Life Among The Blue Devils, Part I

Duke's latest triumph reminds me of the couple of years I worked among Blue Devils. A "Carolina"  alum and library school graduate student, I worked in Public Documents and Maps, Perkins Library, in the late 1980s. Verdict: an excellent experience.

My pal Evan's parents were both librarians, friends and co-workers -- Donn Michael Farris, head of the Duke Divinity School Library (d. 2005) and Joyce Farris (d. 2006), original cataloging librarian at Perkins Library.  My pal Ken's father also worked there and has since donated his papers to Duke. To quote from the official abstract:  Dale B.J. Randall taught in the English Dept. from 1957-1999 and in the Drama Program from 1991-1999.  The collection includes material related to both the English Dept. and the Drama Program as well as Randall's research. Types of material include correspondence, flyers, programs, clippings and articles. The collection ranges in date from 1940-2009.

Two of my favorite folks in the Public Documents and Maps Department were Yoko Akiba (d. 2004), who'd survived the American bombings of Japan during World War II and later worked at the Library of Congress; and Stuart Basefksy, Public Documents Reference Librarian, who now works at Cornell University. 

I've written before about Wallace Fowlie (d. 1998), the author who donated his art collection to Duke's Nasher Museum of Art and various other materials to the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, and have mentioned  my pal Joe McGeary, who earned his Ph.D. at Duke and now teaches English in Germantown, Philadelphia, after a stint in Detroit.  A salute to all, living and departed. 

Today's Rune: The Self.