected a building on Poplas Street across from theEbernezer Baptist Church in which the library reopenedin 1950. In January 1960, Idella Hardee was appointedcustodian of the library which has since closed.

The Terrace Branch opened in September 1946in the Terrace subdivision of Bogalusa. It was locatedin Galloway’s Grocery. Mrs. Murphy Galloway was thecustodian until it too closed.

The Main Street Branch opened in March 1952on Main Street. Mrs. W. R. Mitchell was the librarianassistant with Ruth Pigott and Mrs. E. C. Toups, untilthis branch closed.

Three smaller branch libraries opened in Angie,Enon, and Mount Hermon on May 13, 1946 followingthe opening of the Franklinton and Bogalusa libraries.The Angie Branch began at T. M. Sones’ Store. Mrs.Murray Sone was the custodian and the library wasopen whenever the store was open. The library is nowlocated at the old post office on Railroad. Marie Stringeris the branch manager.

The Enon Branch was part of the polling booth.Mrs. George McIlwain was the custodian. It is now lo-cated on Highway 16 in Franklinton. Helen Buck isthe current branch manager.

Mount Hermon Branch was located in the OttBrother’s Store. Mrs. John Ott was the custodian. Againthe library was only open when the store was open. InAugust, 1954, the Mount Hermon Branch moved to thevoting booth where Bessie Miller served as branch li-brarian. In October 1961, a new voting booth was com-pleted and the library was moved again along withMiller. At the time of the 50th anniversary of the Wash-ington Parish Library, Doris Schilling was the branchmanager. Today the Mount Hermon Branch is locatedon Highway 38 in Mount Hermon. Connie Miller isthe branch manager.

During May 1946, the Crain Branch Librarywas opened in Franklinton. It was named after I. W.Crain and was opposite Morris Herbert’s cafe on whatwas known as ‘the hill’ being 18th Avenue. MildredReeves was the custodian. The library closed in theFall of 1960, reopening in March 1961 in a newly con-structed brick building on 12th Avenue. It too is nowclosed.

The Thomas Branch Library first opened in theelementary school auditorium with Lacey (Viola Wood)Thomas as the custodian. It was moved on June 3, 1946to a small front room of the general store. In Novem-ber 1946, Nelline Thomas Thomas, daughter of LaceyThomas, became the branch manager. The library isstill located at the general store on Highway 424. Thecurrent branch manager is Sylvia Ledet.

The Richardson Branch opened around August1946 in the Community Center-Polling Booth atRichardson. Evie Fussell was the custodian. The branchwas discontinued on October 1, 1954.

The Sunny Hill Branch also opened aroundAugust 1946. It was located in the post office andopened when the post office was open. Cleo Mageewas the custodian. It was also closed on October 1, 1954.

The Pine Branch opened on October 3, 1946 inAdams’ Store where Mrs. R. J. Adams was the custo-dian. It later moved to Cooper’s Warehouse located onHighway 62, where it is still exists. Sylvia Ledet is alsothe branch manager of the Pine Branch.

The Varnado Branch opened in January 1947in Varnado, Louisiana, in Mrs. Tom Williams’ new storenext to the post office. The library was open wheneverthe store was open with Williams as custodian. In 1950it closed due to a fire. It was then located in the homeof Jessie Bell Thigpen and then moved to a buildingnext door owned by Slick Seal. It is located on MainStreet and Marie Stringer is the current branch man-ager.

Today Washington Parish Library is a place ofprogress and diversity. The carport at the FranklintonBranch is being closed in to make room for a technol-ogy center. Due to the Gates Library Foundation, 16computers are online within the Washington Parish Li-brary system. A literacy program has begun and is re-ceiving support and cooperation from its partners inthe community. For the first time young adults are be-ing added to the Summer Reading Program. The li-brary is proud of its service to its senior citizens, espe-cially in the three nursing homes in the parish.

The library is conducting a search for all Wash-ington Parish authors, those born or residing in theparish. It is hoped that with this list of authors a col-lection of their works will be formed and kept at theFranklinton Branch to be used at the schools, particu-larly during ‘Young Author Search’.

The Washington Parish Library system hasseen a lot of growth during its first 50 years. As themillennium approaches, the next 50 look bright withshining opportunities.

In 1996 when compiled for the 50th Anniversary of the Washing-ton Parish Library, Bonnie Dier was the book processing clerk,

Mary Magee McDaniel is a retired employee, and BrendaColeman was the library director of Washington Parish Library

in Franklinton. David Duggar is a reference librarian at theLSU Medical Center in Shreveport. The Washington Parish

Library is located at 825 Free St., Franklinton, LA 70438.

The Tangipahoa Parish Libraryby Pat Sledge

The Tangipahoa Parish Library was formallyopened July 20, 1944. It was started as a demonstra-tion library and was the 19th library to be establishedin Louisiana. Essie Mae Culver was the state librarianand other members of the State Library staff helpedestablish the branches throughout the parish. The firstlibrarian Miss Elizabeth Cammack.

After endorsements from almost every orga-nization in the parish, the special maintenance tax wentto the voters on April 24, 1945. An overwhelming ma-jority of property owners let it be known that theywanted to keep a library in Tangipahoa Parish.

Over these past 53 years, the Tangipahoa Par-ish Library has served the population well. During thistime, however, the parish has changed. Population hasincreased steadily, especially in the southern half of theparish. People from all over the United States havemoved to this parish causing increased demands formore and varied library services.

Other librarians who have served as the direc-tor of the Tangipahoa Parish Library during the last 53years are: Adele Salter, Marjorie Crowson, FrankKasprowicz, Ron Tumey, and Pat Sledge.

The Tangipahoa Parish Library has grown rap-idly. There are six branches that are open everydaythroughout the week. The main branches, Amite,Hammond, and Ponchatoula, are also open on Satur-days. A new bookmobile purchased in 1996 serves therural area of the parish and in addition travels to daycares where story hours are conducted weekly, nurs-ing homes, retiree centers, Head starts, and publicschools that are without libraries.

Technology has rapidly become part of the ser-vices of the library, including automated cataloging andcirculation programs, Internet services, children’s com-puter programs, and staff computers. A new geneal-ogy department has opened to serve the patrons whoare interested in their ancestry. Microfilm readers/printers, microfiche machines, scanners, and comput-ers are making the search much easier.

Special programs are held regularly in allbranches. These include story times, archaeology pro-grams, book signings, and professional entertainerssuch as magicians, actors, musicians, and puppeteers.

A growing budget supplemented by grantsprovides the very best of services to the 94,564 resi-dents of Tangipahoa Parish and neighboring parishes.

Pat Sledge is the director of the Tangipahoa Parish Library,located at 200 East Mulberry St., Amite, LA 70422.

History of the St. Mary ParishPublic Library System

by K. Judy Ordoyne

They called it a demonstration library in 1926.“Try it for a year,” prodded the newly formed Louisi-ana Library Commission, determined to establish apublic library in every parish. Then, after a year, sup-port of the library would rest in the hands of the par-ish. But it was to be many years of campaigning be-fore the library was actually built. Local interest con-

tinued to rise when the town of Franklin agreed to fur-nish the building, utilities and some money. Soon theWPA and police jury threw in their support and theFranklin Public Library began serving the parish un-der the guidance of a local committee which served asthe board. Later, in November 1934, Morgan City alsoestablished a city based public library.

Into the 1940s interest in the library continuedto grow, fueled by the newly formed Franklin Busi-ness and Professional Women’s Club. Their first or-der of business was to promote a demonstration libraryin St. Mary Parish.

