UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

connect.collaborateSpring 2013

THE COMMONS

APPRECIATEDear Friends:

As most everyone is aware, this June 30, Dr. Mary Reichel will step down as Dean ofLibraries here at Appalachian State and will assume a new role in Academic Affairs. Icongratulate her on 21 years of service in this vital leadership role, and I thank her forthe many contributions she has made to our campus.

During her tenure, Dean Reichel’s positive impact at Appalachian includes:

• Establishing the first fundraising board for the library: the Library AdvisoryBoard. She has been an excellent development ambassador, working with donorsand engaging supporters in community outreach, including author events and theBelk Distinguished Lecture program.

• Successfully acquiring an NEH Challenge Grant of $400,000 and helping raise the$1.2 million required to receive the grant funding. is grant benefitted the W.L.Eury Appalachian Collection in the library, the Center for Appalachian Studies,and the Department of English for the Hughlene Bostian Frank Visiting WritersSeries.

• Playing a crucial role in the planning, promotion, implementation, and managingof the Belk Library and Information Commons, a $40 million project which resulted in the 165,000-square-foot structure which has welcomed more than a million visitors since its opening.

• Working with Bill and Maureen Rhinehart to create the beautiful Rhinehart Rare Books and Special Collections Room whichhouses their extensive British history collection.

ere are several other illustrations from which I could draw, and they all exemplify Dean Reichel’s commitment to the faculty, staff,and students at Appalachian. She has spent her career teaching students to be information literate and assisting faculty in their teachingand research needs.

I applaud Dean Reichel for her service and leadership and value her friendship. Please join me in wishing her well as she begins thisnew chapter in her life. 

Sincerely, 

Kenneth E. PeacockChancellor

2

DONOR STORy JOHN HIGBy

(Editor’s Note: Dr. John Higby, retired English professor at Appalachian andlongtime member of the Library Advisory Board, was a loyal library supporter, andhis story emphasizes the impact that consistent giving has on the library. Dr. Higbydied in December 2012.)

Dr. John Higby was involved with the library on an informal basis for many years while serving on the English faculty, and when the Library Advisory Board wasestablished in 1995, he was one of the first library advocates who was asked to serve.He was an active member of the board until he became ill in early 2012. 

During the past few years, he dedicated himself to annotating the Bill and Maureen Rhinehart Rare Book Collection which focuses on British history, one ofHigby’s major interests. e result was the publication of two excellent annotatedbibliographies. In addition, he was always willing and excited to talk to visitors to theroom and hosted weekly public tours in summer 2011. Because of his dedication tothe collection and the library, his office in Special Collections was named for himand his wife, Connie, in May 2012.

Beginning in the early 1990s, Higby made frequent visits to the office of the library’s development director to present a check. He was always very modest anddid not seek recognition – he just wanted to support the library as he was able to doso. Areas of the library he supported during those years included the rare booksfund, the Bill and Maureen Rhinehart Book Endowment, Emma Moore StudentScholarship Endowment, and the Friends of the Library. ese gis remained consistent over all the years he wasassociated with the library, and theywere very much

appreciated. Over the course of 20 years, he made more than 300 gis.His method of philanthropy clearly demonstrates the impact that consistent giving can have on an organization as it has on the library.

Library faculty and staff heartily salute Dr. John Higby and his loyal support of the library. We miss his presence as the annotator ofthe Rhinehart Collection and as a valuable member of the Library Advisory Board, and we will always remember him as one of the library’s most faithful and generous supporters. 

3

Dr. Higby in July 2011 introducing visiting teachers from China to rare books in theRhinehart Room.

John Higby demonstrating rare books, circa 1992

GLOBAL LEARNING: A WORLDOF OPPORT  

4

Children’s Literature on Immigration Helps TeachersIn schools throughout the world, a Muslim child from Pakistan may sit next 

to a Latino child from Guatemala and behind a Chinese child from Beijing. Immigrant children bring their languages and cultural identities to their newschools where they may experience cultural discontinuity. As the immigrant population of North Carolina increases, more and more teachers face the challenge of teaching children from multiple cultural backgrounds. 

Margaret Gregor, Instructional Materials Center librarian, and Connie Green,professor of reading education, have worked together for several years teaching agraduate course, Advanced Study of Children’s Literature, for teachers. When

planning the course they asked themselves how children’s literature could be used to help teachersgain a greater understanding of their students and families who had recently immigrated. 

