LSA News

No. 95, February 2009

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Index The "Room 038" Project by Ann Miller Under Fire: Living on a Border Kibbutz in War Time by Jennifer Rowan The Governor's Food Drive Inspires a Sustenance Sale by Elizabeth Duell The Evolving Censorship of Evolutionary Thought by Dean Walton Willing to Serve by Rose Layton Warm Rewards for the Hardy From the Fact File Events of Interest

Winter weather sets the mood for the holiday potluck photo by Terry McQuilkin

The "Room 038" Project
by Ann Miller

Room 38 stacks

Down in the basement Room 38 holds cataloged books, stored runs of periodicals, laptop bags, a dead chair or two and shelves and shelves of partially cataloged items. It is those partially cataloged materials which make up the "Room 038 Project"

My admittedly brief detective work has revealed that these have been floating around the library for quite some time. A question about them seems to generate groan from my colleagues. I gather that in the late summer of 1993 they were all provided with brief bibliographic and order records and moved into Room 38. The approximately 5,000 volumes run the gamut from mid-twentieth century murder mysteries and young adult fiction to Kenyan government documents and runs of small press periodicals. Titles like The Doctor's First Murder, Distributed Leisure, Grammar-land and The Wages of Sin leap out at you from the shelves. And all of them must move again.

The need to evaluate, catalog, or withdraw, and move those "partial cats" as they are known, from Room 38 was the first project identified for me when I arrived last summer. Just moving them was not an option we wanted to consider; we needed to address them once and for all. As a first step we reviewed the entire group and removed those too brittle or damaged to retain. Some of these will be sent on to the book sale, others were in such poor shape that recycling or discarding was the only option.

(story continued)

Under Fire: Living on a Border Kibbutz in War Time
by Jennifer Rowan

And perhaps, these things never happened. And perhaps, I never rose at dawn to work in the fields with my own hands; never, on the long days of harvest, did I give my voice to song. Never did I make myself pure in the blue water of my Kinneret. Oh, my Kinneret! Perhaps I only dreamed a dream? Ra'hel 1890-1931
	1973 view of Kibbutz Hanita looking northeast (border with Lebanon to left of frame)

It's the first Saturday evening of the new year, and I've just logged in to the BBC World News online to watch Israeli ground forces moving into Gaza; Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is addressing the media: "…it will not be short and it will not be easy…we are determined… Israel will continue to fight until we have achieved peace and tranquility… "

I am bouncing up and down on the hard, wooden bench seat in the back of a moving canvas-covered truck. At each switchback, when the truck turns on its descent, I can see the sharp edge of a new moon over the hilltop. It is cold, it is dark, and all of the riders are silent and bleary-eyed. We are mostly young, in our late teens and early twenties, and we are on our way to work in the banana and citrus groves. The men are dropped off first in the bananas. You have to be strong to handle the machetes and balance the weight of each loaded stem. The hands of the men who work in 'bananot' are always stained with the black sap. The truck, now carrying only women, continues to 'pardess', literally paradise, referring to the groves of lemons, grapefruit, oranges and clementines. It is early September, so we are picking grapefruit. Yaacov, the pardess foreman, assigns us each to a row ("Jeni, at ta'avdi po le sham!"). We each sling a great canvas sack over a shoulder and lean wooden ladders up against the billowing branches, climbing high enough to reach, pick and fill our sacks with heavy round fruit, again and again, slowly filling the great wooden crates at the end of the row. The sky brightens. Doves flutter through the trees. Yaacov roars by on his Ford Ferguson tractor to check our progress. In another hour, it will be time to go to the field kitchen for our first meal of the day. We've been up since 4am, and this afternoon, we have another four hours of Hebrew lessons after lunch.