In April 1949, the St. Mary Police Jury re-sponded to the club’s growing support by replacingthe Franklin Library with the St. Mary Parish PublicLibrary. This move allowed St. Mary to be placed onthe waiting list for a demonstration library.

The wait ended in October 1953 when the St.Mary Parish Demonstration Library of the St. MaryParish Library System became the 39th demonstrationlibrary in the state. Appointed by the police jury, fivemembers formed the St. Mary Parish Library Board ofControl. Board members served staggered terms andrepresented all areas of the parish-wide library pro-gram.

The first St. Mary Parish Library Board of Con-trol meeting was held on September 15, 1953. At thatfirst meeting, officers were seated. The board consistedof Don T. Caffery, president, Elizabeth Pharr, vice-presi-dent, R. A. LeBlanc, treasurer, Alex P. Allain, ClarenceBaughman, and Joseph Cefalu, chairman of the FinanceCommittee for the police jury, was appointed to repre-sent the Jury. In 1956, John M. Caffery was appointedan honorary life member of the board by the policejury.

The first board had a massive burden. At theirfirst meeting, bylaws were adopted and a discussionwas held concerning placement of branches. They dis-cussed policy for the system and what their role wouldbe. They received valuable support and guidance fromSarah Jones, field consultant, Louisiana State Library.All members of the first board served until the late1960s, with the exception of Baughman, who declined

reappointment in 1956 and Cefalu, who was replacedby George Boudreaux in 1961 as the police jury repre-sentative. LeBlanc, who died in 1967, was replaced Mr.Charles Darnall. Lurline Seyburn was appointed to re-place Governale in January 1968 and served until 1973.Elizabeth Pharr, who died in 1969, was replaced byBetty Smith.

The librarian for the St. Mary DemonstrationLibrary was Ann Kerksieck later, Ann K. Batson. Thesystem first operated three branch libraries: Berwick,

Bunche, Franklin and a bookmobile. TheBerwick Branch opened October 26, 1953 and abranch in Patterson opened officially in March1955.

The St. Mary Parish Library became a full-fledged library system supporting itself for the 1955calendar year, when in June 1954 a two-mill tax wasapproved by the voters of St. Mary Parish. The boardwas extremely influential in the passage of this firsttax as all were active in civic matters and worked dili-gently to see that the library would be financially se-cure. The final vote was approved six to one by assess-ment and five to one by popular vote.

Mary Ellen Tilley, later Mary Ellen Janowskibecame the system’s first director in July 1954. RubyMoser was the first assistant director. Under Janowski’sadministration, the library experienced much growth,including the addition of a second bookmobile. GoldieG. Cogdell Montgomery served briefly as director un-til June 1958.

Appointed director in mid-1958, Lola CooperGates, later Lola Thompson, served as parish librarianfrom 1958 until 1975, and then returned from retire-ment in 1977 to serve until 1983. During the first 17years of Thompson’s administration, the library sawtremendous growth. In November 1958 a new libraryin Franklin was dedicated. The funds for this struc-ture came in part from a gift of $10,000 from John M.Caffery of Franklin.

The board worked closely with the police jurysecuring land and constructing buildings to housebranches in the parish. In 1959, new buildings wereconstructed for the Berwick and Patterson libraries andon September 6, 1962 a new building was dedicatedfor the Bunche Branch on Willow Street in Franklin.An additional branch was opened in 1963 in Patterson,but the Montgomery Branch was short lived and closedon September 1, 1968.

In 1961, Alex Allain attended an American Li-brary Association Conference. His enthusiasm for theeducational opportunities for trustees and librariansavailable at these conferences had a far-reaching im-pact on the national library system. Because of his lead-ership in having trustees and librarians attend the con-tinuing education seminars at ALA, St. Mary enjoys areputation for having some of the best educated andmost effective trustees and librarians in the state.

This trend continues with the recognition ofSt. Mary Parish Library as the James O. ModisetteAward Winning Library for 1992. The system has alsobeen recognized with four Modisette Award WinningTrustees: Allain in 1965; Don T. Caffery, Sr. in 1966;Glenna G. Kramer in 1988; and Mary C. Biggs in 1992.

Allain continued to attend meetings on thestate and national level where he worked tirelessly forintellectual freedom. His pioneering efforts in the causeof freedom to read are recognized today by the stateand national intellectual freedom awards which havebeen named in his honor.

The library continued to change and grow inthe seventies. Board Member George Boudreaux wasreplaced by Earl Luke as the representative of the po-lice jury and in 1973, trustee Lurline Seyburn died andwas replaced by Emma Lou Rogers.

In January 1970, the library began makingplans for the relocation of the Berwick Branch as a newbridge was to be constructed between MorganCity and Berwick. Finally after years of hardwork, the new 4,000 square foot facility wasopened in 1976.

In October 1974, after helping to pass a tax elec-tion, Caffery resigned and was replaced by GlennaKramer. This same year a bill was passed by the legis-lature which increased from five to seven the numberof members that could serve on the board of control.The board voted to keep the membership at five so asto have two places available if and when Morgan Cityshould decide to join the parish system. The board hadmade many formal and informal attempts to haveMorgan City join the parish-wide system and contin-ues to work toward that end.

Charles Harrington, served briefly as librarydirector after Thompson’s retirement on July 1, 1975.He resigned in August 1977.

In 1978 Albert Foulcard was appointed as therepresentative to the board from the police jury andGreg Aucoin of Amelia was appointed to serve. Thisappointment brought the total number of appointeesto six, not counting the ex-officio member.

After Thompson’s return in September 1977,she saw the library through strenuous growing pains.In October 1977, a tax millage increase request wasdefeated by the voters. Services were cut as a resultbut the library and its branches persevered. ThePatterson Branch facility was expanded in 1979 and thepolice jury allocated funds for the construction of abranch in Amelia. After the library board expressedconcerns that it would be unable to operate the BuncheBranch, the police jury demanded its closure. Therefollowed a battle over the closure of the branch, finallyending in court with the board securing the right todetermine when and if the branch would be closed.The board kept Bunche Branch open, built the AmeliaBranch and requested the call of a tax election, all in

1980. The millage of 2.24, authorized on March 12, 1974was renewed and increased by an additional mill onJanuary 17, 1981.

Darnall resigned and Mary Coon Biggs was ap-pointed to replace him. Rogers resigned in 1981, andLeo Drobnic was appointed to replace her. Aucoin alsoresigned in 1981. The board requested that the seat notbe filled by the Jury in hopes that Morgan City wouldeventually join the system.

Thompson’s long history and dedicated ser-vice with the library provided a foundation of servicefor St. Mary Parish. Under her direction the systemgrew both in physical size and in the number of pa-trons served. She developed several staff positions andpay scale guidelines throughout the years which keptSt. Mary competitive in the library job market. She be-gan the publication of a monthly newsletter producedby the library, the Library Lagniappe. As her last ser-vice to the system, Thompson requested that the board

look into automation. Shortly thereafter, in Septemberof 1983, Thompson retired from the St. Mary ParishLibrary System.

Mr. Ron Tumey was hired as parish librarianin September 1983. Under Tumey’s administration, theSt. Mary Parish Library began automating some com-ponents of the library’s operation. Tumey brought in-formation to the board about the Dynix AutomatedLibrary System.

Ex-officio member Foulcard was replaced in1985 by H. V. Fondren, Jr. The board expanded againin 1987 when Pamela Washington of Patterson andPontiff of Franklin were appointed to the board.