Gregor and Green designed a project that asked teachers to read children’s literature about the immigrant experience and to write an immigration story, suggesting that the teachers research theirfamily history and use it as a basis for these stories. Class members read widely from fiction, nonfiction, and picture books about the immigrant experience, and Green led discussions about thecontent and value of this literature. Using library databases and other tools, Gregor taught the classhow to research their family histories. Based on this research the teachers wrote original immigrationstories to be shared with their own students. 

“We found that these activities increased the teachers’ understanding of students from other cultures and the issues immigrant children face in American schools and communities,” Green said.e impact of this assignment has been powerful, with many graduate students expressing a deeperunderstanding of the children they teach and of the immigrant experience.” A teacher’s reflectionbelow exemplifies the increased sensitivity some teachers developed toward children and families: 

“Reading La Linea (Jaramillo, 2006) as part of our class assignments had the greatest impact onme, as I was learning about my family’s story at the same time. Reading what those young teens wentthrough on their quest to make it to the States was amazing. I had never heard a story like that sovividly portrayed, and it really made me consider what my own family experienced.”

Green and Gregor wrote an article about this project that was published in Childhood Education inthe fall of 2011 and as a result, others professors in the Reich College of Education began using thisproject with their students. “Our hope is that teacher educators who read this article will try similarapproaches with teachers in other areas of the country,” said Gregor. “We are continuing to implementthe project in our Advanced Study of Children’s Literature classes to expand teachers’ understandingof the immigrant experience.” 

e illustrations above are fromstudent Connie Lynn Sentelle’sproject. She worked with LeslieBarenette, the director of elementary education for theCatawba County Schools inNewton, NC who put Connie incontact with Mary Wiley, artteacher at Lyle Creek ElementarySchool. Mary and her sixth gradeart classes created masterpieces to bring Connie’s immigrationstory to life.

Margaret Gregor

American Dervishe Muslim Journeys grant also ties

in well with the Summer Reading bookchosen for the incoming freshman class,American Dervish by Akay Akhtar.Akhtar’s novel tells the story of HayatShah, a young Pakistani-American fromthe Midwest who fallsin love for thefirst time withMina, a lifelongfriend of hismother. 

Written fromthe perspective ofShah, this work willbe of interest to newfreshmen, while offering numerous perspectives for classroom discussion. Global studies will find ample material for examinationsof cultural identity and assimilation.Women’s studies will surely wrestle withMina’s almost mystical embrace of theidea of submission in Islam and the violence that she endures at the hands of her fundamentalist husbands. 

Author Akay Akhtar will be the Convocation speaker on September 10.

Muslim Journeys e National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in collaboration 

with the American Library Association (ALA) awarded Allan Scherlen, collection management librarian for the social sciences, and Dr. Kim Hall,philosophy and religion  professor and chair of the Appalachian State University Humanities Council, the Bridging Cultures Bookshelf MuslimJourneys Grant. 

is grant provides the library with books, videos, and a one-year subscription to the Oxford Islamic Studies database (valued at approximately$2,500) to enhance the library’s capacity to engage audiences in reflection onand conversation about Muslim cultures and to address the public’s need anddesire for quality resources about Muslim beliefs and culture. 

e library will work with the ASU Humanities Council in further collaborationwith the Watauga Public Library, the ASULifelong Learning Institute, and the MuslimStudents Association to host a series of talks,forums, film showings, and book discussionsto be held during 2013. 

Lena Aloumari, president of the Muslim Student Association, said, “When AllanScherlen approached me looking to collaborate with the Muslim Student Association as a part of this grant, we couldn’t pass up this amazing opportunity.Since this is only our third year as a club oncampus, we are always looking for additionalways to get involved on and off campus...we are focused on spreading diversity throughmutual understanding and acceptance.”

Global Learning: A World of Opportunities for Appalachian Studentse library will support and contribute to the University’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) presented to the Southern Association of

Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in partial fulfillment of requirements for reaffirmation of institutional accreditation

    RTUNITIES FOR APPALACHIAN STUDENTS

5

e Muslim Student Association’s Eid Al-Adha celebration in Fall 2012

STUDENT LEARNING

6

Students Discover Treasurese University Library is proud of its numerous special collections that attract students

from a wide range of disciplines. Following are several descriptions of how the library’sspecial collections have been used in a variety of interesting ways by students and faculty.

