Reference point

              Presents from the past
Clarke collection connects women to family history
Hand-written letters and old family
photographs clutter a table in the
Clarke Historical Library.
Corky Evans Hyatt is spending the
day with her father. There are tales
about reckless things he did in his
youth. Stories about his family life.
“My father died more than 30 years
ago,” she says, holding one of his
letters. “Reading these, I can still
hear his voice in a way.“
Hyatt of St. Louis, Mo., and her
cousin Kathy Evans Collins of
Indianapolis sorted through 40
boxes of the library’s “John Pollie
Collection” in late summer. Pollie’s
Aunt Rosie was grandmother to
both Hyatt and Collins.
Pollie owned a circus in the early 1900s and later operated carnival games. Some of
the Pollie collection is on display in the Clarke through January 2010 for the “Rides and
Spangles: Michigan Circuses and Carnivals” exhibit.
Because of the current exhibit, the women found out via the Internet that the Clarke has a
rich collection – almost 100 years worth – of their family history.
“I lived with my grandmother for a while,” says Hyatt. “She always had great stories. I
wanted to do something – like write a book – on Grandma Rosie’s life, but I couldn’t find
enough information. Well, that has just changed.”
The two women say they have been seeking out family history for decades. And for the past
10 years, they have taken weeklong genealogy trips, which they call their “girl getaways.”
But they had never found information as extensive as what the Clarke has.
“I have stumbled across diaries that belonged to someone else’s family before, and I
thought, ‘Why couldn’t that have been from our family?’” Hyatt says. “But look – now we
have 40 boxes of family letters and photos. I think that beats any diary.” •
REFERENCE POINT
U N I V E R S I T Y L I B R A R I E V o l u m e 6 , I s s u e 2 S ’ N E W S L E T T E R • O C T O B E R 2 0 0 9
Come one, come all!
Turn to page 4 for more
information on the Clarke
Historical Library’s “Rides and
Spangles: Michigan Circuses
and Carnivals” exhibit.
Corky Evans-Hyatt, left, and her cousin Kathy Evans Collins find
family photos and letters at the Clarke Historical Library.
Dean’s Column
Reference Point is published
biannually by University Libraries.
Address questions and suggestions to:
Office of the Dean
407D Park Library
Central Michigan University
Mount Pleasant, MI 48859
Editorial Board
Thomas J. Moore
Dean of Libraries
Richard Cochran
Associate Dean of Libraries
Jodi A. Robinette
Director of Development
Gerry Edgar
Manager, Library Business Services
Reference Point Coordinator
Production
CMU Public Relations and Marketing
Writers
Nicole Burdiss
Tracy Burton, ’02
Sarah Chuby, ’03
Levi Conley, ‘09
Dan Digmann
Editor
Dan Digmann
Designer
Amy Gouin
Photographers
Robert Barclay
Peggy Brisbane
Printing
CMU Printing Services
Libraries’ Web Site
www.lib.cmich.edu
Academic Year
Library Hours
Mon - Thurs: 7:50 a.m. - Midnight
Fri: 7:50 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Sat: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Sun: Noon - Midnight
Reference Desk
989-774-3470
libref@cmich.edu
CMU, an AA/EO institution, strongly and actively
strives to increase diversity within its community
(see www.cmich.edu/aaeo).
UComm 8132-4,275 (10/09)
REFERENCE POINT
Libraries provide central location
for university resources
Often I’ve described our beautiful Park Library as a library and
center for selected academic support services. Indeed, one of its
distinguishing strengths is that in it there are, in addition to great
library collections and wonderfully helpful library staff, several
excellent services that in complementary ways contribute to the
common enterprise of Park Library, which is assisting faculty
teaching and research and student learning and success.
The Help Desk is CMU’s centralized provider of technology
support for on- and off-campus students, faculty, and staff. Nearby,
Media Services offers a broad spectrum of audiovisual resources,
especially equipment and videos/DVDs, for classroom and course-related
activities. Both services are operated by the Office of Information Technology.