After Tumey’s resignation in August 1985,Cheryl Lewis, later Cheryl Lewis Braud, was appointedacting director. Braud was officially appointed direc-tor on May 1, 1986, and Woodward was offered andaccepted the position of assistant librarian. Woodwardwas instrumental in investigating information for theboard concerning automation. After his reports to theboard, the Dynix Automation System was purchasedfor installment. After Woodward’s resignation in Oc-tober 1987, Gerald Patout served briefly as assistantuntil October, 1988, when Carolyn Clark, later CarolynClark Langlinais joined the staff as assistant librarian.Langlinais completed Woodward’s work of automat-ing the library. When Braud left, Langlinais was namedacting director effective September 29, 1989.

The year 1989 brought another honor to St.Mary when Glenna Kramer was named to the Louisi-ana State Library Board of Commissioners. Alex Allaincontinued to be recognized for his ongoing work onthe national level with the ALA Freedom to Read Foun-dation.

Continued on page 36

Go RED 2000:Relentless, Energetic,

Dynamic!

Wednesday evening, June 23,1999, my husband Paul and I were having a light sup-per and discussing plans to leave early Thursday forthe American Library Association Conference. As Iwas walking toward the kitchen sink with a handfulof dishes, I heard from across the narrow room a loud“plop.” The sound emanated from a corner of thekitchen in which stood an antique coat rack hung witha wild assortment of baskets. Wondering why a bas-ket would suddenly fall from its hook, I walked to-ward the coat rack to investigate. I had only takenabout four steps when instinct froze my progress.Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.Even before my brain processed what it was that I wasseeing, insulin rushed throughout my every fiber andI experienced full force the urge to flee.

Have you guessed by now what had oc-curred? There at the base of the coat rack was a snake,a very long snake, twisting, gyrating, squirming in aneffort to crawl up the wall to safety. “Oh, Paul, Oh,Paul, there’s a snake in the house, there’s a snake inthe house!” Immediately, I backed away and perchedupon the kitchen counter. (I learned years ago thatsnakes are deaf, so this reptile did not hear the terrorin my voice; but it did realize that a confrontation wasimminent.) The next few minutes witnessed an excit-ing chase between snake and husband, as first one andthen the other advanced and retreated. As my hus-band Paul was barefooted, I shouted, no, screamed,warnings as the slithery serpent tried to maneuverbetween human legs and make a timely escape. Paul’sintent was to capture the amphibian with long tongsand pitch it outside (only to slip beneath the door,again, I thought!). As I observed from the safety ofthe counter tops, he continued to exclaim, “Isn’t itpretty, isn’t it a pretty snake?” Looking back on this event, I thought, “What if wehad not seen the “thing” and went merrily off to NewOrleans? Where would it have been hiding when wereturned? How long had it been in the house? Had itbeen hiding in the breadbaskets hanging on the coatrack? What if…?” In the end, I swore my spouse tosecrecy as I knew no one, especially my daughters,would darken our door again after hearing this story. Well, what does this story have to do with anything,especially anything applicable to the Louisiana LibraryAssociation? It all depends on how you interpret life.I think all memorable and dramatic events have withinthem communication about life and about those af-fairs with which we are involved. As this event oc-curred on the eve of my travels to ALA, I felt there

was a message about libraries somewhere in the story.And as the president of the Louisiana Library Asso-ciation, I perceived it all as a personal para- psycho-logical vision of the year ahead and as a message thatthe crack under the kitchen door had best be elimi-nated. “How so?”, you say. The interpretation is simple. It’s all about position-ing. It’s all about the position of libraries at the end ofthe twentieth century and the future position of librar-ies in the new millennium. Like the reptile that took awrong turn and found its way into what it thoughtwas the safe haven of breadbaskets on an antique coatrack, Louisiana libraries surmise they are positionedsecurely for survival into the next thousand years.After all, the Louisiana Libraries Connect project ismoving forward toward building a formidable elec-tronic library network. Tax referendums supportingpublic libraries have been successful across the state,and the resulting new library construction reflectsstrong public support. School librarians are behind aconcerted effort to also build a statewide network.

Even with the current progress, however, li-brarians and support staff must continue to be archi-tects of future library services by being relentless, en-ergetic, and dynamic. Relentless in taking Louisianalibraries onto the leading edge of services in the newmillennium, preserving our traditional role of provid-ing equitable access for all citizens, and guarding thetenets of the first amendment.

Our level of energy within our profession andwithin our state organization should reflect our com-mitments to our jobs and the people we serve. Thelevel of energy should match the importance of everyposition within our respective communities. The en-ergy within LLA should be evident in the numbers ofmembers, the committees that produce, and a confer-ence that offers programs of excellence.

If we are relentless and energetic in our col-lective and singular efforts, the resulting image willbe dynamic. And if image is a reflection of reality,libraries and staff will be perceived as having thepower to influence the future.

There you have it: Relentless, Energetic, Dy-namic.

The focus for this year in LLA is LouisianaLibraries Go Red 2000: Relentless, Energetic, Dynamic.Warm up to the idea and join me on the ground floorin taking LLA and our libraries into the beginning ofthe rest of our journey, the third millennium.

From the President

Paige LeBeau

The Louisiana Library Association executiveboard met on February 20, 1999 in Baton Rouge. Themeeting was called to order by President IdellaWashington at 10 a.m. Members were present: CarolBillings, Sybil Boudreaux, Catherine Brooks, ChristyChandler, Mary DeMajo, Angelle Deshautelles, AnnFrohlich, Cinderella Hayes, Debra Rollins, BarbaraRoyer, and Judy Smith.

Hayes reported that her committee met onDecember 28, 1998 to make needed changes to the LLAManual. A plan was developed for review and revisionof the manual on a five-year cycle. The changesrecommended by this committee were reviewed andamended. The following changes were made at thismeeting:* The position title executive director will replacereferences to administrative officer.* Louisiana Libraries will replace references to LLABulletin.* Directions to the secretary will reflect instructions tothe Louisiana Libraries editor that only officially approvedminutes will be sent to the editor for publication.Executive board minutes may be approvedelectronically. Motion passed.

Billings moved that Constitution Article V, par.3, sentence 1, be revised as follows:“Special meetings of the members may be called at timesand places within the discretion of the board or by thepresident with the requirement that the membershipmust be notified at least 30 days in advance of the timeand purpose of the meeting. Each year, the executiveboard shall fix a time and place for the holding of thecorporation’s annual meeting.” Motion passed.

Billings withdrew a previously tabled motionfor the executive director evaluation procedure andmoved that the evaluation procedure recommended byRebecca Stenzel be approved. Motion passed.Finance Committee Report

Chandler noted that since the end of January200 additional membership renewals had been receivedas well as a number of conference registrations.

Royer presented the request voiced by somemembers that LLA dues be prorated for members thatpay after December. The consensus was that this wouldnot be acceptable since it would affect conference ratesand conference expenses. Various methods ofencouraging members to renew on time were discussed.

Suggestions for improving new and renewedmembership registration were discussed. Billingsmoved that personal memberships be offered during the1999 conference only, with the incentive of a souvenirmagnet and an additional section membership free ofcharge to those members joining or renewing duringconference.Meeting was adjourned at 12 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,Debra Rollins, Secretary

The minutes were approved on June 12, 1999

Association NewsFebruary 20, 1999

The Louisiana Library Association executiveboard meeting was called to order by President IdellaWashington at 3:15 p.m. on March 16,1999 in BatonRouge. Present were Mary Alice Aydell, Wanda Berry,Catherine Brooks, Sybil Boudreaux, Christy Chandler,Angelle Deshautelles, Jim Dumigan, Rebecca Hamilton,Paige Hanchey-LeBeau, Cinderella Hayes, PennyJohnson, Jean Keisel, Guy Koontz, Mary CosperLeBoeuf, Joy Lowe, Mary DeMajo, Sheryl Moore, DebraRollins, Barbara Royer, Rebecca Stenzel, ElizabethStrother, Jules Tate, and Annette Thibodeaux.