Last summer, the grandmother of graduate student Marc Bentley came for a visit andwhile she was here, they perused the Appalachian Collection for materials on his homecounty – Pike County, Kentucky. “One of the books we found was on the history of lawenforcement inPike County; therewe discovered thatone of our ances-tors was the firstsheriff of thecounty,” he says.

Graduate Student DavidFunderburk hasworked in SpecialCollections sinceJune 2011. “Lastfall, I surveyed thehistory of carto-graphic represen-tations of theAppalachian region,” he says. “In the closed stacks of the Appalachian Collection, I founda map of the region between southern Virginia and eastern Florida that was published by Dutch cartographer Willem Janzoon Blaeu in 1640. It is a privilege to have access to primary sources such as this.”

History instructor Catherine Turner says, “Students are usually unaware of the wealthof resources that are available to them at the University Library. Databases there providebetter quality and greater quantity than that which is available through a general websearch. During my class’s library session, librarian Betsy Williams demonstrates how to access these sources and students flip through 19th century newspapers, photos, diaries,letters, and journals. Students enjoy peering into this treasure chest; reading the words and viewing images more than a century old, all at the touch of a finger.”

International EngagementDuring a fall semester off campus scholarly

assignment, l’Université d’Angers hosted twoAppalachian librarians, John Boyd and BethCramer. While in Angers, the couple worked onscholarship, guest lectured at the university, andvolunteered to work with various groups and individuals to improve their English skills.Angers is a city in western France about twohours by train from Paris with a population of 150,000. 

In October, Boyd and Cramer were invitedto make a presentation at an annual forum organized by the Archives, Livres, Manuscrits, et Autres Supports de l’Information (ALMA) todiscuss Belk Library’s policies, procedures, andattitudes about donations and gis, for botharchival materials and books (see www.alma.hy-potheses.org/561). In preparing for the presenta-tion, the couple interviewed seven of their BelkLibrary colleagues, giving a shared responsefrom Appalachian library faculty and staff.

e strong partnership between Appalachian State University and the Universityof Angers continues with the recent announce-ment that the two universities will work togetheras Team Réciprocité in the Solar Decathlon Europe in 2014.

David Funderburk studies a map from the Appalachian Collection that dates back to 1640.

Le to right: Bénédicte Grailles, Elizabeth (Beth) Cramer,John Boyd, Valerie Neveu, and Patrice Marcilloux atALMA (Archives, Livres, Manuscrits et Autres Supportsde l’Information) on the campus of the Universited’Angers, Belle Beille

REGIONAL HISTORy

7

Grant Brings Treasures to Light!e library’s special collections team will be able to process a backlog of materials for

the W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection as a result of a grant received from the NationalHistorical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). As the backlog is eliminated,access to various collections will be possible and descriptions of selected processed collections will be enhanced. you can watch the unfolding of the project on the BacklogBlog http://appcollgrant.library.appstate.edu/.

e funds are being used primarily to support the hiring of library specialist TrevorMcKenzie who will work on the project during the duration of the grant. McKenzie servedas editorial assistant for the Appalachian Journal for two years and worked as a student assistant in special collections in summer 2011. He holds a bachelor’s degree in applied and public history, along with a master’s in Appalachian Studies from Appalachian.

Among the collections to be processed are the papers of Kelly Bennett, who was instrumental in the development of national parks; the papers of social activist and documentarian John Gaventa; Appalachian photographer Jack Jeffers’ collection of printsand digital images; and the papers and musical scores of composer Tui St. George Tucker.

e recently processed Appalachian Oral History Project Records (AC.111) offer a wealth ofprimary source material for researchers focused on any period of Appalachian regional history.e collection includes nearly 500 interviews by Appalachian State students and faculty, predominantly with elderly western North Carolina residents in the 1970s. Photographs from AC.111: Appalachian Oral History Project Records

Moses and Ceasar Cone, circa 1880

e Moses Cone EstateCollection

e Moses Cone Estate Collection located in the archives contains correspondence and a ledger regarding the operations of the estatefrom 1905 until 1945. e correspondences between Bertha Cone (the estate’s head aerMoses’ death in 1908) and A.C. Moody, the estate’s manager, reveal much about the daily operations of the property.

