I've been back for a week now, after a delightful hiatus in the Southern Hemisphere, only to discover that the library world has spun on and forward without me. A little hard to regain the grip I had on the fast pace of change in our community. And this knowing that another absence is looming next month.
So a perfect time to look backward, I guess, on someone I've had reason to think about a lot this year: John Cotton Dana. My appreciation of Dana was rekindled by my distinguished colleagues Bill Dane (distinguished in every sense of the word) of Newark Public Library, and William Peniston of the Newark Museum. This year Bill co-curated a wonderful and wondrous exhibition at Newark PL celebrating Dana on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his birth. It was Bill's 'next-door neighbor', William, who posted an email announcement of the symposium entitled "Civic Life in Newark: The Legacy of John Cotton Dana," held July 13, 2006 at Newark PL.
Touring the exhbition and listening to the symposium talks, I was struck by Dana's relentless pursuit of innovation, indifference to the status quo, unapologetic pride in his profession, and tireless advocacy for his patrons. A subsequent read of Dana's Library Primer (3d ed., 1903) revealed just how prescient and timeless his ideas are. For all his mental animation, he may not have been easy to work for (though legend has it he was doted on by his mostly female employees), but the significance of his accomplishments is indisputable.
As delightful as the Librarian Trading Card group on flickr! is, there's a notable lack of retrospection in the collection. My memories of trading cards turned on notions of comparable value from one to another. Was a Willie Mays more valuable than a Mickey Mantle? (To me, perhaps, but those Yankees always seem to bring the highest dollar.) And a Honus Wagner more than all of them? Its too early to assess the worth of my contemporaries, but these library giants of the past: Now they're worth something!