The Baton Rouge Symphony representativesinvited LLA members to special performances on April22 and 24, 1999. Members will be eligible for up to 50tickets at half the regular ticket price and LLA will berecognized during the program. Information anddeadlines for reserving tickets was provided.

Jim Dumigan, Acadian Travel Agency,presented information on the 2001 LLA AnnualConference. The conference was scheduled in Lafayette,but since the intended site will not be ready for use bythe planned date, he suggested the 2001 conference beheld at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner, March 12-16, 2001 and the 2002 conference be held in Lafayette.

Tate suggested that locations for futureconferences consider provisions for Internet access atreasonable charges and the size of meeting rooms. Lackof these options forced changes and cancellation ofseveral programs planned for this year’s conference.

Koontz delivered the financial report. The formalreport by Carol Billings, Finance Committee chair, wassubmitted to and approved by the executive board onFebruary 20, 1999. Koontz reported that an outside auditof the association’s finances resulted in a clean report,which will be presented to the general membership onMarch 19, 1999. B

Bayou State Periodical Index Study CommitteeChair Jean Keisel reported on the Bayou State

Periodical Index Committee. The committee hasrecommended that LLA appoint an editorial board forthe Bayou State Periodical Index. Responsibilities andguidelines recommended by the committee are:representatives from all types of libraries will serverotating terms; the editorial board will be responsiblefor selecting titles to be indexed and for recruitingindexers. Indexers will be asked to commit to indexingone or more specific titles for a designated period of time,at least one year. Indexing would be submitted to theeditor before the index is entered on-line. It is intendedthat the index be provided free on the World Wide Web.Avenues for putting the index on-line are still beingexplored.

Washington asked for recommendations forappointments to the editorial board. Keisel said thatmost of the members of the study committee would bewilling to continue to serve on the editorial board. Amotion passed stating that an editorial board beappointed for the Bayou State Periodical Index.

March 16, 1999

Continued on page 30

Washington commended the conferenceplanning and programming coordinators. About 820people were preregistered as of March 12, 1999.Technology sessions are filled to capacity.

Approval of the February 20, 1999 executiveboard minutes were suspended until the next boardmeeting. It was recommended that the decision topermit electronic approval of minutes be reviewed at afuture board meeting.

LeBoeuf reported use of the new title LouisianaLibraries and the 81/2 x 11 format will begin with Vol.20, Summer 1999 issue. Jackie Choate, advertising editor,has recommenced a change in advertising rates takeplace with this issue as follows: 1/4 page: $100 4 consecutive issues: $90 each 1/2 page: $150 4 consecutive issues: $135 eachfull page: $250 4 consecutive issues: $225 eachcover $300 4 consecutive issues $275 each

There was consensus for the approval of thesechanges. LeBoeuf reported she has been satisfied withthe number of articles submitted for publication. Sheadvised the board that she will strictly adhere to alleditorial deadlines.

Lowe discussed the ALA council midwinterconference. She reported that council endorsement ofthe statement Libraries: An American Value and the finalreport of the Outsourcing Task Force. The council passeda resolution that “urges the Boy Scouts of America toreconsider their policy of discrimination in the areas ofsexual orientation ad religious belief and demonstratea commitment to human rights, inclusiveness, andmutual respect.” In reference to this action, Lowe furtherreported “ALA has had a long relationship with the BSAvia a long-standing practice of providing bibliographiesfor the BSA manual. And, as the vote indicated, mostfelt that it is about time that ALA, in conformance withits various policies addressing discrimination, take astand on this issue.” Boudreaux reported SELA planned a leadership andplanning meeting for May 1999. She has newmembership forms and brochures.

Committees headed by First Vice PresidentHanchey-LeBeau will meet during conference. It wasagreed by the executive board that these reports couldbe presented at a later board meeting.

Strother reported on the activities ofcommittees. Continuing Education Committeesponsored a Leadership Skills workshop on March 16,1999 and several other conference workshops.She reported dissolution of the Collection Development,Economy, Environment and Public Health (EEHP), andSchool Computer Users interest groups.

Two new interest groups were approvedCommunications and Public Relations, Dedria Givenscoordinator; and Library Managers, Elizabeth Heckercoordinator. Interest groups and coordinators can befound on the LLA Web page.

Parliamentarian and Committee Chair Hayessummarized changes to the LLA Constitution, Bylawsand Manual which were suggested by the committeeand presented at the February 20, 1999 executive board

meeting. Global changes regarding the use of “StateLibrary of Louisiana” in place of “Louisiana StateLibrary” and “Executive Director” in place of“Administrative Officer” were recommended. Changesneeded to complement the change in requirements fora quorum, changes in manual directions to the LLAsecretary regarding providing copies of minutes forLouisiana Libraries, and general housekeeping changeswere also recommended.

The following points were brought up fordiscussion during the meeting: table of contents isincluded in each manual; all section presidents need tore-submit current bylaws and any changes to theirsection of the manual to the LLA office, to be forwardedto the parliamentarian; and the content of the manualwill be placed on the LLA web site.

Stenzel, chair of the Academic Section, reportedthat the section is reconsidering the guidelines for theOutstanding Academic Librarian Award. This award hasnot been presented since 1997.

DeMajo, chair of GODORT reported that theweb site is being redesigned.

Brooks, president of LASL, reported on theprogress in development of a five year plan forimplementation of newly revised national standards forschool libraries (Information Power: Building Partnershipsfor Learning.) Training sessions for school librarians onimplementation of new standards will be held in thefall in four cities. New LASL stationery has beendesigned to reflect to new standards.

Marvene Dearman is planning a bus trip forLASL members to the AASL Conference in Birmingham,Alabama in November 1999. Brooks addressed the March 1999 LTLA Conferenceand the section provided $250 to LTLA to cover expensesfor speaker Kimberly Willis Holt.

Royer, chair of LaSSAL, reported that theLaSSAL state conference is scheduled for September 23-24, 1999 in Lafayette, with Bob Bradley as chair. Changesto the LaSSAL web page were reported and the sectionlogo has been officially registered.

Hamilton, chair of NMRT, reported the sectionsponsored an orientation program as well as twoconference programs during this conference.

Berry, chair of the Public Section, reported thatthe section had presented one pre-conference workshopfor this conference. Additional programs weresponsored in conjunction with the State Library ofLouisiana, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities,and the Trustee section.

Moore, chair of Subject Specialist, reported thatthe section sponsored two conference programs. Abrunch preceded one program held at the LouisianaResource Center for Educators Library. The section hasdrafted its bylaws and plans to include its regular sectionnews in Inside LLA. A web page has been proposed forthe section. Moore commended Judy Smith, VersaStickle, and bylaws committee members for their workin the past year.

