I started when I came to do that has something to do with a sus. I was in
office here right. I didn't no almost anyone on campus at the beginning of
and and my colleagues at the library so and from my studies in
Czechoslovakia had a very good mentor. It was an engineer by the way also
but it taught what was at that time called automation and libraries and
people like that but he was my personal manner mentor and he
taught me, he worked in industry and some research institute also. He said
you have to know your audience, you have to know what your what they want
when we are a service profession we are providing literature or other
resources you know please stay online injury associated by the then it
wasn't online very much and they need help.
Some professors here or researchers were not bad, they knew how to go
around even without computers then but there were some who couldn't
believe it at all you know and when I mentioned to them have you been
using injuring index? And he would say huh what injuring index? I said
well that's an index for engineer. Uh so what did I do? And this mentor of
minor in Prague taught me this so I became very good at
helping servicing the audience, not only students of course students
usually undergraduate. So you were educating faculty. Right. And so when I
first came and I'm borrowers had to hold the catalogs and look what they
are teaching especially in those areas. Science engineering had also
nursing under my wing so to speak because that's part of the sciences in a
way that medical literature and so on. Then even psychology for a while.
And uh then I realized that there's a lot of research going on and more
and more of course here. Eventually we became Richard wants university.
So I got acquainted with the vice president for research office. Do you
remember Harold handicap? Yeah, yeah you don't do it right. He was kind of
a my help. I went to see him and he was a professor of education remember
correctly. But he did that research for a while and oh Bill Burke
chemistry. His was his boss. Since I was handling chemistry we became also
very friendly and he was very supportive. So from Harold was getting all
the new information, all the new research or new grants or whatever or
extension of research. So I started with my students I said look
make me cards for the faculty member. And then first we will put you know
whatever I'm teaching from the catalog and then we will start adding the
research interest or then I contacted some form, you know, it's into
faculty. Not everybody responded. But most of them did. And those who
really were interested in improving their chances let's say were very
cooperative. And so we had card file for us and we had an arrangement to
subject areas. I mean one subject area which was by for instance, I don't
know fluid dynamics.
Okay, so look who is doing flight down, you know the names and then we had
headed by names of faculty. So if I look like what then Jankowski was
doing, I knew what he was doing. Sometimes we got to request for refer
people to faculty consulting and things like that. So it was good to know
what we could afford could offer them. And I remember when Dean Haydon
came after lee Thompson retired, I was, I mean I met Dean Thompson
introduced myself to him and he said well he will be working with the
department. So I knew all the department had
ties and and gradually I was invited to the departmental meetings and
again some people didn't give a damn. So I said, okay, well some of them
were just teaching, I guess not, it's bad but they were not that much
interested. I think they were doing there, I think, you know how it is.
Exactly right using textbooks. Those are the complaints I was getting
England. I got in Prague 1990 one for my sabbatical. They told me
Technical University, they said you know, some of these guys have been
using the same text books that I wrote about the last 15 years. Well, some
of the things don't change, physical laws usually don't change. That's
true. But in engineering, I mean there is this is not totally unable, this
is more applied Science. So we started and we called them, I called them
faculty profiles. That's one of my article somewhere that we knew quite
well about the faculty chairman Hayden came Dean Haydon.
Um That was, I had to sell a meeting with him and he said hey that's a
good idea, can I have a copy of that? I you know more about my family, you
know because he must do so Hayden wanted this information and
over your long career what advice would you give to young people who are
thinking about entering this library science
If they are entering um the sciences and engineering or like sciences or
whatever I would advise them. Usually hear the requirement is a bachelors
degree in this area. There are not very many engineers actually but there
are some but life sciences is very common that people have biology degree
And you know in this country in order to get this uh master degree,
Library information science which qualifies you to be a professional
librarian. You have to Have obviously bachelors and then you go 1-2 years
programs are now changing usually two years now. But it used to be one a
year getting masters degree. Sometimes they call it masters of arts in
library and shape something. Master of science in libraries. An engineer,
librarian
information studies you're always teaching. We don't have that program.
Well we thought some of mostly school librarian ship within the college of
education that was with my first boss. Alan was I think teaching the
librarians of the education who went from that. They were degree in
education and then they became the librarians, elementary or secondary
schools. I would advise these people to get acquainted with these
resources. And I think it's easier today because everybody searching
already at least
so if they become acquainted with these multiple databases that still
exist chemical abstracts and during index the british sources, german
sources, there are quite a few. So that language would help a little bit
in Czechoslovakia. They put an emphasis. We had to study three languages.
Yeah, especially in the library field. Well the check is like touch or
something. There are not very many people. Mm hmm use it right. And or the
skinny name and languages. So automatically during the war I learned
german and I think I was very good at the end I would Doris with the
german soldiers. When we occupied us at the end of the war S. S.
And then Russian came on. But I immediately started studying english in
that particular school I mentioned during the Commercial Academy because
there was always leading to some foreign trade, foreign business jobs and
so on. So and then when I was in the university college I had to pass two
languages. So No 3, 3 Russian was part of the curricula and the other mind
were english and german And I passed those they were like four semester
courses and I those I passed in one semester because I probably was better
than the teacher sometimes. Sometimes I'm not saying I learn more with the
american english. Thanks to the military, us military radio. If you know
what, I've heard a lot of Europeans, that's how they learned. English
armed forces radio and I listened to it Since 19 like 47,
every day. So when I came here, some people say, what do you know about
hillbillies? I said, well I was listening to the hillbilly music on the
radio, but now they wouldn't be allowed to do it right using the name,
right?
That was not involved country, country and western, right? But I I like
that. It was kind of a no room for me. And when I came my assistant said,
what do you know about hillbillies? I said, well I know there are songs,
hank, snow, hank Williams, little Dominicans name immediately she says,
wow. And then of course I was a big band fan and and what have you did I
answer a question, I would recommend it's a good field and if you, because
people have their specialties or whatever science engineering architecture
, everybody has their kind of, I think it's good when the profession is
your hobby at the same time. In many ways I'm still connected. I don't
contribute. I think the last article about 4, 5 years ago. And then I said
why I'm busting my job. I don't need any promotion.