Also supporting the use of learning technology, but going well beyond, are FaCIT – the
Faculty Center for Innovative Teaching – and CID – the Center for Instructional Design –
which is a part of CMU’s extensive Off-Campus Programs. Together these units supply to
faculty a comprehensive array of teaching consultation, training, instructional development,
and multimedia production services. Their goal is to aid faculty in the use of best practices
for teaching and learning – in classrooms and online, and on campus in Mount Pleasant and
off campus at many dozens of CMU sites in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.
Services for students
Two services offered directly to students are the Writing Center and Student Disability
Services. The Writing Center, one of four locations on campus, provides students with peer
writing assistance on site and online. As a broad goal, the Writing Center aims to nurture
“a culture of writing” at CMU, just as the Libraries aim to support a culture of reading and
information use. For students with disabilities or temporary impairments, Student Disability
Services assists full participation in the learning and growth opportunities of the university.
Both also provide substantial help to faculty in working with students.
What one can find in Park Library, then, beyond the books and journals and other
information resources typically found in libraries, is an unusually rich constellation of
talent and collaborative relationships, with beneficial
effects radiating outwardly across the campus and
across the widespread geographic and virtual range
of the CMU community. For me it’s a daily pleasure to
share in the combined efforts and special collegiality
of librarians, technologists, various types of learning
specialists, faculty, students, and support staff.
In this issue of Reference Point you’ll learn about some
of the many other worthwhile things that occur in the
CMU Libraries. Let us know your comments and, if you
have them, your questions.
Tom Moore
Dean of Libraries
Beyond the books and journals
Tom Moore
2
3
Washington Post’s Arana
presents at Friends luncheon
Acclaimed writer and critic Marie Arana says her big break in life
came when she grew up surrounded by two different cultures –
her father was from Peru, her mother was from the United States.
“It was a big break, indeed,” Arana told the nearly 100 people
attending the annual Friends of the Libraries event early last
summer in the Park Library Auditorium.
In her keynote presentation – “The Writer and the Critic: Making a
Life and Career Between Two Unfriendly Cultures” – Arana shared
stories of how her childhood experiences in Lima, Peru, and then
in Summit, New Jersey, helped prepare her for her career.
Arana is a writer-at-large for the Washington Post and was editor
of the newspaper’s discontinued Book World section. She also
is the author of books,
including “Lima Nights”
and “American Chica,” a
memoir of her Peruvian-
American upbringing that
was a 2001 National Book
Award finalist.
As challenging as it was
juggling two cultures as
child, Arana says it’s been
even trickier being a critic
and a writer.
“It’s like being the fox and
the hound … Dr. Jekyll and
Mr. Hyde,” she says. “A life
as a critic and a writer isn’t
easy, but I wouldn’t have it
any other way.”•
Cultures in counterpoint
You’re invited
The CMU Friends of the Libraries is a
membership organization that supports
– through contributions and volunteer
activities – the programs of the University
Library, the Clarke Historical Library and
Off-Campus Library Services.
Members of this group receive special
invitations to:
• Library-sponsored and Friends of the
Libraries events
• Behind-the-scenes library tours and more
Become a Friend of the Libraries today:
Call 989-774-3500
Consultants assist students
with course projects
Reference librarians from the University Library
and from Off-Campus Library Services and
the Writing Center staff teamed up last spring
to help students with their research papers
through a service called Research and Writing
Nights. Reference and writing consultants
helped students perform research and
integrate the findings into their writing.
This service is again being made available this
fall, says Mary Ann Crawford, director of the
Writing Center that has one of its four on-campus
locations in Park Library.
“Writing is a communicative act,” she says.
“It’s important for any writer to receive
feedback.”
The service will be available the end of fall
semester on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
during weeks 13 and 14.
CMU English faculty member Brooke Harrison
is thrilled with the new service and sees it as a
significant stride in the center’s program.
“Every once in a while you see a program
make a big leap, and I see this as a big leap
forward,” Harrison says.
In addition to the Research and Writing Nights
program, students and faculty members
interested in using the Writing Center’s
services can schedule an appointment or come
in during walk-in hours. •
Write on
In Park Library, the Writing
Center is located in the
northwest corner of the fourth
floor.