Mary Alice Aydell, chair of the Trustee Section,announced recipients of the Educational Foundation of

Association News

continued on page 31

Continued from page 29

Association News

Banned Books WeekSeptember 25-October 2, 1999

Teen Read WeekOctober 17-23, 1999

Mississippi Library AssociationHattiesburg, MSOctober 21-22, 1999

Family Literacy DayNovember 1, 1999

National Young Reader’s DayNovember 10, 1999

American Associationof School LibrariesBirmingham, ALNovember 10-14, 1999

American Education WeekNovember 14-20, 1999

Children’s Book WeekNovember 15-21, 1999

ALA MidwinterSan Antonio, TXJanuary 14-19, 2000

Special Libraries AssociationSt. Louis, MOJanuary 20-22, 2000

Public Library AssociationCharlotte, NCMarch 28-April 1, 2000

Louisiana Library AssociationAlexandria, LAMarch 14-17, 2000

National LibraryLegislative DayWashington D.C.May 1-2, 2000

Medical Library AssociationVancouver, B.C., CanadaMay 5-11, 2000

Special Libraries AssociationPhiladelphia, PAJune 10-15, 2000

American Library AssociationChicago, ILJuly 6-13, 2000

ALA MidwinterWashington DCJanuary 12-17, 2001

Special Libraries AssociationSavannah, GAJanuary 25-27, 2001

Louisiana Library AssociationLafayette, LAMarch 3-6, 2001

Association of Collegeand Research LibrariesDenver, COMarch 15-18, 2001

Texas Library AssociationSan Antonio, TXMarch 26-31, 2001

Medical Library AssociationOrlando, FLMay 25-31, 2001

Special Libraries AssociationSan Antonio, TXJune 9-14, 2001

American Library AssociationSan Francisco, CAJune 14-21, 2001

Special Libraries AssociationLos Angeles, CAJune 8-13, 2002

Association of Collegeand Research LibrariesCharlotte, NCApril 8-15, 2003

Special Libraries AssociationNew York City, NYJune 7-12, 2003

CalendarVirginia Rogers Smith, Column Editor

the Trustee Section of the Louisiana Library Associationendowment were Darryl Eschete and Elizabeth Scalia.The section newsletter has been sent to all public librarydirectors and to nonmember trustees as well as to sectionmembers. 200 people have registered to attend the trustee/public section luncheon on March 18 during conference.The first Lynda Carlberg Excellence in Leadership Awardwill be presented to Jim Pelton, Director, Shreve MemorialLibrary.

Chandler, LLA executive director, reportedon activities in the LLA office in preparation for theconference. The office secured approximately $2,000from advertising and sponsorships to offset theprinting and mailing of pre-conference programs.Elizabeth Hecker, state library employees in thecopy/distribution center, and other on theconference committee, assisted with preparations ofballots.

Chandler attended the ALA midwintermeeting held in Philadelphia during January and ameeting with SOLINET in Atlanta during March.She procured sponsorship from SOLINET to providebus transportation during the conference to thereception at the State Library on March 16 and fromRaycom for sponsor coffee in the exhibits area onMarch 18. Oxford University Press provided a deskdiary/calendar for all LLA conference attendees.

Office Assistant Gregory Robinson isworking on designing a new database for the LLAoffice to manage information about the LLAmembers. He has also worked to procure LSULibrary and Information Science student volunteersfor conference. Chandler commended Robinson onhis management of the LLA office during herparticipation at ALA Midwinter and SOLINET.

Washington recommended to the executivecommittee that, due to discrepancies in the ballotingprocess for the new LLA officers that election 1999be declared void and new ballots sent to members.She commented that no candidates had withdrawnfrom their nominations.

Washington proposed a schedule and procedurefor conducting a new election. The plan wasapproved by the executive board as follows: newballots will be mailed to members by April 6, 1999;ballots will be mailed first class; envelopes and returnenvelopes will be marked “Official Ballot-LLAElection;” deadline for ballot return will be April 29,1999. A tellers committee will meet on May 1, 1999to count ballots and notify newly elected officers andmembers will be notified in the May 1999 issue ofInside LLA. Procedures for preparing and mailingsection ballots at the same time were determined.Due to changes in candidates for NMRT officers, thissection’s ballots will have to be rewritten.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:15 PM.

Respectfully submittedDebra Rollins, Secretary

The minutes were approved on June 12, 1999

Continued from page 30

LLA Executive DirectorChristy Chandler has accepted aninvitation to join LeadershipLouisiana, Class of 1999.Leadership Louisiana is a programfrom the Council for a BetterLouisiana to help existing andemerging leaders confront and solvethe state’s social and economicwoes.

LSU SLIS graduate SandyColby recently accepted a positionas education technology specialist atthe OCLC Institute in Columbus,

Ohio. She willwork with ErikJul and MartinDillion todeploy Internettechnologiesand to assistwith seminarsand workshopson such topicsas meta datatrends andknowledgemanagement.

StateLibraryemployeesSally and MarcWellman havea new son,Damien Rex, 9pounds 14ounces, bornApril 16. Sallyheads theaudiovisual

resource center and Marc works asassistant head of the Louisianasection.

Alta Rae Coates, a long-term State Library employee whoretired from her position ascirculation head in1996, is workingpart-time at the Remington CollegeLibrary in Baton Rouge.

In May, State LibraryPublic Library Consultant GretchenFairbanks married Darrell Evers.

Jennifer Anjier, StateLibrary coordinator of specialservices, retired in May. Anjierbegan working at the State Library

in 1985 as head of the films andrecording section which laterevolved into the audiovisualresource center. In her capacity asspecial services head, she workedclosely with the National LibraryService for the Blind and PhysicallyHandicapped to coordinate servicesin the state section for the Blind andPhysically Handicapped. A nativeAustralian, Anjier plans to returnthere with her husband, Joe, whohas received a temporaryassignment in Gladstone.

Each year the MedicalLibrary Association awards twomaster’s level scholarships to libraryand information science students.This year LSU SLIS students CindyAmmons and Tomeka Oubichonhave captured both scholarships.

In February, Wanda Berryand Karen Teigen, directors of theDeSoto and Allen Parish Librariesrespectively, participated with 13other librarians in “Leadership inthe Management of Information andCommunication Technologies,” the1999 Institute for Southeastern RuralLibrarians which SOLINET held inAtlanta. The institute, co-sponsoredby several of the region’s statelibraries including the State Libraryof Louisiana, is designed to provideadministrators with the skills theyneed to manage informationtechnology, foster development ofcommunity networks, and lead theirlibraries into the future.

The Abbeville Woman’sClub recently honored VermilionParish Library Director JackieChoate and her staff for continuallyhelping club members plan,research, and carry out theirprograms.

Emily McCoy has left herposition as East Baton Rouge ParishLibrary children’s services head tomove to Arkansas; and former JonesCreek Regional Branch Children’sLibrarian Pabby Arnold hasassumed the position.

Emma Jean Goodreau, aformer teacher and elementaryschool librarian, has assumed the

Jennings Carnegie Public Librarydirectorship. A Richland Parishnative, she is the daughter ofMaggie Gandy, who for 30 years rana branch of the Richland ParishLibrary from her house inMangham.

In April, West CarrollParish Library Director ClayRobertson and his wife Karlawelcomed their first child, ClaireAlyse.

Caroline LeBlanc, a 1993LSU SLIS graduate, has begunworking as head of technicalprocessing at the Iberville ParishLibrary.

Ann Roberts is the newLincoln Parish Library assistantdirector. Roberts is married to RichSmith, former State Library specialservice coordinator.

In April, Tore Carlbergpresented a portrait of his late wifeLynda to the Calcasieu ParishLibrary Board. Carlberg directedthe library from 1978 until her deathin November 1997. The portraithangs in the meeting room hall ofheadquarters library.

Michelle McInnis, amember of the Summer ReadingProgram Manual Committee, is thenew Calcasieu Parish Librarychildren’s services coordinator.

Recent LSU SLIS graduateDani Porter has left her position ascommunity relations librarian atIberia Parish Library to assume asimilar position at the OrangeCounty Public Libraryheadquartered in Santa Ana,California.

