Retirements…Happy Trails to You

Rosemary Buhr
When I contacted Rosemary Buhr her first words were I'm looking forward to retirement!

JH: How long have you been a librarian and where did you get your degree?
RB: I've been a librarian for 32 years and graduated from Rosary College in River Forest, IL, which is now known as Dominican University.

JH: How long have you worked at Logan College of Chiropractic? What other jobs did you hold before your present one?
RB: I've been at Logan for almost 20 years, since November 1983. I was Librarian at Barnes Hospital School of Nursing for 11 years and 1 year at Bishop DuBourg High School. I also spent a summer at the Walnut Park Branch of the St. Louis Public Library. Prior to librarianship I taught in elementary and high schools for 16 years.

JH: Describe the changes you have seen during your time as a medical librarian.
RB: The major change that has occurred is automation. Card catalogs became online databases and the Internet exploded access to data and information. Fax machines and Ariel are expediting the transmission of interlibrary loan requests. These have been major improvements and challenges to information specialists. The "Learning Curve" is really a steep incline!

JH: How has SLML changed over the years you have been affiliated with it?
RB: SLML has always been an organization of dedicated information professionals who focus on providing the best possible information and resources to constituents. A hallmark of the group is their willingness to share and assist each other as well as their clients.

JH: What do you think you will miss most from your working life?
RB: What will be missed most is the comradery which is classic among librarians, faculty, and staff.

JH: What are your plans for retirement?
RB: I plan to travel, catch up on a lot of reading, spend more time with family and friends, complete unfinished counted cross stitch projects, sew, garden, take some classes, and get a computer so I can continue to explore and keep in touch. In the future ... perhaps some tutoring and/or volunteer teaching ... I have a Missouri Lifetime Teaching Certification.

JH: How can folks stay in touch with you?
RB: I plan to stay in my home for the present but eventually 'downsize'. I can be reached at: 271 Spring Oaks Drive
Ballwin, MO 63011-3835
636-391-9689

Saundra Brenner
I have known Saundra Brenner over 10 years. When I heard she was retiring, I was surprised and thrilled for her at the same time. Here is Saundra’s interview:

JH: How long have you been a librarian and where did you get your degree?
SB: I received my master’s in library science from the University of Missouri in 1987 after several years of commuting between here and Columbia, MO.

Who knows when I became a librarian – probably in the late sixties when I worked for Nina Matheson at the Missouri Institute of Mental Health (formerly Missouri Institute of Psychiatry). Nina was my mentor and gave me the opportunity to handle the daily operations of a dynamic library. She also gave me the courage to try new ideas.

As most of you know, Nina was a visionary librarian, an entrepreneur and the guru of IAIMS. She urged me learn and get involved in professional organizations. With reservations (about not having a MLS), I attended my first SLML meeting in the spring of 1967. There were only about seven people there. A few days later, someone from the meeting phoned and asked me to run for President. And so I served the first of my two terms as President of SLML. With a little more urging and a desire to learn, I attended my first MLA meeting in 1968 and took five 8-hour CE’s. I still remember spending the entire last day of CE’s listening to a lecture on punched cards and not understanding a word.

JH: How long have you worked at St. John’s Mercy? What other jobs did you hold before your present one?
SB: Twenty years. My first job after college was in Chicago at the Research Library of the Portland Cement Association. I translated Russian and French abstracts and produced catalog cards from a typewriter-like machine that punched little holes in a paper tape – very, very boring. Next I accepted a position at Harper & Row Publishers, a very interesting job that allowed me to travel around Chicago answering reference questions using the great libraries of the “Windy” city. At this point, I decided to attend library school at the University of Chicago, a decision that was superseded by getting married and moving to St. Louis. At last, I discovered medical libraries and spent fifteen years (full time, part time and with some time off to be a full-time mother) at the Missouri Institute of Mental Health.

JH: Describe the changes you have seen during your time as a medical librarian.
SB: Rapid access to quality information. I remember when we searched paper indexes, sometimes spending as long as a month on one search. With a paucity of union lists and copy machines, document delivery was unbelievably slow and cumbersome. Often you had to guess who might hold a particular journal title and you could only call Washington University once per day to request a maximum of five articles.

All of this reminds me of an amusing interlibrary loan story: I had requested a journal article from a local hospital library known for providing excellent service. More than a week passed and no article. Reluctantly, I phoned the librarian who apologized profusely, explaining that her volunteer had not finished typing the article yet.

And for the not so good changes: end-users who think they can search, administrators who believe it is all on the Internet and free, the closing of hospital libraries and a “graying” profession. Yet there are many more opportunities today for creative and highly motivated librarians. It requires one to get involved in the organization where they work as well as a variety of professional organizations.

JH: How has SLML changed over the years you have been affiliated with it?
SB: In many ways, SLML has not changed. It has always provided a way to network with other librarians, a way to become involved in the profession and a way to improve our knowledge and skills. And it is a great way to make some wonderful friends! What changes is the leadership, some years the organization “moves and shakes”; other years it just “rumbles”.

JH: What do you think you will miss most from your working life?
SB: The people and a very responsive IS Department. Now I have to solve my own PC problems!

JH: What are your plans for retirement?
SB: Visit family and friends that are scattered from Montana to Thailand. And, hopefully travel to exotic places. I have wanted to see the Taj Mahal since I was seven. I also plan to volunteer at the Medical Center after completing a course in “Teaching English as a Second Language”. (St. John’s Mercy has a large number of Bosnian employees who want to learn English.) In between, I’ll play bridge, hike, continue my piano lessons, go to plays, movies, the symphony, whatever strikes me at the moment.

JH: How can folks stay in touch with you?
SB: My email is: saundrabrenner@yahoo.com and my phone number is listed in the SLML directory. I must confess to not checking my email with great regularity so the telephone would be my first choice, especially if you want to invite me to do something fun!!

Cindy Fedders
Barbara Halbrook of Bernard Becker Medical Library provided the following information for Cindy Fedders and Polly Cummings who both retired from Washington University’s Bernard Becker Medical Library.

Cindy Fedders retired on April 30, 2003 after 29 years at Washington University Bernard Becker Medical Library. Cindy, a graduate of Simmons School of Library Science, began her career in librarianship at Princeton University Library. In December 1973, she came to Washington University Medical Library as interlibrary loan librarian. She moved to cataloging in 1976. Cindy was involved in the development of the Becker Library’s online library system, BACS. Since 1981, Cindy was responsible for maintaining the bibliographic data in BACS as well as original cataloging and overseeing copy cataloging. Cindy and her husband have moved to San Diego, California.

Polly Cummings
Margaret (Polly) Cummings retired from Washington University Bernard Becker Medical Library after 34 years of service. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Polly came to Washington University Medical Library July 1, 1969 from the Division of Radiation Oncology library. Previously, she was assistant technical librarian at Monsanto Company Central Engineering Department. At Becker, Polly held various positions including reference librarian, selective dissemination of information librarian, clinical librarian, reference librarian in the history of medicine, and visual collection librarian.

SLML wishes Rosemary, Saundra, Cindy and Polly a happy retirement and thank them for their service to SLML and to the field of librarianship.