Regular hours
5 to 9 p.m. Sunday
9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-
Thursday
9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday
Telephone
989-774-2986
Online
www.chsbs.cmich.edu/
writing_center
Research and Writing Nights
Washington Post writer Marie Arana, left, visits
with Rebeca Torres-Rivera at the annual Friends
of the Libraries luncheon.
4
Welcome to the Big Top
The Amazing
Miniature Circus!
Couple creates a small
display as a large tribute
Mike and Karen “Janke”
Janczewski of Saginaw Township
created this miniature circus
more than 30 years ago. The
Janczewskis made the circus
to pay homage to the many
Michigan performers they
remember seeing when they
were younger.
The circus, which is on display
in the Clarke Historical Library,
includes a main tent that has
1,500 people in the grandstands.
The Ferris wheel lights up and
rotates. There is a hot air balloon
that goes up and down. And
there is a trapeze artist – near a
tent that says ‘Flying Melzoras’ –
that swings. •
‘It was more than just a show’
Decades of carnival and circus life on exhibit
The people who entertain at circuses and carnivals always attract attention –
from claiming the title of “World’s Only One-legged Aerial Clown” to a psychic
who would pay $200 if she could not read your future.
So naturally, Marian Matyn, an assistant professor and archivist at the Clarke
Historical Library, wanted to put carnival and circus life on display. But this time
she wants spectators to come away with more than amazement; she wants
them to get an education.
“These performers made a living and were able to spend time with their
families. It was more than just the show. It was being part of a community,”
Matyn says. “I’m very excited and hope everyone will come out to see what
we’ve brought in.”
The Clarke Library exhibit “Rides and Spangles: Michigan Circuses and
Carnivals” is up now through January 2010. It’s curated by Matyn, and much of
the display is material she collected during her 2007 sabbatical researching the
topic for a book project. •
5
Man on the Flying Trapeze
With the greatest of ease, a Flying Melzora remembers circus life
‘Rides and Spangles:
Michigan Circuses
and Carnivals’
•Now through January 2010
•8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday
through Friday at Clarke
Historical Library
•Information: clarke.cmich.edu
Former trapeze artist Bill Thomas, 93, takes
notice of the Clarke Historical Library’s
extensive exhibited collection of carnival and
circus memorabilia, some dating back to the
mid-1800s.
“You have absolutely everything. Everything
and everyone that I remember is here,”
Thomas says, peering into the glass cases.
Thomas, who was a Flying Melzora – a
nationally known Michigan-based trapeze
group – in his youth, was a featured speaker
for the opening of the Clarke Library exhibit
“Rides and Spangles: Michigan Circuses
and Carnivals,” which is curated by Marian
Matyn, archivist at the Clarke. The exhibit is
open through Jan. 31, 2010.
The Flying Melzoras started in the early
1900s and gave performances until the
1960s. The Thomases – Melzer, Buster,
Jane, Raymond, Bill and Ann – traveled as
the Flying Melzoras with the Shrine Circus,
Barnum & Bailey and the Ringling Brothers.
Moving to another display, Thomas browses
items such as a whip used by the famous
lion tamer Clyde Beatty and a 1960s
newspaper article about his mother, Jane
Thomas, giving a trapeze performance in
celebration of her 80th birthday.
But he stops at “Riding Sensation of the
Age,” a memoir about Dorothy Herbert.
“She would ride side-saddle on a horse
over hurdles of fire,” says Thomas, who
made his first on-stage appearance at age
1, since his parents were heavily involved in
circus life and started the Flying Melzoras.
“I thought she was absolutely crazy.”
What about flying through the air on a
trapeze without nets to catch you? Is
that crazy?
“No, we weren’t doing anything out of the
ordinary. We were just making a living,” says
Thomas. Then, after a pause, the Saginaw
resident continues, “I guess it is all a matter
of perspective.” •
Marian Matyn, Clarke Historical Library archivist, shows Bill Thomas, former trapeze artist, newspaper articles
about Michigan circuses and carnivals featured in the current Clarke exhibit.