Patricia Lee, a LSUgraduate in marketing, has joinedthe Ouachita Parish Public Librarystaff to generate public awareness ofthe library’s services and programs,to set up a non-profit Friends/Volunteer organization, and tosecure grants for stand-aloneprojects. She hopes to use hermarketing expertise to help OPPLfine tune its role in serving thecommunity.

News is being sought

for this column.

Please remember to

tell us when LLA

members have taken

new jobs, left old ones,

received honors and

awards (other than

those presented at

conference), or died.

Send information to

Joe Landrum,

State Library of

Louisiana,

P.O. Box 131,

Baton Rouge, LA

70821-0131,

or fax (225) 342-3547.

PeopleJoe Landrum, Column Editor

Continued on page 37

Gill, Dan . Louisiana Gardener’sGuide. Franklin, Tennessee: CoolSprings Press, 1997. ISBN 1-888608-33-1. $19.95 paperback.

Anyone who lives in NewOrleans or Shreveport and has aninterest in gardening or maintain-ing outdoor property will be famil-iar with the names Dan Gill and JoeWhite. Gill and White are co-au-thors of the gardening book Louisi-ana Gardener’s Guide.

Gill and White are longtimehorticultural agents for the LSU Ag-ricultural Center/Extension Ser-vice. Gill writes a weekly columnin the Times-Picayune and is radiohost of The WSMB Garden Show.White, also a writer of weekly gar-den columns, writes for the Shreve-port Times. Both men are highly re-spected in the field of horticulture.

Louisiana Gardener’s Guide isa much needed source of gardeninginformation. It is the first time thata gardening book has been devotedexclusively to Louisiana horticul-ture. The book is not limited to onearea of Louisiana, either. Otherbooks such as Identification, Selectionand Use of Southern Plants for Land-scape Design (Odenwald) are morecomprehensive but not as easy touse and don’t focus solely on Loui-siana.

The book is a wonderfulsource of information for both be-ginning and experienced gardeners,and gardeners new to Louisiana.The format is easy to follow witheach chapter devoted to differenttypes of plants or trees. There are13 chapters covering everythingfrom annuals and bulbs toturfgrasses and wildflowers. Indi-vidual descriptions include when,where and how to plant, care and

maintenance, and additional infor-mation. A section consisting of colorphotos complements the differentchapters.

In the dedication ofthe book Joe White writes:

This book is dedicated tothe residents of Louisiana who arefirst-time gardeners and to thosewho have moved to Louisiana fromother states or countries with differ-ent climates and who find adjust-ing to the gardening techniques andthe vast array of plant materials thatgrow here a bit overwhelming.

Whites’ dedication accu-rately sums up the purpose andgoals of the book. I personally agreewith White. As a transplantedNortherner, I know firsthand whathappens when someone tries to gar-den the way they always have inother climates and locations. Itdoesn’t work. I wish the LouisianaGardener’s Guide had been pub-lished when I first moved to Loui-siana. At least it is now available toLouisiana gardeners and hopefullywill be found in many libraries. Ihighly recommend it to all public li-braries, and academic horticulturaland Louisiana collections.

Pamela Barrows, Earl K. Long Library,University of New Orleans

Kreyling, Michael . InventingSouthern Literature. Jackson: Uni-versity Press of Mississippi, 1998.ISBN 157806-045-1. $17.00

Kreyling is quite informedon the subject of southern literature,as he has analyzed similar literaturein his Figures of the Hero in SouthernNarrative, Eudora Welty’s Achieve-ment of Southern Order, and New Es-

says on Wise Blood. He outlines hispositions on the “invention” ofsouthern literature as a revelation ofidentity in the collision betweensouthern literature and history.Kreyling supports his hypothesiswith quotations from many otherliterary writers, historians, and phi-losophers (the 1920s Agararian lit-erary movement in particular).

Each chapter details spe-cific aspects of southern literature.One highlight features the Agrarianmovement of the South, known asthe twelve southerners, consistingof authors/poets/critics/historiansmostly from Vanderbilt Universityand Louisiana State University, in-cluding Robert Penn Warren, JohnCrowe Ransom, and C. Vann Wood-ward among the distinguishedmembership. Other highlights in-clude an outline of southern liter-ary history and anthologies. Sev-eral influential southern authors areincluded: William Faulkner, WalkerPercy, Reynolds Price, BarryHannah, and Peter Taylor, as wellas other literary voices, such as Af-rican-American authors ErnestGaines, Raymond Andrews, andRichard Wright and women writersEudora Welty, Katherine Anne Por-ter, and Flannery O’Connor. Con-temporary authors Dorothy Allisonand Josephine Humphries are alsoincluded.

Kreyling addresses suchcontroversial cultural issues as thedebate over the Confederate flagflying over a southern statehouse,and the choice of naming a highschool team’s mascot the ‘Rebels.’He notes the argument that“America was formed on rebellion.Before we were Americans, we wererebels first.”

Sherry Moor, Column Editor

Reviews

In this book, Kreyling pre-sents a lofty work fusing the multi-facets of southern literature, history,culture, and identity. He has exten-sively researched the themes to pro-duce a scholarly thesis exemplifiedby erudite language and rhetoric; atypical passage in which he de-scribes his work illustrates its com-plex nature: “Inventing Southern Lit-erature is, then, not acounternarrative that seeks to dyna-mite the rails on which the officialnarrative runs; rather, it is ametanarrative, toughing upon cru-cial moments when and where theofficial narrative is made or prob-lematically redirected.” Kreylingportrays the fusion between litera-ture and history, in which he offersup a critical concept and image ofthe ‘collision’ of history with south-ern literature.

Ashley Bonnette, Editth Garland DupreLibrary, University of

Southwestern Louisiana

Skinner, Robert. Cat-Eyed Trouble.New York: Kensington Books, 1998.ISBN 1-57566-250-7. $19.95.

As the young girl watched, along-barreled gun appeared inthe speaker’s hand, and it ex-ploded three times. Long jetsof red-tipped fire erupted fromthe muzzle of the gun, seem-ing to point the way for thebullets punching into Junior’schest. His body heaved as thefirst shot struck home, thenshuddered as the second andthird shots hit, then he lay still.Then the figure with the gunturned, and Billie clearly sawthe face of Junior’s murderer.

University librarian, RobertSkinner of Xavier University hasdone a wonderful job in the creationof another Wesley Farrell adult de-tective novel that takes the readerback in time to the historic AfricanAmerican New Orleans of the

1930s. The first Farrell series novel,written last year, is entitled SkinDeep, Blood Red. In this short novel,Skinner reveals an amazing talentfor scene descriptions, characterdevelopment, and story transition.He cautiously describes the inter-nal fears of a teenage woman look-ing for a phone booth at 2 a.m. Hedramatically illustrates the hurt hersoul feels after being kicked out ofher home by her father and toldnever to return. Skinner master-fully unfolds each character andblends their individual story intothe mass confusion of murder, sex,drugs, and deception in the under-world on dark New Orleans.

Wesley Farrell is a Creolebar owner who carries the secretthat his mother is a Creole of colorand his father is a white police cap-tain, named Frank Casey. This en-ables Farrell to cross both bound-aries of color to help determine thereal truth. Things become compli-cated as a mysterious, cat-eyed,troublesome woman proves to be akey player among the killers andkingpins.

The story unfolds as IsraelDiggett, an ex-police detective withthe Negro Squad who has spent thelast five years in Angola Peniten-tiary for a murder for which he wasskillfully framed. Before he can hitthe streets of New Orleans, his so-cial worker girlfriend is murdered,marking the beginning of a seriesof events that seem to open the verybowels of evil, death, and druglords in the Crescent City. In just afew days, Farrell, Diggett, DannyWalker, and friends begin the pieceby piece reconstruction of who re-ally killed Junior Obregon rightbefore the eyes of his girlfriendBillie.