When I tell people that I lived on a kibbutz in Israel for eight months when I was 19, their first reaction is to say (in a tone of astonishment), "I didn't know you were Jewish!" And the conversation inevitably turns into an entirely too-complicated set of explanations and efforts to ensure that they go away satisfied, while I am left to again ponder the question and this interlude in my past. Let me say, then (no answer is simple and this may not be the answer), that I was a disaffected Catholic, that I was young and bored with college, had read and loved Michener's The Source, was enamored of ancient history and archaeology, was of the same generation as children of Holocaust survivors and idealized without question the creation of the State of Israel. It is certainly true that as the oldest of four, I was impatient to develop an identity separate from my family.

(story continued)

The Governor's Food Drive Inspires a Sustenance Sale
by Elizabeth Duell

It's often been said that our society revolves around food. We meet with people over lunch or coffee. We invite people over for dinner and give chocolates as a "thank you".

We also know how hard it is to continually make good choices about our food. Even the daily mundane task of feeding ourselves and our families can be difficult after long days of work and childcare. The decisions of how to feed ourselves and our children in a healthy way can be overwhelming. Often it just seems easier to stop and get a bag of burgers and be done with it. But maybe we should stop a minute and think about the luxury of going to the store to buy groceries or dropping by the various fast food options. Some of us know how it feels to open the cupboard and realize that only the children will eat that night. Some of us even know how it feels to send them to bed hungry.

Every month, Food for Lane County gives out almost 19,000 food boxes and almost 7,000 emergency food boxes. The combination of those two would provide a food box for approximately half the population of Springfield. One-third of the people who benefit from these life-lines are children, and almost half of the households getting these food boxes have at least one working adult.

It's no secret that the economy is bad and that Oregon is in the top five states with the highest unemployment. Recessions hit those who are most vulnerable. The people who need these food boxes are not so different than we are. In fact, some of them are state employees too.

Last year during the Governor's Food Drive, the Knight Library gathered $75 and 73 pounds of food. Since every dollar is the equivalent to 5 pounds of food, our total contribution was 448 pounds of food. This year, the challenge is to raise our total to 600 pounds of food.

Here is how we can help:

• We can bring in canned food from our cupboard to be put in someone else's cupboard. The food donation barrel will be in the Library Administration office starting February 1.

• We can donate money. Every $10 is another 3-5 day supply of food for a family through the Oregon Food Bank. Sheila Gray in the Libraries Administration office has been kind enough to agree to accept donations. Please make out your checks to Food for Lane County.

• We can support the Libraries' Governor's Food Drive event by making food for sale and/or coming and buying the delicious dishes donated to our local event, the Sustenance Sale.

There are other Governor's State Employee Food Drive events scheduled around campus, but the Libraries' event is the Sustenance Sale. It will take place on Monday, February 16, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Knight Library Browsing Room. Volunteers are requested to bring yummy (sweet or savory; healthy or not) individual-sized portions for the Sale. Vegan or vegetarian items are especially needed. No need to limit oneself to the traditional cookies or sweets; items can be anything from homemade soup to canned garden veggies to chocolate chip cookies! We are looking for all kinds of food. The concept is for people to make or bring foods in serving-size packages. Food Drive volunteers will price and organize the offerings, and people can then come in and buy their take-out lunch. We get the fun of trying our co-workers' special recipes or favorite foods while making a donation to a great cause.

If you are bringing in food, please make sure it is in the Browsing Room by 10:30 a.m. Please note somewhere if it is vegan or vegetarian, contains nuts, or anything else you think important to know (e.g. "12-Alarm Chili Warning").

If you would like to make or bring a culinary contribution for the Sustenance Sale or have any questions about the Governor's State Employee Food Drive, please email Elizabeth Duell or phone her at 6-1883.

The Evolving Censorship of Evolutionary Thought
by Dean Walton

Darwin is known for his writings and innovative thought on evolution. He was a keen observer. He was a poet. His published works concerned many topics. And in one case, a publication of his concerning evolution was banned. It was added in 1817 to the Roman Index, also known as the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, the official list of books censured by the Catholic Church. This work stayed on the list until the list was abandoned in 1966.