AN INTERVIEWWITH MARy REICHEL, D    

8

1992Mary Reichel is appointed University Librarian.

1995Library Advisory Board established

with eight members.

2001Appalachian Office of UniversityArchives and Records Management

becomes part of the library.

2002Ground breaking for the new 

Library and Information Commonsis held April 9.

Farewell to the DeanDuring Mary Reichel’s 21 years as head of the University Library, she took the library to new heights, both physically

and scholarly, as she worked to obtain a new building while significantly enhancing collections and services.

Mary will step down as Dean of Libraries June 30 to take a new assignment in Academic Affairs. She came to Appalachian from the University of Arizona in 1992 as University Librarian, a title that was changed to Dean in fall2012 because of the library’s outstanding contributions to the intellectual life of the campus.

Mary is well known for her boundless energy and enthusiasm for her work, her colleagues, and library supportersbut she has a special place in her heart for the students. “Appalachian students are great,” she said. “ey are hard-

working and fun, and I especially enjoy the many student assistants we have in the library.” She also worked with Student GovernmentAssociation presidents and invited them to participate in library events whenever possible.

“Our library personnel, faculty, and staff, are fabulous, really great,” she said, “andI worked with terrific administrators.” She served with three chancellors and notedthat the library benefitted from “excellent leadership” from all. She is grateful to Johnomas for hiring her, adding that he is “one of the administrators I admired themost.” 

“Frank Borkowski worked hard to obtain a new building for us, which has had amajor impact on the ability of the library’s faculty and staff to provide the outstandingresources that we offer,” she said, “and Ken Peacock is the most enthusiastic chancellorin the system and works very well with the system administration which is crucial forAppalachian’s success.” Mary has worked with a number of leaders in Academic Affairs and she noted that “Academic Affairs has been and is extremely supportive of the Library – one of the best supported libraries in the UNC system.”

Mary admits that her most unexpected joy has been working with donors. Shewas involved with the Friends of the Library at Arizona “but never had the privilege

of developing close relationships with library supporters,” she said. “Establishing the Library Advisory Board with Patty Wheeler was agreat experience. I learned so much and have enjoyed all of the members who served through the years. rough their generosity in timeand resources, they have brought excellence to the library.” Mary especially appreciates the dedication of all the chairs of the Library Advisory Board: Bill Rhinehart, Margaret “Pinky” Hayden, Randy Stevens, Pat Phillips, John Idol, and Craig Popelars. 

Breaking ground for Belk Library and Information Commonswere, le to right, Vice Chancellor Jane Helm, UNC PresidentMolly Broad, Chancellor Frank Borkowski, Faculty Senate ChairPaul Gates, ASU Foundation Board Chair Robert Fox, and Associate Vice Chancellor Clinton Parker.

   DEAN OF LIBRARIES

9

Mary talked about a number of favorite fundraising projects over theyears. Naming the new building, spaces, and rooms in the beautiful CarolGrotnes Belk Library and Information Commons was embraced enthusiasti-cally by donors. “I still get such pleasure from going into each named spaceand thinking about the donors who made this building possible,” she said.Another favorite was the collaborative National Endowment for HumanitiesChallenge Grant for Appalachian Studies during which a total of $1.8 millionwas raised and more than 14 collection endowments were named. 

“e Richard T. Barker Friends of the University Library has always supported outreach to the campus and community,” she said, “but the recentestate gi from Nancy McCrocklin has really enhanced the library’s ability to work with schools and K-12 students to promote reading and children’s literature. Appalachian’s library is unique among the UNC system in havingthree named Distinguished Professorships.” Two were funded by Irwin and Carol Belk and the third by Nancy McCrocklin.

Another wonderful project has been the student scholarship program where student employees in the library receive scholarships tohelp them finance their education. “e most rewarding occasion we have in the library is the scholarship luncheon that brings donorsand recipients together,” she said. “is gives the students the opportunity to convey their appreciation, and the donors are able to see

how important their support is to our students.”

