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This website is an informal communication forum for staff members of the University of Oregon Library Staff Association. Contents and opinions expressed herein or on linked personal or external pages are those of individual authors and do not represent official statements, policies, or positions of the Library, the University of Oregon, Oregon University System, or State of Oregon.

ExpA&AAtriA&AAtes of Library, the Musical

Herman Melville wrote a book called Moby-Dick. You've heard of it, it's about a whale. Anyway, if you haven't read it you should read it real quick before you read this article because this article is like, basically, the same thing.

It's about a sub-sub librarian and if you've read Moby-Dick then you'll have a better understanding of what a sub-sub is, as well as some other things. The only copies of Moby-Dick which our library carries are two which were published on the 75th anniversary of the book's publishing. They are old and beaten up, after all 2001 is the 150th anniversary of the book, so i guess we haven't bought a new copy in 75 years.

Anyway, Sub-Sub Librarians. If we were to use that term today it would probably have a different meaning, such as, I, a library tech, am a sub librarian, and Connor Dudley, a library student A&AAssistant, is a sub-sub librarian. While he is a sub-sub in that sort of way, he is a also a sub-sub in a 21st-century Ishmael sort of way because you can say things to him like, "that movie was so American," and, rather than simply admonish you for being pretentious, he will respond, "'It's alright! It's okay! You've got something to live for now!'" Which to most people is completely incoherent, but to the average sub-sub it is pure genius.

Last year I went to a performance at the Arena Theatre which starred AAA Library Student Sub-Sub Connor Dudley. This was before he expatriated to France in hopes of attending Le Coq, the internationally acclaimed clown college/guild. The performance was a musical about love and sex and mistaken identity transvestites or something that was probably written in the late-seventies by someone who really liked musicals from the late-sixties.

Before my eyes this eccentric, but otherwise seemingly mild-mannered Library Student A&AAssistant II was belting out showtunes and dancing his heart out in the lead role. His character was one that underwent a transformation from scholar to warrior to lover, and each manifestation and its transition was superbly, convincingly played (as much as a musical can be convincingly played). And the audience all felt the Dudley magic -- all of the write-ups in the Emerald throughout the year of Connor Dudley performances, as overstated as they seemed, were actually understated.

Anyone who has seen one of his performances has seen that has the talent to reach that rare polished point of familiar connection with an audience. You would never expect it if you were to pass him on the street; you don't even expect it at first when you see him on the stage (and if you've met him, you often don't even recognize him at first when you see him on the stage). He pulls you in that way, seeming vulnerable, to make the audience vulnerable. Then he quickly molds the audience's perception as his character develops. In Durang/Durang the audience saw that he could develop a character even if it had no coherent speaking part whatsoever.

One day shortly after that musical's run, Connor said to me, "Doug, you know what? We need to talk to Ed [Teague, Architecture and Allied Arts Library Head] about getting funding for 'Library the Musical'."

"But Connor," I responded, "how do we overcome the obvious obstacle of developing a plot good enough that the New York Times won't call it 'Library the Snoozical'."

He tested me back by shaking his head, as if to say, "Doug, look around you at all the potential drama . . . ". He then expounded on a plot so intense, so gripping that ...

Now, before I get into the plot and its development, since no one knows it from start to finish save for a few member of AAA staff and Susan Hoyt and Mark Mimnaugh, lifetime honorary AAA staves), I have to point out that it was not unusual for Connor to make a statement starting with, "Doug, you know what? we need to talk to Ed [Teague, AAA Library Head] about . . ."

There was, "Doug, you know what? we need to talk to Ed [Teague, AAA Library Head] about acquiring worker-monkeys to go into the stacks and retrieve books." "Doug, you know what? We need to talk to Ed [Teague, AAA Library Head] about designating a section in AAA Storage to be the AAA Storage reading room, with a full-time staff member running the wet-bar." "Doug, you know what? We really need to talk to Ed about acquiring a AAA Golf Cart to go over and retrieve storage books from Knight. A worker-monkey could drive it, dressed up in a red blazer with a bow tie and a hat . . . maybe he could have a horn."

The golf cart idea was the epitome of Connor's library dreams, actually, because it involved both AAA storage and worker monkeys. He was quite transfixed on any project relating to AAA Storage or the AAA Thesis collection storage. And I believe that it is a misconception that his willingness to jump at any task over in the Knight Library Dungeons simply resulted of his wish to smoke a cigarette on the way over there. In fact, his passion for the less well-lit areas of the library ran so deep that I would be willing to bet that, before he came up with Library the Musical, his idea was for, "AAA Storage: The Worker Monkey Musical". Yes -- that idea was undoubtedly the prototype in his mind before giving in to what he knew would be popular demand.