This mysterious page-turner would be a recommendedaddition to any public or academiclibrary shelf.

Christy J. Wrenn, Magale Library,Centenary College of Louisiana

de Caro, Frank, editor and RosanAugusta Jordan, associate editor.

Louisiana Sojourns: Travelers’ Talesand Literary Journeys. Baton Rouge:Louisiana State University Press,1998. ISBN 0-8071-2239-4 (cloth),$39.95; ISBN 0-8071-2240-8 (paper),$22.95.

Folklorist Frank de Caro,Louisiana State University EnglishDepartment faculty member andauthor of Folklore in Louisiana Pho-tography (LSU Press, 1990), explainsthat he “was struck by how popu-lar Louisiana was as a destinationor stopping point for tourists, trav-elers, itinerant writers, roving art-ists, and other visitors, whetherprominent or obscure, whetherreputable or less than reputable.” InLouisiana Sojourns, he brings to-gether accounts of “how the placepresented itself to outsiders andhow it was presented by those out-siders who dropped by” (de Caroxvii). Excerpted from works by 63“traveler writers” (de Caro 1), the76 pieces cover topics as diverse ascarnival and cemeteries, quadroonsand Cajuns, voodoo and oysters,showboats and bonfires. Rangingin date from the sixteenth centuryto the present decade and in lengthfrom a paragraph to 16 pages, theselections are grouped in 11 sec-tions, each of which is preceded byan introduction and followed by a“Travel Update” which suggestsfurther reading and describes thecurrent status of the places, persons,etc., featured in that section. Thetitle recently won the 1999 Louisi-ana Endowment for the HumanitiesBook of the Year Award.

Reprinted in Louisiana So-journs are traveler accounts whichportray locally familiar subjectsthrough fresh eyes, thus focusing re-newed attention on “many facets ofthe landscape, culture, society, andnatural environment of one of themost fascinating of states” (de Caro5). To the stranger, it introduces “adifferent America, a different Southin Louisiana” (de Caro 8). As deCaro’s introductory essay explains:

Even when locals are able towrite about themselves and

their land, they may not be in-terested in communicatingwhat outsiders would like toknow. They may leave muchunspoken—for it is too famil-iar to comment upon—or failto notice things that are too in-grained to consciously con-ceive. Thus traveler writers. . . become important inter-preters, able to mediate be-tween what outsiders mightlike to know about a place andwhat can be perceived by vis-iting there (de Caro 3).

Louisiana Sojourns is marredby occasional errors of fact, not onlyvisitors’ inaccuracies but also somecontributed by de Caro (e.g., thestatement that New Orleans “wasfounded in 1714, after Natchitochesand Baton Rouge” (de Caro 69)—the generally accepted chronologyis Natchitoches in 1714, New Or-leans in 1718, and Baton Rouge in1722). Correction of traveler writ-ers’ faults occurs inconsistently,sometimes in “Travel Updates,”elsewhere in footnotes. For librar-ians, a disappointing omission is thepage numbers where these excerptsare found in the original sources.Nevertheless, Louisiana Sojourns isundoubtedly a valuable compen-dium of illuminating material fromdiverse sources and should be in ev-ery Louisiana collection. It prom-ises to be especially useful to stu-dents (school librarians, take note)and others whose research is morebasic than in-depth.

Florence M. Jumonville, Earl K. LongLibrary, University of New Orleans

Parr, Leslie Gale. A Will of Her Own:Sarah Towles Reed and the Pursuit ofDemocracy in Southern Public Educa-tion. Athens, GA: University ofGeorgia Press, 1998. ISBN 0-8203-1932-5. $40.00

To her supporters, SarahTowles Reed was “a very superior

teacher” (Parr 178) whose leader-ship in such matters as the fightagainst salary cuts and the effort toallow married women to continueteaching made her “a Joan of Arcamong the teachers” (Parr 149). Herdetractors characterized her as “dis-obedient, argumentative, obnoxiousand contrary in the performance ofher duties,” consistently seeking toembarrass the superintendent andboard of the Orleans Parish Schools“by willfully refusing and neglect-ing to obey orders and instructionsand by publicly and adversely criti-cizing [their] actions” (Parr 152).This insightful biography by LeslieGale Parr, assistant professor ofcommunications at Loyola Univer-sity (New Orleans), chroniclesReed’s extraordinary life, expertlyset in the context of its times.

Sarah Towles was born in1882 at Ouida Plantation near St.Francisville, the third of seven sur-viving children of a farm family inwhich education was valued to adegree surprising in its age andplace. Adversity forced the familyin 1895 to move to the New Orleansarea, where the children attendedpublic schools and Sarah soon wona scholarship to Newcomb College.There she became committed to theprogressive spirit of social activismwhich would influence her activi-ties for the rest of her life. Reed’sprimary outlet was the improve-ment of conditions for teachers inLouisiana, especially those in Or-leans Parish, whose ranks she joinedin 1909 after a year of substituting.By that time, she had earned amaster’s degree in English andLatin at Tulane, and by 1924 LoyolaUniversity would award her a lawdegree. Around the 1910s, she se-cretly married Elkanah “Eck” Reed,a fact which even her family discov-ered only after Eck’s accidentaldeath in 1921.

When Reed began her ca-reer, male teachers earned moremoney than did females, althoughthey performed the same job. Thatinequity was part of the impetus forthe founding of a professional orga-

nization, the New Orleans PublicSchool Teachers Association(NOPSTA), in 1925. After the schoolboard claimed that a budgetaryshortfall necessitated cutting sala-ries, NOPSTA unsuccessfullysought a hearing on the matter.Thwarted at the local level, the or-ganization prompted state legisla-tion to ensure the restoration of fullpay. Reed’s effective participationin that crusade launched her avo-cation as a lobbyist.

Economic hardship associ-ated with the Great Depression con-vinced Reed that the remedy forunequal treatment of workingwomen was unionization, and in1934 she helped to organize a NewOrleans local of the American Fed-eration of Teachers. Throughout the1930s and 1940s, she battled schoolauthorities regarding matters of so-cial and economic justice. Her mili-tant activities did not go unnoticedby an increasingly annoyed admin-istration. Twice she was chargedwith un-Americanism, but courtsruled in her favor.

In 1951 Reed retired fromthe classroom, if not from the Leg-islature. Recognized at the Capitolby everyone from the bus driver tothe governor, she remained activein issues which affected teachers,attending every legislative sessionfrom 1924 until her health began tofail in 1972. Reed died six yearslater, having been a role model anda spokeswoman for her colleaguesfor more than half a century.Shrewd and intelligent, she was afirebrand who never flinched fromchallenging authority, but she wasalso a woman of the South who “al-ways, always wore a hat” (p. 194).

Thoroughly researched andvery readable, A Will of Her Own ishighly recommended for academicand public libraries. It is a must forcollections strong in women’s stud-ies and Louisiana materials.

Florence M. Jumonville, Earl K. LongLibrary, University of New Orleans.

Under Langlinais’s administration the automa-tion of the library was refined and improved. One ofthe most noteworthy accomplishments of Langlinaiswas her predominant role in the formation of a Friendsof the Library Group for the St. Mary Parish Library.

Cheryl Cooper became director of St. Mary Par-ish Library on June 14, 1990. Cooper remodeled andrenovated the headquarters Branch. She also createdyoung adult areas at all branches and increased hoursat all branches . She began regular programming at allbranches for all age groups. These accomplishmentswere made before 1991.

Thanks largely to the resources, energies andvast talents of members of the Friends a renewal of thecurrent tax millage (4.9) was approved by a vast ma-jority of the voters in January 1991.