6
Making a difference together
Development Column
Collective efforts benefit
all CMU students
In June we had our annual Friends of the
Libraries Luncheon at Park Library. Besides
an interesting speaker and fine food, we
were in great company. It was exciting to
have nearly 100 of our Friends in the same
room. It was a nice event and a small token
of our appreciation for the valuable support
for the CMU Libraries. Some strangers
and some friends, but all came together as
supporters of the CMU Libraries.
Being a philanthropist means knowing one
person can make a difference. A single
individual’s generosity can enhance our
services, collections and more. Together,
with all their generosity combined, our
Friends are truly making a difference in
the library support for CMU’s academic
programs.
What motivates each individual to give
varies. Yet, each dollar that is given helps
in many ways. With academic budgets still
tight, uncertain state budgets and the cost
of journals and periodicals increasing rapidly,
donor support is more important than ever.
New year energizes
learning community
Now that the fall semester has started,
students, faculty and staff are all back with
a renewed energy for learning. Our crowded
Park Library is a reminder of that. Your gifts
help every academic program on campus,
and they also assist us to provide excellent
art exhibits as well as the exhibits and
collections in the Clarke Historical Library.
Your donations can benefit any area of the
Libraries you prefer. Whether you select
the general Library Endowment, the Clarke
Historical Library, books and journals for a
specific college or department or choose to
support library speakers and special events,
we appreciate your generosity.
Your support is needed more than ever.
Remember, there are many ways to give:
cash gifts, gifts of stock, planned gifts,
pledged gifts over a number of years,
memorial/honorarium donations, in-kind gifts
and more.
Please contact me at 989-774-1826 or by
e-mail at jodi.robinette@cmich.edu. I would
be happy to help you with any questions
or just chat about your interest in the CMU
Libraries and the university. You have the
opportunity to make a beneficial difference
and be a true philanthropist!
Thank you to all who already give to the
CMU Libraries.
Jodi A. Robinette
Director of Library Development and
Community Outreach
Jodi Robinette
Park Library
7
Giving history
Annual gifts to the Clarke preserves and advances collections
Much has changed in 25 years, but for Susan Sadenwater, ’64, one
thing stays the same: her gift to the CMU Libraries.
She says there are several reasons she has chosen to donate annually
to the Clarke Historical Library for a quarter of a century. “I didn’t have
a lot of money, but I gave what I could because it is important to
support something that you believe does a great service.“
She also says her love of Michigan and its history has made donating
to the Clarke a satisfying choice. “When I was a CMU student, I
remember taking a Michigan history class and being so fascinated
and proud of my roots,” says the Freeland resident and Michigan
native. “And the Clarke is incredible because it has an extensive
collection of Michigan history.”
Frank Boles, director of the Clarke Library, says because of supporters
like Sadenwater the library is able to add important pieces to the
collections that normally would have been out of financial reach.
Boles says a recent example of an acquisition the Clarke could
make because of donor support is a signed six-page letter from writer and journalist Ernest
Hemingway, who spent summers in northern Michigan as a youth.
“Ernest grew up in Michigan, in many ways, and in this letter he tries to convince a friend of
his to come to Michigan for the summer. He writes about fishing and the beautiful Michigan
landscape,” Boles says. “It is a wonderful letter that talks about our state and what it was like
to live here. And now, because of people like Susan, that letter will stay in Michigan.”
In addition to the collections, Sadenwater – who attended the opening event for “Rides
and Spangles: Michigan Circuses and Carnivals” – says she enjoys coming to campus and
attending CMU Libraries’ events.
“I try to make it here a couple times a year. There have been great events and presenters,
especially (author) David McCullough,” Sadenwater says. “It makes me feel connected to a
place where I’ve had some really great memories.” •
Returning the favor
Alumna supports her campus refuge
Everyone has a place where they go to get away from it all. For Donijo Robbins, ’94,
that place was Park Library.
“I had three roommates my first two years and five my last two years at Central, so the
library quickly became my favorite place to study or just get away from reality,” Robbins
says. “I would spend hours after class studying before I went to work. And if I wasn’t
studying, I was looking for books to read.”
