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SAN JUAN ISLAND LIBRARY |
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Remembrance in the Library
Penelope (Penny) Collier Washington was a librarian. She was born in Texas and was one of the first women to graduate from the Masters in Library Science program at the University of Texas. In 1995, Penny moved to the San Juan Islands for a well earned retirement. When Penny passed away earlier this year, many of us may have missed her obituary when it was posted here posted here, but the recommendation for donations to be made in her name to the library's children's collection was seen by a surprising number of her friends and family. In the few months since Penny's family made this request, the library has received donations from all over the country. Checks and letters have come from friends, family and former colleagues in Washington, Texas, Arizona, California, Florida and Wisconsin. I didn't know Penny in life, but reading the letters sent in her memory I've come to understand a little about her and the kind of person she was. A middle-school classmate remembered her as a kind and friendly person, her sister wrote of her love of children's literature, and a librarian who was hired by Penny for her first job after finishing graduate school remembers a mentor who taught her a passion for librarianship. I think I would have liked to have known Penny. I thank her friends, family and former colleagues instead though for the insights contained in their letters and for the gift of being able to use their donations to honour her memory and legacy. As libraries grow in scope and function to accommodate the changing needs of our communities, it's appropriate I think to be a place of memory and history still as well. So, for this View from the Library I'd like to bid farewell to Penny Collier Washington and say thank you to her family and friends for their generosity in her name. |
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