Many people might think that the above was about Charles Darwin, instead it's about his grandfather Erasmus Darwin. The controversy surrounding this lesser known Darwin and his publications was obviously not a singular event in the Darwin family. Two generations later, Charles, Dr. Erasmus Darwin's more famous grandson and author of the Origin of the Species, would also have his work banned by censors. The Darwin family may be unusual in that more than one family member had a scientific work banned, in both cases for ideas concerning how ancestors may influence their offspring.

(story continued)

Willing to Serve
by Rose Layton

It seemed like a simple enough decision. By agreeing to serve for a local Food for Lane County pantry I knew I'd be doing what I love: working with food and feeding other people in need. I'd worked an earlier round of volunteering for FFLC a few years back at a kitchen at Kelly Middle School—chopping fresh vegetables for giant vats of soup and repacking rescued food from restaurants into smaller portions for family-sized meals. "I know food. I think I can do this."

I was very nervous when showed up for my first day of orientation at the food pantry—as I can sometimes be when learning a new task or meeting new people. I stepped into the building and into a whirl of activity. I was warmly greeted, quickly accepted and introduced to the other servers, and given an overview of how the food pantry works. Soon I was relaxed and informed enough to be given a station to attend as the pantry guests arrived.

Organized through the Eugene Faith Center church, our food pantry is open two Thursday afternoons a month to all who come between the hours of 2-6 p.m. Who qualifies to use the pantry? Anyone who will fill out the application, meets the specific requirements, and lives within the neighborhood of the pantry.

Housed in a converted trailer, the FFLC pantry is set up like a mini-grocery store with items organized on shelving carts and in refrigerator cases and freezers. Most items are familiar staples in any household pantry: canned soups and stews, pastas, rice, beans, cereal, canned vegetables and canned fruits. There is also fresh produce gleaned from local gardens, milk and dairy products, eggs, meats, and baked breads, muffins, and cakes from area stores. Frozen meats, fish, vegetables, and entrees rescued from area restaurants and UO dining halls rounds out the options available for selection. Even pets are frequently helped with a supply of cat or dog food. Each guest wheels a small grocery cart along the aisle, making selections based on their dietary needs and the size of their household. Bagging their choices as they go, taking only what they need or can use, they wheel along until they are done. Most clients leave with a small grocery cart of supplies that will last them a couple of weeks. The pantry's servers then wheel the grocery cart outside to load the bags into their waiting car or bike cart. Or some clients have no vehicle, but live in the neighborhood, and we help them double-bag their groceries so they can make their way home on foot. As each client leaves, they almost always turn to say a "goodbye and thank you".

A year later, I am warmly reflecting on rewards of seeing our donation dollars to Food for Lane County help feed our community. Each month I see an ever-increasing demand for food for those in need: the father with the large family who has recently been laid off from a good job, the mother hit     (story continued)

Warm Rewards for the Hardy
by Jen Lindsey; photos by Terry McQuilkin

The bountiful buffet

The LSA Holiday Potluck is one of those things that are reassuring in their sameness — every year, we have delicious food, lovely decorations, and warm fellowship. This year was no different — we just had to work a little harder for the same result.

The third week of December brought a flurry of snow and ice down to blanket much of Oregon in a winter wonderland. Now, library staff are hardy folk (much like the postal service), and we trudged on in to keep the library going during this trying time. On Tuesday, December 16, we all brought in the potluck dishes that we had lovingly prepared the night before. The Social Committee began setting up for the event, checking every so often for the party supply truck that was supposed to be headed our way to deliver the plates and linens to complete the setup. Unfortunately, the supplies never came, as the roads were too dangerous for their delivery drivers to navigate. (Author's note: Wusses!)

So this year's potluck became a "bring your own" in every way possible. Each department scrambled to scrounge up any extra plates (paper or otherwise), utensils, and cups so we could all partake of the bounty. In my opinion, the potluck was just as much fun this year as it was in years past. Watching the snow fall, listening to the music, and chatting with friends is always a great way to start the holiday season.

(click here for more photos from the Holiday Potluck)

From the Fact File
by Terry McQuilkin

Seven has long had a special significance in folklore, literature and most of the world's great religions. There are seven days in a week. The Harry Potter books are filled with references to seven. It is often a lucky number in games of chance, but a seventeenth century bonded laborer held to seven years of indentured servitude might not feel so lucky.