Robbins, an associate professor in the School of Public and Nonprofit Administration
at Grand Valley State University, says about 10 years ago she noticed an envelope in
Centralight alumni magazine and decided to make a donation.
“I saw the envelope, and it made sense for me to contribute. I give what I can, but I try
to double the amount every year,” says Robbins, who lives in Grand Rapids with her
husband, Keith De Jonge, and their dogs, Reagan and Lucy.
Robbins says she has watched Park Library grow and transform over the past few
years, and she is a proud supporter – mostly because she knows her investment helps
provide additional resources for CMU students.
“Now Park Library is amazing – even more so than when I was a student,” she says. “At CMU
I got a great education and wonderful experiences, and a large part of that came from the
library. Now other students need Park Library like I did.
“I knew I wanted to give to the library because the library gave so much to me.” •
Donijo Robbins
8
Information technology
Library adds five multimedia rooms
Erika Shrauger describes the characteristics
of a Leonardo da Vinci painting to two fellow
CMU students. Shrauger, a junior, uses her
laptop to find online images of da Vinci’s
work. But instead of crowding around her to
see, the students – using one of Park Library’s
new multimedia rooms – look up at a
40-inch LCD flat screen.
“In the ‘Mona Lisa’ you can tell that the work
is unfinished, which is a sign of a da Vinci,”
she says, using the cursor to point to the
painting’s edges where a column peeks out.
“This painting was supposed to include the
columns, but he didn’t finish. The painting
was supposed to be larger than it actually is.”
To help students like Shrauger in their
courses, Park Library recently added
multimedia to five of the existing group study
rooms – which vary in size and setup with
seating available from two to 10 people – on
the library’s third and fourth floors. The rooms
are equipped with 40-inch LCD flat screens
and laptop connections built into the study
room tables.
“These multimedia rooms will help students
prepare for group projects or run through
class presentations,” says Gerry Edgar, library
business services manager. “Now students
won’t have to crowd around a computer or
pass around a laptop for group activities;
everything can clearly be seen on the LCD
screen.”
The rooms are available to CMU students,
faculty and staff. A valid CMU ID card is
required to check out a room at the library’s
second floor Book Checkout. Laptops and
connection cords also are available.
The idea came from a visit Dean Tom Moore
made to a newly constructed library that had
LCD televisions in the study rooms.
“He came back and said, ‘We need
multimedia rooms for our students,’” Edgar
says. “The rooms were the library’s summer
project. Our goal, which we met, was to have
the rooms ready for student use by fall.”
In addition to the five multimedia rooms,
Park Library has 16 group study rooms and
41 individual study rooms.•
lib.cmich.edu/exhibits
CLICK! The Photography of
Juanita Baldwin
• October 30 to December 7
• Baber Room
Jillian Pekel: Photojournalism
traveling experience
• November to December 2009
• Extended Hours Study,
Park Library
CMU Art Department
Foundations Exhibit
• Through January 2010
• Extended Hours Study,
Park Library
Rides and Spangles: Michigan
Circuses and Carnivals
• Through January 2010
• Clarke Historical Library
CMU Libraries’
exhibits and
events calendar
Student Erika Shrauger, right, likes using the new library multimedia rooms for her art history courses.
9
Helping CONDOR to soar
Haggart lightens the load to submit works
Abby Haggart is making it easier for CMU faculty, staff,
and students to post their research and creative works
on the CMU Online Digital Object Repository.
After she receives the brief electronic submission
form describing the piece to be posted on CONDOR,
the Libraries’ access services specialist acquires the
necessary copyright permission from the publisher.
“I do as much as I can,” Haggart says. “The larger
CONDOR gets, the more utilized it will be.”
CONDOR is the online resource that collects and
permanently preserves the research and creative
products of CMU faculty, staff and students.
Repository items include articles, books, theses,
dissertations, simulations, and published and
unpublished research.
