A delightful essay. Wishing you a long and happy retirement. On Thu, Aug 20, 2020 at 2:48 PM Doug Koschik via Michlib-l < michlib-l@mcls.org> wrote:
Hello everyone,
As was the case with so many of you, one of my favorite places as a child was the public library--in my case, specifically, the Mark Twain Branch of the Detroit Public Libraries--which, unfortunately, no longer exists. In 1957, the new Chandler Park Branch, located much closer to my house, opened, and I was faced with a dilemma: Do I attend the grand opening of the branch or stay home and watch the premiere of the television series Blondie? I chose to go to the library.
In 1966, I began working at the same branch as a page. I'm not sure if it was because I had reached the ripe old age of 14 or only because I was a library employee, but I was delighted to be permitted, finally, to check out items from the Adult section of the library. (Previously, I had had to read Adult items in the building itself. The only items juveniles could check out were from the juvenile section. And the juvenile section contained only quality literature. Trash like The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew was not allowed.) As a special bonus, I even had access to the really Adult items housed behind the Circulation Desk. I truly felt like the "sir" that one kid, amazingly, called me.
$1.25 an hour was a decent wage back then, but inflation was rearing its ugly head, and eventually I received a raise to $1.75.
I had a good run at Chandler Park, but after a couple of years, I left after a policy dispute with the new branch manager. A child needed to look up the definition of a German word for a school assignment, and the reference librarian, who didn't know how to use a German dictionary, was struggling. I helped out, and the child got his definition. The manager reprimanded me, however, and told me that, besides shelving books, the only things a page was allowed to do was tell patrons the time of day and point the way to a librarian. I admit this wasn't the last time I've disagreed with a library policy.
Nevertheless, I maintained a fond spot in my heart for libraries and eventually received an M.L.S. from the University of Michigan. My first full-time professional position was at Delta College, near Bay City. I truly enjoyed that job, but still, I recall that sometime around my second week there, I started thinking, "Hmmm ... retirement ... how does that work precisely? It doesn't sound like such a bad thing."
Well, 46 years later, I've decided to try it out. After 30 years at the Baldwin Public Library, during ten of which I've been Director, I've decided to hang up my boots. My last day of work will be January 15, 2021. The Baldwin Public Library will conduct a search for my replacement, with the aim of having that person in place by January. The posting will be issued shortly.
I have five more months to go, and I'm sure that I'll be seeing a number of you during that period, but I do want to take the time now to thank so many of you for the support and guidance you've provided me over the course of my career.
Best wishes,
Doug
-- Doug Koschik Director Baldwin Public Library 300 W. Merrill St. Birmingham, MI 48009 E-mail: doug.koschik@baldwinlib.org Telephone: 248-554-4681 Fax: 248-647-6393 _______________________________________________ Michlib-l mailing list Michlib-l@mail3.mcls.org https://mail3.mcls.org/mailman/listinfo/michlib-l