Dear Jim,
Today, I believe, is your last official day as our State Librarian.
You will always be Oregon's State Librarian Emeritus to me.
For years you've been sending the word out to our library system about
the annual January William Stafford Birthday Celebrations I organize.
Because of your efforts, libraries all over this state have joined in.
For the past year and a half, you've supported my efforts to bring
poetry to Oregon libraries large and small, from Rockaway to Baker
City, from Christmas Valley to Hermiston. A Poet Laureate couldn't
ask for a better partner!
This past year you helped me support Tavern Books' Community Project,
which intends to place a poetry collection in any small rural or
tribal library that requests one. Thanks to your help, Tavern Books
is delivering those collections to grateful librarians.
For years and years, you've been the leader and defender of our Oregon
library system. Our libraries. I've been privileged to visit many of
them, and each time I walk into an Oregon library, I'm struck by the
role it plays in its community. Our libraries are the hubs of their
communities.
On February 15th, at the event honoring you at Portland's Central
Library, I'll be in the front row cheering. And I'll be only one of
many.
Thank you, Jim. I thank you for all the Oregonians who benefit from
their public libraries. I thank you for Dylan and Elena, my
grandchildren who haunt the Hollywood Library in their NE Portland
neighborhood. I thank you for every Oregon library fan.
With admiration,
Paulann
To celebrate Jim Scheppke's service as Oregon State Librarian from 1991 to 2011
Jim didn't want a traditional retirement party. "Too many greenhouse gas emissions, not to mention unwanted calories," he said. So instead we are having a Virtual Retirement Party - carbon neutral and heart healthy!
To celebrate, Jim wants all his colleagues and associates to post a good wish, photo or a memory to this blog. You can even ask Jim a question. Jim will reply to every post! (Jim will be the only person able to comment on messages after they are posted).
And while you're at it, Jim hopes you will consider a donation in his honor to his favorite charity, our own Talking Book and Braille Services.
Please submit your message before Jim retires on December 30, 2011. Include your name at the end of your message.
To celebrate, Jim wants all his colleagues and associates to post a good wish, photo or a memory to this blog. You can even ask Jim a question. Jim will reply to every post! (Jim will be the only person able to comment on messages after they are posted).
And while you're at it, Jim hopes you will consider a donation in his honor to his favorite charity, our own Talking Book and Braille Services.
Please submit your message before Jim retires on December 30, 2011. Include your name at the end of your message.
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Dear Paulann: Thanks so much for coming to my party and for your wonderful remarks. One of my greatest privileges as State Librarian was to help to revive the Oregon Poet Laureate program and to work with two wonderful Poets Laureate, you and Lawson Inada. What a joy that has been! Both of you embraced the job with such enthusiasm and passion, and both of you made libraries a special venue for your work. You have both created a tradition for the Oregon Poet Laureate program that I hope will last for decades to come.
ReplyDeleteNow I look forward to working with you on the William Stafford Centennial in 2014 which can be the greatest celebration of poetry our state has every seen! I can hardly wait. I will do my part by making sure that most, if not all, of our libraries, undertake a community reading project built around Stafford and his legacy.
Thanks again Paulann for being such a great friend and a great Oregon Poet Laureate.