“Hey kids,” said Thomas B.m“Who wants to check in a book?”
Everyone took a turn with the book scanner--beep! beep! beep!
from Amelia Bedelia’s First Library Card
written and illustrated by Herman Parish
Greenwillow Books, 2013
“Children's book author Herman Parish is the nephew of Peggy Parish, the creator of the beloved Amelia Bedelia series. After his aunt died in 1988, he decided to continue Amelia's adventures himself and has since published more than a dozen stories featuring the comical housekeeper. Parish is a popular speaker in libraries and schools throughout the United States.” (Bowker Author Biography)
Herman began a series, Young Amelia Bedelia, starring Amelia Bedelia as a young girl, which is where I found today’s quote.
When I was a “newish” children’s librarian, our Children’s Department Supervisor thought it would be great fun to take Amelia Bedelia on the road during our Summer Reading Program. She was right! We brought Amelia Bedelia to life, performing hilarious original scripts she wrote based on Peggy Parish’s books.
We visited lots of libraries in our county system, but never found a more ardent fan than Diane Varady, our Head Clerk at the Poland Branch. She and I worked together there for almost half of her 45-year career.
But this post is not about Herman or Peggy Parish. It is not about Amelia Bedelia or our Children’s Services Supervisor, or even about the library. All those things that I loved and still do.
This one is for Diane. Her humor, dedication, and her own love of our library were part of everything she did and everything I love about her..
I had a 25-minute drive to work that I convinced myself only took 20. I was not the first to arrive, ever, but Diane always greeted me with a smile. New staff came to our branch, some left. Most stayed a long time, but Diane was a constant. She was Head Clerk when I arrived and Head Clerk when I retired. I worked in different branches, but for my whole 20+ years, Diane was a fixture at the Poland Library, old and new.
She knew everyone who came in. She knew the kids, the parents, and the babysitters who brought them for storytime. All three sections of storytime each week were the highlight of my job. I could not have been as successful as I was without Diane.
She and the rest of the clerical staff readied crafts from my “prototypes.” How many railcars, balloons, apples, butterflies, construction-paper strips for a chain that circled the interior of the library three times, sneakers, paper plate face puppets? Once, for Halloween, I gave her a skeleton. The kids glued many small, white pieces onto a dark background. I know I did not give her all 206 bones, but there were A LOT. I apologized, but she just laughed. All in a day’s work.
And the clown noses for the Summer Reading circus theme.
And the error-less and seemingly endless typing. And filing.
Diane was the county’s best shelf-shifter. After I finished weeding a Dewey section, the remaining books needed to be moved so that the shelves stayed in order, but also so each shelf had about the same number of books. She was accurate and fast! We worked like a machine!
And the story ideas.
And the cow books.
Diane was a cow aficionado! She loved cows. The books about them, especially the funny picture books. The songs about them. Their swishy tails and their deep, lowing moos. Diane was famous for many things in our library, but everyone loved her nails. She had them done professionally. They were seasonal. They were exceptional. There were cows during the Canfield Fair!
It was one of the ways she expressed herself.
All the lunches. Bellaria, Bruno’s, House of China. All the laughs!
The Margarita party at my house to celebrate my remodeled kitchen. The whole staff came. I burned up my blender, crushing ice for the margaritas.
Working closely with the same people for 20 or so years, we got to know each other, as well as maybe we could know anyone.
Diane knew her job. She kept our branch in Dewey order. Even the picture books. Especially the picture books.
Her flair with the public.
Her kindness to her friends and associates.
Her love of her family.
In a word, Diane was fun. Not the loud, outrageous, laughing-all-the-time kind of fun. Hers was gentle, kind, empathetic, and spontaneous.
Diane will be missed by every life she touched. Mine included!
I'm reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. (Amy Einhorn Books/G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2009.) A young journalist in 1960s Mississippi secretly interviews the maids of her best friends for a book about race relations, class differences, and the infancy of the women’s rights movement. The takeaway for me is the similarities among people, our complicated love for our family, our need for each other, and the importance of self-respect. (The movie is also worth your time.)
RIP Diane, my friend.