As Mary prepares to leave her position as dean, she is excited about a new chapter in her life as she assumes a new role in Academic Affairs. “I will beworking in a different waywith students, faculty andstaff, and I look forward tolearning new things abouthigher education,” she saidwith a smile. “It’s been a wonderful 21-year journey atAppalachian and I am eagerto begin this new venture.” 

2005Belk Library and Information Commons is dedicated  

September 15.

2008National Endowment for the Humanities Endowment goal

reached.

2011Mary Reichel announces that she will step aside from her post 

June 30, 2013.

2012Title of University Librarian changed to Dean; Mary Reichel 

assumes new title.

Dedication Ceremony 2005, le to right, Velma Burnley, Ken Peacock,Rosanne Peacock, Ike Belk, Carol Grotnes Belk, Reba Moretz, Mary Reichel,Gretchen Bataille

e Bill and Maureen Rhinehart Rare Books and Special Collections Roomis sometimes called the “crown jewel” of Belk Library. e Rhineharts arelongtime library supporters and Bill was the first chair of the Library Advisory Board.

Student scholarship recipients have the opportunity to thanktheir benefactors during an annual luncheon that brings students and donors together.

Expressive Arts erapy Uses Library ResourcesJena Leake, Ph.D., is the program coordinator for expressive arts therapy, which is part of the Clinical Mental 

Health Program in the Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling. Jena has worked with librarian Amanda Bird and says, “She is amazing! Not only is she knowledgeable, she is enthusiastic about my students and their research interests.”

Leake says, “Students who use library resources typically produce research and writing that is more in-depth and creative than work that solely relies on web resources. My expressive arts therapy students oen find resources in the library that are new and current, which makes them excited about learning more about their chosen profession. Simultaneously, they also connect to foundational texts and writing within the expressive arts therapy and counseling fields, which deepens their understanding of expressive arts therapy. Tapping into these library resources inspires them to read more and to explore the intersections between literature in the field and their own emerging expressivearts therapy practice.”

Leake adds that the expressive arts therapy students are integrating library resources into their studies and professional development.e Orchesis Honor Society used the Digital Media Lab to format Headwaters Appalachian Journal of Expressive Arts erapy, Vol. 8,2012. Editor Erin Rice received support from library staff as shelearned to use the InDesign Program. e result is a beautiful journal of artwork and writing by students and faculty.

e class on current issues in expressive arts therapy recentlycompleted arts-based research projects. Arts-based research is anewly expanding genre of research in the social sciences, humanities,and creative arts therapy fields. Students exploring arts-based research in this class integrated personal art-making, as a form of research, with library research. ese projects led to evocative 

papers and presentations, which included poetry, artinstallations, performance art, musical scores, anddances. Students found creative ways to interweavelibrary resources with the personal resources theyfound in their studio art-making practices.rough examining literature related to theirprojects, they discovered how to bring theoryinto practice, while contributing unique research that expanded their understanding ofarts-based research and expressive arts therapy.

STUDENT LEARNING

10

Orchesis Induction Ceremony, Fall Semester 2012 by Beck Long, first year clinical mentalhealth counseling graduate student

Amanda Bird, information literacy librarian

From Student Callie Whitney:Recently, I have been involved in a 

presentation called “Re-Imaging the World through Breaths of Change,” for the session on expressive arts in the windsof change at the 10th conference of the International Expressive Arts erapy Association (IEATA) on March 14-17. I used the study room space for our group meetings, the writing center to lookover any written material, and media labfor any printing and formatting we will beusing for this presentation.

I am constantly asking questions and usually someone can point me in the right direction or I can automatically get answers through the Library Chat. 

From Student Melanie Sasser:Freshman Melanie Sasser is planning on majoring in graphic arts and minoring in

technical photography. “e digital media studio is amazing; it is how I do all my work. Itis the only place on campus that I can go to edit my pictures with the all the best programs.”

READ PostersSince 2009, the library has created a series 

of posters featuring library student employees.ese posters decorate the building and focus on the American Library Association’s theme of celebrating reading.

STUDENT LEARNING

Students Callie Whitney, He Xiao, Jessica Scales Photo by Ashley Snedeger

11

MARK yOUR CALENDAR

12

Summer Author Series Elizabeth Hudson, editor of Our Statemagazine, and North

Carolina novelist Jill McCorkle will participate in the library’sSummer Author Series this year.