Item:In 1993 a group of eastern Oregon adolescent hoodlums, after imbibing heavily near an eastern Oregon golf course, decided that it would be a good idea to steal a bunch of golf carts and go joy-riding in the middle of a midnight rainstorm. The lone voice of Connor Dudley calmly attempted to dissuage the primal outburst.

Connor always seemed personally offended when books were out of order in AAA Storage or when something was lost down there; it took a considerable amount of diplomacy to keep him from waging all-out war on CPS when they began the ORUA5 to ORUM relocation project without inviting him to be a part of it.

And worker monkeys. He actually did the research to find out what it would cost to get the right breed that could probably be trained to retrieve books. Beth [Gibbs, AAA LSA3 superstar], consoled him on the worker monkey issue by taking the "Harry and David" logo of a little furry creature (a monkey or a bear or something) wearing a red blazer, bow tie and bell-hop hat, blowing it up and writing "orua5" on it. It really made connor's day when I convinced Erik [Dahl, AAA Access Services Manager] to let us put a copy of Cubbie the Storage Bear on the door to storage.

It would seem that the worker monkey fixation lay a bit deeper than the intrigue with the scary rooms at the knight library. When we were working on Library the Musical one day at his house he stopped the music and said to me, "Doug, I think that when people like us are in Jobs like this, we need to get obsessed with things like library the musical to keep our sanity. Others see it as insane, but it is really just the opposite." I think that in a lot of ways he felt like a worker monkey and had a lot of difficulty ignoring the fact that he was working a monotonous job and, if he followed societal norms would continue in that path.

For an artist of any sort, whether a singer in a musical or a classical cellist trying to practice 8 hours/day while working to pay the rent while keeping up with the eighteen year old hot-shots, the fear of workermonkeyness is a difficult reality to cope with sometimes. And undoubtedly, Library the Musical for us at least was utter catharsis.

So, the complete plot of Library the Musical is as follows. And let me preface by saying his is the first time it is being shared with those outside of the initiated circle.

A young go-getter, Ellis A., who is seeking fame and fortune enters a massive University as a Freshman paying full tuition. He finds himself out of sorts in the hustle and bustle of college life until one day he realizes that all he needs to instill a sense of stability in his life is the devoted company of a Freshman Girl. Conveniently, a moment later, he happens to see the Girl of his dreams walking down the street and follows her singing the ballad, "Freshman Girl,/Invigorate my world./I'm a Freshman Boy,/Grown weary of the void/In my life/of loneliness,/and sorrow; but in you I see tomorrow!"

He follows her into the library, a place he has never been, and decides that, if he were to work at the library, he may have the chance to meet the Freshman Girl.

Employment at the library is not what he was expecting however and the void in his life deepens. As a self-defense mechanism he becomes obsessed with Library procedures, which become the only source of stability in his life. As his knowledge of library procedures advances the reference librarian takes notice of him and slowly begins to fall for him -- feelings which are requited and reinforced when he learns that she pulls in 30K/year, which is enough to buy at least a hundred candy bars every night.

Scandal ensues but everyone lives happily ever after as the Library Hierarchy tumbles and love triumphs over all.

"So Doug, you know what? We have the music for Library the Musical all written and recorded, but only a few people have verbally agreed to sing and dance on the Chorus Line. The person we were hoping to be the reference librarian has been too drunk to make it to any rehearsals, and Mark Mimnaugh is demanding a $10,000 honorarium which he says is not negotiable since he is hot and in demand right now. What are we going to do?"

The person whom we had to be our reference librarian truly was too drunk to make to it any of the rehearsals, but in a lucky, remarkably magical turn of events, the amazing Susan Hoyt stepped in and performed her heart out with us on just a week's notice -- she really gave it her all, and because she was a part of the AAA team for so long, she really was the perfect fit. We grabbed Mark Mimnaugh from CPS because we needed someone to be totally whacked-out patron. I played the cello and Erik played the tamobourine and so we had the appendages to the beast, we needed a backbone, a chorus. It took a lot of legwork and kissing babies, but we ended up recruiting more than fifty-percent of the AAA Student Staff (just about everyone who was in town in that week after finals week). This rowdy bunch pretended to be real patrons, doing everything that real patrons do, from stealing books and eating sandwiches they were hiding in their coats, to tearing pages out of current periodicals -- and then! To top it all off, Beth, Collins, Jessica and Tennille, burst on to the scene for the spectacular chorus-line ending, choreographed by Beth Gibbs.