In May 1991, the bookmobile was retired andan outreach van service was implemented. An 1-800telephone number was installed, and specialized homedelivery service was implemented. The same year,board members Drobnic, Washington and Smith re-signed and were succeeded by Peter Lipari, KarlaVappie, and Martin Landry, respectively.

In late May 1992, the parish council formallyallocated the health unit for the main branch to use forexpansion purposes. Pontiff ended his tenure on theboard and was replaced by Don T. Caffery, Jr. ofFranklin. H. A. “Neg” Louviere was appointed to re-place Fondren as the parish council representative. Thiswas also the year that Senate Bill No. 75 was passed.This legislation authorized the transfer of administra-tion of and accounting functions for funds of the St.Mary Parish Library from the parish council to theboard of control.

Also in 1992, the board began to look at pos-sible sights to house a branch for the west end of theparish. On August 26, 1992, a major storm, HurricaneAndrew, devastated all of St. Mary Parish. In its wake,it was discovered that all branches had sustained dam-age. The Amelia Branch experienced extensive dam-age including roof, ceiling, wall and carpeting. As aresult, the facility had to be closed for four months sothat these major repairs could be made.

The Bunche Branch was never reopened afterthe hurricane. The board, after a thorough examina-tion of parish population distributions, circulation sta-tistics, and concerns of declining revenues, voted in-stead to use the equipment and materials to open abranch for the west end of the parish.

In July 1992, after negotiations with the St.Mary Bank failed to produce a home for the facility,the board began negotiations with the Petifils familyfor their former hardware store on Highway 182. Anagreement was reached and a lease was signed. In Feb-

ruary 1993, the West End Branch was welcomed by thepeople of Baldwin, Louisiana.

In late 1993, Allain resigned from the board.Robert Fleming was appointed to fill Allain’s unexpiredterm. Also in 1994, Martin Landry resigned from theboard and Renee’ Vanover of Berwick was appointedto fill his unexpired term. During that year the FranklinKiwanis Club installed a story-line in the Franklin Li-brary.

In 1995, Smith, former trustee, died and desig-nated in her will that the library receive $5,000 fromher estate. The board also began to look at the possibil-ity of constructing a branch in Bayou Vista. TrusteeLipari was instrumental in negotiating with theFairview Hospital District Board to secure the dona-tion of land dedicated to a future Bayou Vista Branch.

Fleming resigned from the board in May 1996.The council appointed Roger Busbice of Bayou Vistato replace Fleming and continued the appointmentthrough the year 2001. Also in May, Rebecca L.Hamilton joined the staff as assistant librarian.

On July 20, 1996, the voters of St. Mary Parishpassed a bond issue for the construction and expan-sion of libraries throughout the parish. The capital out-lay project provides for the growth of the systemthrough the year 2016 . In October 1997 ground wasbroken for the new Bayou Vista and West End Branches.Construction on both is expected to be completed byOctober 1998.

After receiving a State Technology Grant forapproximately $10,000, 27 computers with Internet ac-cess were added to the services offered by St. Mary Par-ish Libraries. Dial-up service, a story-line and e-mailaccounts are also available. Through the Gates LibraryFoundation Grant, St. Mary Parish Library has gainedanother 24 workstations. The library is also in the pro-cess of installing a 3M security system in all branches.

In March 1998, Assistant Director RebeccaHamilton left St. Mary Parish Library. She was replacedby Judy Ordoyne of Franklin.

K. Judy Ordoyne is the assistant director for the St. Mary ParishLibrary, located at 206 Iberia St., Franklin, LA 70538.

Continued from page 27The Publlic Libraries of Louisiana Part IV

Materials which appear in LouisianaLibraries express the views of therespective authors and notnecessarily the opinion of theeditorial board. Manuscripts andinquiries should be directed to theeditor. Instructions for authors ofLouisiana Libraries articles appears inthe first issue of each volume.

Louisiana Libraries is publishedquarterly (summer, fall, winter, andspring) by the Louisiana LibraryAssociation, a chapter of theAmerican Library Association.Subscription to non-members out-of-state is $15 per year and tomembers $5 per year, included indues paid. Annual membershipdues in the LLA are: individual,$10-$65 institutional, $75-$350; andcontributing, $100. Single copiescost $5. Send orders, memberships,and undeliverable mail to LouisianaLibrary Association, P.O. Box 3058,Baton Rouge, LA 70821 (225 342-4928; fax 225 342-3547). Secondclass postage rates paid in BatonRouge, LA. ISSN 0024-6867.

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The editor welcomes articles of inter-est of Louisiana librarians. Manuscriptsmay pertain to any aspect of librarianship,but those concerning librarianship in Loui-siana will be given first consideration. Au-thors are encouraged to submit queries inadvance of preparing manuscripts which areintended for Louisiana Libraries or asso-ciated with a particular event, because pub-lication schedules are dictated to some ex-tent by the calendar of forthcoming themeissues. Signed articles do not necessarilyreflect the Louisiana Library Association’sapproval.

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Mike Flynn, a doctor ofchiropractic and former president ofthe Houma Chamber of Commerce,has been appointed to serve on theTerrebonne Parish Library Board ofControl.

St. Tammany Parish LibraryBoard member Richard Hart resignedin March. Argiro Morgan, aMandeville resident and XavierUniversity professor, will completethe five-year term.

The Tangipahoa ParishCouncil recently honored BrentDufreche for his 59 years service onthe library board by designating himtrustee emeritus.

Retired Ringgold Branchmanager Billie McCarthy recentlybegan serving on the Bienville ParishLibrary Board; and Martha Wimberly,who has served on the board since1982, became an honorary member.

Deaths

Iberia Parish Library BoardPresident Pierre Larroque died inMarch at 69. A noted Jeanerettebusinessman, he had served on theboard six years.

John Rogers, who retiredfrom the Iberia Parish Library Boardin 1993 after 26 years service, died inApril. A Loyola University LawSchool graduate, he served asJeanerette city judge from 1970 to1990. During his tenure on the boardthe headquarters library underwent arenovation/expansion and the Coteauand West End Branches opened.

Lucille Glisson, 90, a NewOrleans native but a Covingtonresident for the past 85 years, hasdied. Glisson, who served on the St.Tammany Parish Library Board for 40years, more recently served as anactive member of the Friends. In theearly 1950’s she chaired a committeeformed by the Covington Businessand Professional Women’s Club whichspearheaded the organization of theparish library system.

Cecilia “Teal” Lyons Yundt,director of the Plaquemines ParishLibrary for 18 years, died in May at85. In addition to her service at thelibrary, Yundt worked in thePlaquemines Parish School system for26 years as a teacher, coach, andassistant principal, and from 1980 to

1986 served on the school board.She is survived by her daughter JanetCantwell, the current PlaqueminesParish Library director.

Elizabeth Lacy Millard, whodirected the St. Tammany ParishLibrary from 1965 to 1975, died inMarch at 98. During her tenure at St.Tammany, she oversaw constructionof libraries in Mandeville, AbitaSprings, Lacombe, and Bush. Acommunity volunteer, she was also aneditor and journalist whose workappeared in many newspapersincluding The Times Picayune.

Rosina Bosio Laviolette, aretired executive secretary for theNew Orleans Public Library citylibrarian, died in January at 85. A 36-year veteran of the NOPL system, shewon in 1965 the Charles E. Dunbar, Jr.,Career Service Award.

Continued from page 32People

Louisiana Libraries Go RED 2000

March 14-17, 2000

Alexandria

www.leeric.lsu.edu/lla/conference