Benefits of posting on CONDOR
By posting on CONDOR members of the CMU
community will:
• Allow their services and scholarly works to be
discovered by others worldwide
• Increase the possibilities of collaborating with other
scholars
• Tap into a resource that makes unpublished works
visible and discoverable
• Always have a permanent link to their deposited work
• Leverage the advantages of open access publishing
Indexed by Google and other search engines, CONDOR
enables these works to be shared, discovered and
disseminated electronically.
Ruth Helwig, Libraries’ systems librarian and CONDOR
team leader, says the Libraries want to encourage
more CMU community members to contribute their
materials to the developing online repository.
“We assume responsibility for seeking copyright
permission to make things easier for the submitter,”
Helwig says. “We know that everyone is busy and
seeking copyright permission is time consuming. We
want to do what we can to simplify the process.”
Haggart receives the submission form and then works
with library bibliographers to research publisher
information and make the necessary contacts for
permission to place the work on CONDOR. Depending
on accessibility and responsiveness of the publisher,
she says it can take anywhere from hours to months to
receive the needed permission.
With the publisher’s approval, Haggart finds a useable
digital file and uploads the work to the repository.
With Haggart’s help, the contents of CONDOR are
expanding, giving it potential as a useful tool for
accessing intellectual output from CMU academic
activities. •
Abby Haggart
Stepping onto CONDOR
www.condor.cmich.edu
Simply put, posting your work on CONDOR is a three-step
process. Here’s what you need to do:
Step One: Author Agreement Form
Visit condor.cmich.edu and complete the Author
Agreement Form.
Step Two: Enter Submission Information
Click the “Submit An Item” tab, enter your CMU global ID
and password and complete the “Submission Information”
form. Click the “Next” button to continue.
Step Three: Review Submission and Upload File
Double check your information and upload your file. Click
the “Complete Submission” button.
Congratulations! Your work is done.
Library staff members now will complete the process. This
includes acquiring copyright permission from the publisher
and posting your work on CONDOR for the whole world to
see and cite as a valued scholarly and creative work. •
10
Site for more eyes
Library adds new media methods
to reach patrons
The CMU Libraries want more
patrons – students, faculty,
staff and community members
– to be aware of their services
and resources. To do that, the
Libraries have increased their
online presence.
Using new media outlets –
such as blogging and social
networks – library patrons can
explore research methods, ask
questions or find out the latest
happenings at the library. And
they can do it from the comfort
of home.
New-age history
What do you get when you mix the past with
new media? The answer: The Clarke Historical
Library’s MichiganinLetters.org.
The Clarke’s blog was launched in July and
highlights the manuscript collections of the
Clarke Historical Library in a new way. Its
purpose is to elucidate the pieces of the
Clarke’s collections.
Online visitors will find scanned images of
the Clarke’s actual letters and documents
and samples selected from the thousands of
manuscripts held by the Clarke.
Accompanying the selections are introductory
notes, edited transcriptions, annotations and
commentary on editing historical documents.
“The blog format allows the reader to
compare the original document with the
transcription and view
images that relate to the
document,” says Susan
Powers, Clarke Library
reference specialist. “People
can see what is involved in
documentary editing and
can learn about the Clarke’s
resources.”
An interactive feature
for the Web site is that
visitors are invited to
contribute comments and
to ask questions about the
selections.
“The Clarke is here to help shine a light on
history for our patrons,” Powers says. “This
Web site will be another avenue through
which we can do that.”
Libraries fan club
If you already are a fan of CMU Libraries,
there now is a way that you can make it
official. All thanks to Facebook.com.
Michael Lorenzen, head of reference
services, says he is using a new media
method to disseminate library information to
patrons – but the focus is on the students.
Walking around the library observing student
computer use, Lorenzen says he noticed a
favorite student Web site: Facebook.com.
The library now is using Facebook to get
library events and information about new
offerings, like the new multimedia study
rooms, out to the students.
In addition to learning about what is going on
at the Park, students can e-mail questions via
the social networking site.
“Any time you walk around the library
and see computer screens up, you will
see some students looking at Facebook,”
Lorenzen says. “They don’t respond as well
to traditional methods like paper flyers. So,
in addition to the traditional methods, we
thought we’d try an untraditional one. It is
just another way for us to reach out and
serve our students.”