Elizabeth HudsonJune 6, 3:30 pm, Belk Library, Room 421

A lifelong resident of North Carolina,Hudson began her publishing career at OurState in 1997, answering telephones in thecirculation department. She held various positions in the editorial department before

being named editor in 2009. 

Under her leadership, the publication won a Gold Eddie for“Best Full Issue” from FOLIO, the magazine industry’s leadingpublication. She studied English and environmental studies atUNC Greensboro.

Jill McCorkleAugust 15, 3:30 pm, Belk Library, Room 421

A Lumberton native, McCorkle earneddegrees at UNC-Chapel Hill and HollinsUniversity. At UNC, she studied with LeeSmith, Louis Rubin, and Max Steele. Otherbooks she has written include Going Away

Shoes, Creatures of Habit, Carolina Moon, and Crash Diets.

McCorkle has published five novels and three collections ofshort stories, and has the distinction of having her first twonovels published on the same day in 1984. e New York TimesBook Review said, “One suspects the author of e Cheer Leaderis a born novelist; with July 7th, she is also a full grown one.”Her latest novel, Life aer Life, was published in March.

Bathanti to Deliver Annual Distinguished Belk Lecture

Joseph BathantiJuly 11, 3:30 pm, Belk Library, Room 114

Joseph Bathanti, North Carolina’s PoetLaureate and a creative writing professor atAppalachian, will deliver the 2013 Belk Distinguished Lecture.

Bathanti was installed in September 2012during a ceremony at the State Capitol in Raleigh. 

A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., he came to the state in 1976 as amember of Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA). He waspart of the N.C. Visiting Artist Program for four years and wrotea book about the program, ey Changed the State: e Legacy of North Carolina’s Visiting Artists 1971-1995when the programcelebrated its 25th anniversary. 

Bathanti has published numerous books of poetry, two nov-els, and a book of short stories. He has received a number of pres-tigious awards including the 2012 Ragan-Rubin award, presentedto an outstanding North Carolina writer; the 2006 Novello Liter-ary Award; and the 2002 Sherwood Anderson Award. 

“His award-winning body of work is a powerful mix of old forms and new forms which has gained national and international recognition, and which adds up to a rich interpretation of modern American life,” said Randall Kenan,associate professor of English at UNC-Chapel Hill and chair ofthe poet laureate selection committee. Kenan was the 2011 BelkDistinguished Lecturer at Appalachian.

“e North Carolina Poet Laureate is one of the state’slongest running and most important ways that we celebrate and share our state literary heritage with citizens,” said Wayne Martin, executive director of the N.C. Arts Council. “Joseph’swork is accessible because he writes about topics that touch allof us: family, home and personal experiences.”

STUDENT LEARNING

13

Research Skills for Masters Studentse library and the English department have collaborated closely and extensively for

nearly 20 years on developing library research skills for new masters students. e currentformat of the collaboration – a library research unit within the required course, English5000 (Bibliography and Research) – began in 1995. 

Seeing that one class periodwas not sufficient to deepen students’ expertise in navigatingthe library’s electronic data-bases, in 1995, Dr. John Higbyinvited librarian Glenn EllenStarr Stilling to play a larger rolein the course. Stilling designed a unit with four assignmentswhich she grades. e class sessions and assignments comprised 20-25 percent of the course grade. 

Since then, Stilling hastaught the unit nearly everytime English 5000 has been offered, working with different course instructors and adapting it as needed. is model produces a complex, adaptable, and sustained understanding of library research skills for a discipline.

It has been deeply gratifying for Stilling to see students apply what they have learned inthis unit. One student contacted Stilling four years aer finishingEnglish 5000 to tell her that the assignment helped her with herdoctoral exam and dissertation in English at the University of Arizona. 

Another student, now teaching in a community college, designeda library unit for a research course he teaches, based on the skills andassignments from English 5000. Over the years, many students havecontacted Stilling for assistance with high level research.

Into the WildProfessor Kurt Steinbaugh teaches a very

popular first year seminar course called Into the Wild. e class examines what motivates individuals to take risks and to seek out wildplaces. Steinbaugh brings his class to special collections to see the Ralph Fickel papers. Fickel was a local climber who died in a climbing accident three years ago, and his papers include many area “first ascents.” ishands-on experience helps students becomeaware that Belk Library has unique items thatare not available anywhere else in the world.