It isn't so much luck that you'll need to complete our contest, but just a bit of memory: See if you can recall the uses of the number seven in the things described in the clues that follow.

1. This Nathaniel Hawthorne novel, completed in 1851, explores the themes of class, guilt, deception, and atonement. Like the novelist himself, the characters must confront the sins of their ancestors.


2. This very old list of awe-inspiring creations was revised a number of times, but in one version includes a pyramid, a botanical park, a couple of statues, a temple, a mausoleum, and a lighthouse.


3. Whether or not you would have been able to recall the individual names Bashful, Doc, Dopey, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy and Sneezy, you should be able to remember the collective appellation of this sevensome, even if you haven't read the fairy tale nor seen the 1937 movie in which the group appears.


4. This group of academic disciplines that in the Middle Ages were divided into two groups: the Trivium (grammar, rhetoric and logic) and the Quadrivium (geometry, arithmetic, music and astronomy).


5. This conflict came soon after the War of the Austrian Succession and involved all of Europe's main powers. It spilled over into North America, where it is referred to as the French and Indian War.


6. This group of seven, whose name comes from Greek mythology, includes Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Radcliffe, Smith, Vassar, and Wellesley.


7. In this 1960 Western, directed by John Sturges, a band of hired gunmen protect a Mexican town from outlaws. The film included a host of famous actors, including Yul Brynner, Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, and James Coburn. For extra credit, name the Akira Kurosawa film from which this one was adapted.


8. Usually appearing in print as a single capital letter and an Arabic numeral, this assemblage consists of the finance ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.


9. This heptad, in Christian tradition, is a set of serious no-no's; it also is the name given to a book series by Robin Wasserman, a ballet by Kurt Weil, and a song by the Traveling Wilburys.


10. This George Axelrod play was premiered in 1952, and appeared three years later in its film version, directed by Billy Wilder and starring Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell.

Staff and faculty of the UO Libraries are invited to submit their answers to Fact File by February 20. The reader whose submission contains highest number of correct answers will receive a gift certificate worth $10.00 toward purchases at the UO Bookstore, courtesy of the Library Staff Association. In the event of a tie, a single winner will be selected by lot.

The inaguration of President Barack Obama viewed live by library staffers in Studio A
photo by Dean Walton

Events of Interest

As well as featuring upcoming LSA events, we'd like to get the word out about events staff are involved in that might be of interest to co-workers. If you'd like the world, or at least your co-workers, to know about something cool coming up, please email Harriett Smith or lsaweb.

LSA EVENTS

Tuesday, March 31, 2009: The LSA Spring Sale will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Knight Library Browsing Room. We're looking for someone to donate a wonderful treat for the Raffle. If you would be willing to cook up something special to be raffled, please email Pam DeLaittre or phone her at 6-1826.

NON-LSA EVENTS

Monday, February 9, 2009: The Forgotten Films Series returns from 8-9:30 p.m. in Proctor 41, Knight Library. Screening will be a selected mix of instructional, industrial, narrative, and experimental cinematic delights from the UO Libraries' collection of old 16-mm films. The event is free and open to the public.

Monday, February 16, 2009: Support the Governor's State Employee Food Drive and Food for Lane County at the Sustenance Sale from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Knight Library Browsing Room. Pick up a lunch to go from a choice of scrumptious offerings. Or drop off a check or some canned food in Library Administration any time during the month of February. See story above for further details.

Monday, February 23, 2009: A Taste of Russia food and film series is aimed at learning about Russian and Soviet culture through cinema and cuisine. Featured at 7 p.m. at Earl Residence Hall, International House Kitchen and Classroom 2 will be the film "My Iz Dzhaza" (Jazzman) from 1984, directed by Karen Shakhnazarov. On the menu are kebab, pickled beets, and pilaf. Films will also be shown on April 6 and May 1. The film series is sponsored by the Russian and East European Studies Center, UO Libraries and UO Housing. Free.