Blah blah blah -- you saw the performance and everybody lived happily ever after. But there is still one mystery . . .

why, in spite of all of the previous Gonzo performances being caught on video was this one not caught on video? Could it be that, in one intense conversation the AAA Library staff agreed to set their resolve to have there be only one, brilliant, guerilla performance? Could it be that Connor and I bribed everyone who had a camera to leave it at home. (The rumors that we threatened anyone are totally blown out of proportion.) Could it be that we actually wanted nothing to survive from this single, cathartic performance -- nothing but the fleeting memory so allegorically tied to the catharsis needed everyday to retain sanity in the work place? The call for subsequent performances could not be answered -- as much as we would have liked to have shared it with all who were still stuck at ALA. We knew what he had and what we had put into it, and we needed it to reinforce for ourselves how fleeting moments like this must be in our lives.

And now Connor is in Lyons, Mark Mimnaugh is in Los Angeles, I am in Portland, and I am not a good enough writer to think of some poetic melancholy statement to point out the tragedy of it all, but I am sure you get the picture. Perhaps I am too anxious to get melancholy about the past because i am too anxious to get onto the next project, which will be:

An Ideal Addition To T.V. Snacks!

Library Staff Association Holiday Potluck

Holiday cheer abounded at the LSA Holiday Potluck on Wednesday, December 12. The Knight Library Browsing Room was beautifully decorated with Christmas lights and greenery on the tables and around the windows. Library staff demonstrated their culinary prowess with a tasty abundance of dishes and sumptuous desserts. During the potluck, a raffle was held as a fundraiser for the Library Faculty Professional Development Fund. Prizes included baked goods and two Lone Goose Press broadsides donated by Sandy Tilcock. Thank you to everyone for participating, and to the Social Committee for all their hard work in making this potluck a success!

Scenes from the potluck:

A little of this, and a little of that...

Helen (Spiller) Rounds, a former employee of Graphic Arts, joins us at the potluck

Members of Music, Media and Mechanics (Systems) give a hearty toast

Cara, Faye, and Shirien enjoy the Potluck

Students from the newspaper microfilming projects and the Science computer lab smile for the camera--from left to right: David Medeiros, Amy Merriman, Annalisa Gumich, Tony Vu, Robin Powell-Herbold, Daniel Bissell, and Rachel Sitner

See the rest of the pictures from the potluck

--Stephanie Michel

FROM THE FACT FILE

Art Appreciation

Once you've identifed the ten art works, submit your answers to Fact File. Answers must be submitted by January 25. The library staff member whose submission has the most correct answers will win a prize, courtesy of the Library Staff Association. In the event of a tie, a random drawing will be held to determine one winner. The answers, and the name of our winner, will be announced in the February issue of LSA News

Diversity Doings

by Rose Thomas

Diversity Events Calendar
Special Edition: MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR CELEBRATION EVENTS JANUARY 2002

"Make a career of humanity....and you will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country and a finer world to live in."

-- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS IN EUGENE & SPRINGFIELD

The LSA House Committee would appreciate it if someone would donate a table or floor lamp to be used in the staff lounge. Many people read during their lunch hour and would appreciate better lighting. If you have a lamp that you'd like to part with, please contact one of the following: Betsy Kelly 6-0762; Brandy Todd 6-4565; Susan Stumpf 6-1957; or Susan Mincks 6-1937. One of them would be happy to help you.

--Submitted by Susan Mincks

Do you know something we don't?

We love to tell about new and amazing things our members have done--awards, new babies, accomplishments, commendations, you know, things people are proud of. If you know something great about one of your peers, something they would like others to know and we'd like to know, won't you drop us a line so we can share?

Thanks,
The Newsletter Committee

Welcome to new staff!

• Rick Peterson is the new Search Clerk in AcS/Circulation, filling to job vacated by Carrie Yates. Rick is a recent UO grad from Beaverton, who worked in Circulation as a student prior to taking this job.
• Kent Neal is the new ILL Clerk in AcS/CPS, filling the job Erica Rivera left behind when she took over the Orbis position vacated by Mark Mimnaugh. Kent worked in CPS as a student prior to taking this job.
• Doug Jenkins...who we just said goodbye to when he took off his AAA Search Clerk hat last month, is really still with us wearing a different hat. Doug is now the only staff member working in the Portland Architecture Library, which is in fact in Portland.
• Mandy Garcia is new in the Beach Lab in Materials Conservation. Mandy worked as a student for several years in that same unit, and just graduated with a degree in graphic design. She is taking the job held briefly by Sarah Baldwin and previously by Catherine Heising, and is currently working on lots of rehousing of materials, especially from AAA.
• Jeannette Lochbaum will be starting Monday in the Office of the Librarian. She will be taking over the position vacated by Salli-Jo Osborn.