Be curious! (and live your best, precious life)
Everyone took a turn with the book scanner--beep! beep! beep!
from Amelia Bedelia’s First Library Card
written and illustrated by Herman Parish
Greenwillow Books, 2013
“Children's book author Herman Parish is the nephew of Peggy Parish, the creator of the beloved Amelia Bedelia series. After his aunt died in 1988, he decided to continue Amelia's adventures himself and has since published more than a dozen stories featuring the comical housekeeper. Parish is a popular speaker in libraries and schools throughout the United States.” (Bowker Author Biography)
Herman began a series, Young Amelia Bedelia, starring Amelia Bedelia as a young girl, which is where I found today’s quote.
When I was a “newish” children’s librarian, our Children’s Department Supervisor thought it would be great fun to take Amelia Bedelia on the road during our Summer Reading Program. She was right! We brought Amelia Bedelia to life, performing hilarious original scripts she wrote based on Peggy Parish’s books.
We visited lots of libraries in our county system, but never found a more ardent fan than Diane Varady, our Head Clerk at the Poland Branch. She and I worked together there for almost half of her 45-year career.
But this post is not about Herman or Peggy Parish. It is not about Amelia Bedelia or our Children’s Services Supervisor, or even about the library. All those things that I loved and still do.
This one is for Diane. Her humor, dedication, and her own love of our library were part of everything she did and everything I love about her..
I had a 25-minute drive to work that I convinced myself only took 20. I was not the first to arrive, ever, but Diane always greeted me with a smile. New staff came to our branch, some left. Most stayed a long time, but Diane was a constant. She was Head Clerk when I arrived and Head Clerk when I retired. I worked in different branches, but for my whole 20+ years, Diane was a fixture at the Poland Library, old and new.
She knew everyone who came in. She knew the kids, the parents, and the babysitters who brought them for storytime. All three sections of storytime each week were the highlight of my job. I could not have been as successful as I was without Diane.
She and the rest of the clerical staff readied crafts from my “prototypes.” How many railcars, balloons, apples, butterflies, construction-paper strips for a chain that circled the interior of the library three times, sneakers, paper plate face puppets? Once, for Halloween, I gave her a skeleton. The kids glued many small, white pieces onto a dark background. I know I did not give her all 206 bones, but there were A LOT. I apologized, but she just laughed. All in a day’s work.
And the clown noses for the Summer Reading circus theme.
And the error-less and seemingly endless typing. And filing.
Diane was the county’s best shelf-shifter. After I finished weeding a Dewey section, the remaining books needed to be moved so that the shelves stayed in order, but also so each shelf had about the same number of books. She was accurate and fast! We worked like a machine!
And the story ideas.
And the cow books.
Diane was a cow aficionado! She loved cows. The books about them, especially the funny picture books. The songs about them. Their swishy tails and their deep, lowing moos. Diane was famous for many things in our library, but everyone loved her nails. She had them done professionally. They were seasonal. They were exceptional. There were cows during the Canfield Fair!
It was one of the ways she expressed herself.
All the lunches. Bellaria, Bruno’s, House of China. All the laughs!
The Margarita party at my house to celebrate my remodeled kitchen. The whole staff came. I burned up my blender, crushing ice for the margaritas.
Working closely with the same people for 20 or so years, we got to know each other, as well as maybe we could know anyone.
Diane knew her job. She kept our branch in Dewey order. Even the picture books. Especially the picture books.
Her flair with the public.
Her kindness to her friends and associates.
Her love of her family.
In a word, Diane was fun. Not the loud, outrageous, laughing-all-the-time kind of fun. Hers was gentle, kind, empathetic, and spontaneous.
Diane will be missed by every life she touched. Mine included!
I'm reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. (Amy Einhorn Books/G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2009.) A young journalist in 1960s Mississippi secretly interviews the maids of her best friends for a book about race relations, class differences, and the infancy of the women’s rights movement. The takeaway for me is the similarities among people, our complicated love for our family, our need for each other, and the importance of self-respect. (The movie is also worth your time.)
RIP Diane, my friend.
Be curious! (and live your best, precious life)
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