Ed Library Letter from Edthenteum

ed Library The Boston Letter from edthenteum No. 109 OCTOBER 1995 Farewell to the Last Golden Era HREE Athenreum starr members, whose combined service to the library totals nearly sixty years, will cast off for new waters during the next several months. The retirement of Eileen Higgins, Mary Kosta, and 1 orman Tucker will leave a galactic chasm within Atbenreum ranks, and one is able almost daily to feel the sands shifting under 10 1h. Beacon Street as we scramble to reassign the complicated array of duties for which they were collectively responsible. The major loss, how ever, will surely be a personal one both for their colleagues and Athenreun1 friends who hold them in such high regard. A reception to honor the retirees, held on one of the hottest evenings of the summer, attracted well over 200 people, a reflection of the great affection and respect in which they are all held. Records Officer Eileen Higgins, the dancing colleen of the third floor gallery, was the first to exit, on 31 July. She came to the Athenreum from the offices of the F.B.I. on 18 October 197 6, and began her tenure as a typist in the Catalogue Department; she was promoted to the position of Records Officer in 1977. Possibly more than any other staff member, Eileen had the closest relationships with Athenreum members, and was never, ever, too busy to stop and talk, or to clarify an increasingly complex variety of membership problems. A visit to Eileen's office could end with a cup of tea or tall tales of lost dogs and plumbers, but her interest in Athenreum readers went far beyond that of genial conversation. In tracking down proprietors who had not been heard from in years she was without peer. Her unearthing of the Livermore family saga, for example, utilized every bit of savvy she had acquired at the F.B.I., and was a sleuthing coup that will live long in the annals of the Records Office. Eileen supervised the corps of volunteers who worked so devotedly for her with good humor and a vivid imagination, working first \vith Volunteer Director Kay Justley and later 2~ Kay's successor Liz Driscoll to solidify the loyal group that is so critical to the effi ciency of the Athenreum's day-to-day business. Her tempestuous romance with the U.S. Post Office has become legend, and she is possibly the only one who fully under stands the intricacies of rubber band regulations and zip code separations. The work ers at the South Station Postal Annex will undoubted!y miss the whirlwind appear ances she made there to track down wayward mailbags. We are all delighted that Eileen will continue to make appearances at the Athenreum as a volunteer, if she can tear herself away from Barry's Deli in Wollaston, where she seems already to have become as much of a delightful presence as she was on the third floor gallery. Associate Director Norman Tucker, who departed on 31 August, arrived at the Athena!um on 13 October 1967, and was for six years a member of the Conservation Department. He became Research and Programs Officer in 1973, and was appointed Associate Director in 1990. During Norman's twenty-eight years at the Athenreum he has witnessed everything from liquid leather disasters to Prima Donna recitals, from leaking bathrooms to dire threats from the Fire Department. His bravest hour most certainly was spent in the habitually stalled Athenreum elevator with a former member of the staff who had just polished off two raw garlic sandwiches. He han dled this experience as he has handled most of his Athenreum trials, with patience, grace, and charm. Norman is probably best known as the Director's right hand man, and it is true that over the years he has been a stalwart presence in the library, whether dealing with architects, elevators, or security systems. He played a critical role in the renovation planning for the annex at 14 Beacon Street. However, the part of his job that has given him the most satisfaction is that of supervising the student interns, who come from local universities to provide vital assistance in various Athenreum departments. Nor man developed the student intern program in the mid-1970s, and today it is thriving, and a symbol of the Athenreum's commitment to sharing its resources with young scholars. Norman was Project Director for a number of exhibitions during his years at the Athenreum, the exhibition of Ogden Cadman's designs and "Americans in Spain" being two examples. His love of Spain has been nearly a lifelong one, and in 1980 the Spanish government made him a member of the Order of Isabel la Cat6lica, a prize bestowed upon those who have done outstanding work to promote Spanish culture. We assume that at least some of his retirement will be spent in the environs of Madrid, and his time at home will be occupied-at least in part-by the cultivation of his un rivaled collection of Maria Callas recordings. Mary Kosta, whose quiet presence in the Bursar's Office on the fourth floor has calmed the agitated financial waters that sometimes flood through that department, will depart at the end of October. Mary has been assistant to Bursar Bob Shields for twelve years, and during that time has been in charge of the payroll, paid all the bills, and generally freed Bob's hands to deal with thorny budget problems and issues re lated to the auditors. On paydays the staff awaits the sound of her footsteps with Athenreum retirees (left to right) Norn1an Tucker, Eileen Higgins, and Mary Kosta. Photograph by John Lannon, 1995. 4~ breathless impatience, as much for her smile and friendly words as for the check envelopes she has in band. The Bursar's Office faced a rna jor challenge when the ac counting system was dramatically streamlined and computerized during the 1980s, and Mary-who, when she came to the Athenreum, never expected to be dealing with electronic accounting problen1s such as these- quickly became computer literate and found innovative ways to adjust Athenreum accounts to the new system. Al though most library members never have occasion to deal with Mary directly, they may be assured that all of them benefit from her intelligent administration of com plex Athenreum financial matters; the staff, who know her best, are quite familiar with her talents, and the personal loss of her departure will affect every one of us. Many members have already made the acquaintance of Erin Fitts, who has taken over Eileen Higgins' duties, and Anne Schmidel, who will replace Mary Kosta, will join the staff in October. These, and other staff changes, will be featured in the next issue of A thenceum Items. High Tech on the Phone Lines We are pleased to report that the changes in the Athenreum's telephone system, promised in an earlier issue of Items, have actually come to pass. The streamlined communications system was activated in July, and readers should already notice a decrease in the number of busy signals they encounter when phoning the library. In August the voice mail system was activated on all staff telephone lines, enabling in coming callers to leave a direct message for someone who is not at his or her desk, instead of depending on those pink message slips that often got lost in the breezes. Those who are calling the Athenreum reservation line (617-227-8112) should pay attention to the vocal instructions of Events Coordinator Monica Higgins, who will talk you through the new reservation system. The Twenty-First Century Fund Quietly Moves Ahead Trustees G. d'Andelot Belin and Bayard Henry, co-chairs of the Twenty-First Century Fund Committee, report encouraging progress in the con1mittee's efforts to define the Athenreum's capital needs and identify ways to fund them. The Li brary's endowment must be increased to strengthen current, and essential new, operational activities, and funding must be found to provide housing for books in 101h Beacon and renovations in our new space in the 14 Beacon Street Annex. We hope to provide an automated catalogue system to make our holdings more easily accessible and expand our conservation department to keep these holdings healthy and viable. Several large foundation grants have enabled work to begin on converting the complete Athenreum printed collection to machine readable form? and after a year and a half we expect to have an on-line catalogue up and runnmg. Early stages of operational building and conservation improvements have ~5 also found generous financial support through gifts of cash and securities and various trusts and bequests. Please ask for the Library's planned giving booklet for further information. In due course n1embers \viii be approached for much needed support in helping to fund our capital needs. This crucial support will ensure that as the Library enters the next millennium and its own third century, it can continue to offer the community the fine services and resources that members cherish today. Tea Time and the New Tea Card The tradition of Wednesday afternoon tea will resume on 11 October, from 3: 30 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. Chloe Turner and her crew will provide tea and the usual sweet delicacies to members and their guests each Wednesday through 29 May 1996. The contribution is $10.00, but this year we are offering a special service that we think will appeal to regular tea goers. For $50.00, a tea ticket for six teas may be purchased, which will give you one free tea for every six you attend.

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