Sangria at the Parador: trip to Spain

In Dali's hometown of Figueres he personally established a museum of his work full of the amusing and bizarre. In the Mae West room the actress's face has been recreated using a fireplace as a nose, paintings for eyes, curtains for blonde hair, and a red inflatable chair for her lips. One climbs to a viewing platform to capture the sum of these facial elements! A car in the garden courtyard (supposedly Al Capone's) is coin-operated: put a coin in and water washes all over the manikins seated inside!

The most notable sites while driving through Spain are the frequent castles of variable sizes on nearly any hill of substantial height. Some have been renovated and some are slowly decaying. All are spectacular.

Traveling south we stayed in a couple of noteworthy beach towns to swim in the Mediterranean. The coastal weather in early October was in the low 80s. in Benicasim (a popular resort of the Spanish) we stayed in the Hotel Voramar, built in 1930 and right on the sea. On the return trip we stayed in Sitges, another popular sea resort and close enough to Barcelona airport for even an early morning departure. The best food we ate was in Sitges, both seafood and non-seafood.

Southern Spain is covered with citrus groves, olive trees, and other crops. In the far southern region acres of crops are covered with plastic over wooden structures. In many areas the hillsides are covered with these so that you cannot see the ground in any direction. We were told that they have tripled their crop production using this method.

Besides Lonely Planet and Frommers we also used Alastair Sawday's Special Places to Stay: Spain. Some of the best accommodations we found were from this guide. We stayed in a rural home in the middle of an olive grove and near Granada we stayed high in the mountains with a faraway view of the Mediterranean. My favorite hotel overlooked the town of Toledo. Built in 1584 it had been the summer residence of a Toledo Cardinal. Supposedly El Greco often visited the property for inspiration. Toledo was also my favorite Spanish town. Full of monumental medieval buildings, it is built upon a hill around which the Rio Tajo flows. But sadly the people are moving to the new suburbs and leaving this old city. We had a puzzling experience at the Biblioteca de Castilla-La Mancha here. We wanted to visit to see what a Spanish library was like. Upon entering we were stopped by two security women. We were told we couldn't go in. John spoke with them (in Spanish) and asked if it was a private library. He was told no but that it was only for the people of Toledo. After ten minutes of discussion they finally agreed to allow us to enter (mainly because he told them I worked in a U.S. library and just wanted to walk through). Possibly users are continually disrupted by tourists but it remains unclear why the door was guarded.

The Alhambra, with its beautiful gardens and architecture and of course all of its history, is an important destination while in Spain. In the marble-floored courtyard of the palace, we were walking around the fountain when two very tiny but lively kittens came skidding across the marble floor in our direction, before vanishing into a hedge. Spain has many more cats "running at large" than dogs. They are everywhere, train stations, parks, and some are tame but most are wild.

Of course one cannot visit Spain without swinging on windmills. We visited the ones near Toledo at Consuegra (currently featured in a Lexus car commercial). The castle was closed for renovation but the 7 or so windmills have been restored and we met the wine seller featured on a Rick Steve's video who lets people walk to the top inside one of them. Actually they are post-Cervantes, only 200-300 years old but still a wonderful windy place to visit.

Spain is affordable, it was about thirty dollars per night to stay at the Cardinal's summer place in Toledo (and that included breakfast) and easy to travel by train if one doesn't want to drive. Advice: never drive in Madrid, always take a train. The Sangria, Estrella beer, and olives are always predictably good. We had some good and bad Paella. And if you can't afford to stay at the local parador you can still enjoy Sangria on their restaurant balcony as we did several nights with a beautiful moonlit view of Toledo!

Have YOU been someplace interesting? Vacations, conferences, and other outings are all fair game. Send us a brief report for publication in the next newsletter. Thanks!

Check out this month's review: The Brothers K, reviewed by Lara Nesselroad, plus a couple of two-bit movie reviews due to a month or so of unusual movie-viewing volume for Lara.

Dues Campaign Wrap-up

In case you were wondering, we rated 92 dues-paying members this year. A few less than last year (102), but still a very respectable number. Thanks for the support!

We are especially grateful for the many volunteers who helped with our collection efforts, for the few steadfast fans who continue to donate so generously beyond the basic dues amount, and for the matching funds provided by Library Administration.

Ways and Means Committee

~ Gracias mucho! Vielen Dank! Merci beaucoup! Grazie molto! ~