And it seems to be working. As of
September, the library has more than
220 fans registered on the new site. •
Susan Powers, Clarke Historical Library reference specialist, says the blog
MichiganinLetters.org is a valuable tool to engage people in historical research.
11
Research from
out of the woodwork
Reference librarian shares passion with
new bibliography
Sitting in his Park Library office decorated with
woodcarvings, paintings and other works of art,
Robert Faleer discusses his recently published
bibliography.
“My annotations are designed to provide the user
with as much information as possible and to present
not only basic information about each work but also
to capture the spirit of each work as well as the
author’s intent,” says Faleer, a University Libraries’
reference librarian.
“Church Woodwork in the British Isles, 1100-1535” is
a reference tool featuring more than 900 annotated
citations. Faleer has presented and worked with misericords,
wooden church furnishings and other forms of church
woodwork in the past, but this was his first authored book.
The idea to write an annotated bibliography about church
woodwork started forming in 2005. Faleer noticed a lack of
reference guides about the subject and took it upon himself to
provide one of quality.
“This bibliography is the most comprehensive and informative
publication dealing with late Romanesque, Gothic and early
English Renaissance church woodwork currently available,”
Faleer says of the book’s value.
Researching three years in U.S. and U.K.
He spent roughly three years performing research, writing
and laying out the book, the research being the most time-consuming.
In May 2007, Faleer signed a contract with its
publisher, Scarecrow Press. During Faleer’s research journey he
spent a lot of time in libraries across the United States and the
United Kingdom. “I spent time at the Newberry Library in Chicago, the
Bodleian Library at Oxford University, the Main Library at Cambridge and
the British Library in London,” Faleer says of his travels.
Faleer says his job as a reference librarian came in handy during the
research process. His knowledge of what sources to use and where to
find sources was greatly influenced by his line of work.
Overall, Faleer says he is very pleased with how the book turned out.
In fact, he is so happy with his first book-length bibliography that he is
already thinking of writing a follow-up.
“My next book project will be an annotated bibliography dealing with floor
tombs in British churches, specifically monumental brasses and incised
stone slabs,” Faleer said.
The book was released at the end of April. Copies of “Church Woodwork
in the British Isles, 1100-1535” are available through Amazon.com,
Barnes & Noble or any major book service worldwide. •
Robert Faleer’s interest in church
woodwork resulted in his recently
published bibliography that
concentrates on late Romanesque,
Gothic and early English Renaissance
works. Faleer is a University Libraries’
reference librarian.
University Libraries
Park Library 407
Mount Pleasant, MI 48859
Non-profit Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Mount Pleasant, MI 48859
Permit No. 93
Project connects Clarke Historical Library with WCMU
Welcome the voices of Michigan storytellers into your home this year.
The Clarke Historical Library is showcasing its collection of Michigan authors and books
through a joint effort with CMU Public Broadcasting.
“The Clarke Library has collected books written by Michigan authors for a long time,” says
Frank Boles, director of the Clarke Historical Library. “We are excited to make presentations
and other public appearances by these authors available on the radio. This is a wonderful
opportunity to team up with our friends at WCMU.”
Knowledgeable and thought-provoking authors will discuss fiction, gospel music, local
history and a wide variety of other subjects. Each program will be an hour long. This project
was made possible in part by a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council.
“This is a great way to get to know Michigan authors,” says Susan McTaggart-Dennis,
WCMU program producer.
Featured presentations
Presentations by authors who live in Michigan or have written about the state will air at
8 p.m. the last Tuesday of each month on CMU Public Broadcasting radio stations
throughout the state. Presentations also will be available online at www.wcmu.org.
Upcoming authors and presentations include:
Oct. 27
• Deborah Smith Pollard
• “When the Church Becomes Your Party: Contemporary Gospel Music”
Nov. 24
• Hugh Fox
• Author of 85 published books
Dec. 29
• Larissa Niec
• “Shorn: Book One of the Sky Seekers”
Jan. 26
• Steve Miller and Andrea Billups
• “A Slaying in the Suburbs: The Tara Grant Murder” •
Michigan authors on the radio,
in your home
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