Archivist Greta Browning with Into the Wild class

CONNECT

14

When I returned to North Carolina aer 24 years of service in the U.S. Congress, I offered my official papers that had beengenerated over those years to Belk Library at Appalachian State,and I will always be grateful that the library agreed to accept them.e university library staff did an excellent job of culling and cataloging the papers that are now stored in the Appalachian Col-lection and available to political science students and researchers. 

From time to time, when I have had the need to locate a specific document or research a particular subject, the staff hasbeen most helpful in finding the correct papers. e collectionand retention of historical papers, books, and documents thatwill be available to students and historians for future generationsis a wonderful program offered by the library. 

For the past 21 years, the university librarian (now dean) hasbeen Dr. Mary Reichel and it has been a real pleasure workingwith her. e university is much in her debt for her years of distinguished service. During her tenure at Appalachian, the library has been greatly expanded with the new building and shehas led this transition in a masterful way. She will be sorelymissed and I want to join her many friends and supporters inwishing her well in her future endeavors.

Senator James T. BroyhillWinston-Salem, NCMember of Congress 1963-1987

Senator Broyhill and his wife Louise

More than 50 library supporters have served on the Library Advisory Board since it was established in the mid-1990s and all of them have praised Mary for her outstanding leadership and dedication to the University Library. Following are statements from three former board chairs who worked closely with Mary during these years.

“When you think of Mary as a leader, what imagecomes to your mind? Do you smile? I bet you do. Mary is a happy leader, appreciative of where she is at the moment.I served on the Library Advisory Board for more than 12years, when the new library was being lobbied, planned,built, and furnished. It was a busy time that demandedpositive and strong leadership, and Mary met the challenge.Her style is to build consensus – she is a good listener and

easily gives credit to others. She never openly displays frustration, but is patientand kind as she moves an issue forward. Her accomplishments are many andshe will be greatly missed. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to serveon the Advisory Board under her leadership.”

Margaret (Pinky) HaydenFormer Library Advisory Board Chair 

“While I was serving as the chair of the Library Advi-sory Board in the mid-1990s, a major goal was to build amuch-needed new library. Mary worked day aer day, weekaer week on planning for the new facility, and as you lookaround the building, you realize how much hard work wentin to the project. you can almost visualize Dean Mary Re-ichel looking down from the cupola as she surveys a struc-ture that was a collaboration of many ideas. Great work,

Mary! We’ll always remember your valuable role in the Belk Library Dream!”Bill RhinehartFirst Library Advisory Board Chair

“Mary combines the traits of a top sergeant and a commanding general: hardworking and tireless in thetrenches, a brilliant statistician in the strategy room.”

John L. Idol Jr.Former Library Advisory Board Chair

John Idol, 1958, courtesy of University Archives

Appalachian students know that Belk Library is the place togo for the resources they need as they prepare for their classesand eventual careers, and people like you make this possible.your decision to support the library allows a thriving communityto flourish by funding important additions to the collections aswell as projects that honor faculty, offer special opportunities forstudents, and reach out to the community. ank you for givingto the library at the heart of the university you love.

ank You For Your Continued Generosity

THANK yOU WE APPRECIATE yOUR SUPPORT

15

Payment Options: COMS13

❑Visa     ❑MasterCard     ❑American Express❑ Check enclosed (Make payable to Appalachian State University Foundation Inc.)

____________________________________________________Name on Credit Card

____________________________________________________Credit Card Number Expiration Date

____________________________________________________Signature

____________________________________________________Credit Card Billing Address

____________________________________________________Credit Card Billing Address

____________________________________________________Email

Gi Amount:❑ $35        ❑ $1,000❑ $50        ❑ $2,500❑ $100      ❑ $5,000❑ $150      ❑ $10,000❑ $250      ❑Other❑ $500      *gis of $2,500 and above qualify for membership in the Chancellor’s Society

Mail to: Belk Library and Information Commons

Attn: Lynn PattersonASU Box 32026 Boone, NC 28608-2026Phone: 828-262-2087 • Fax: 828-262-3001

( givenow.appstate.edu/library )

Please Direct My Donation Toward:____ Friends of the Library____ Children’s Literature Symposium____ Music Library____ Student Employee Scholarships____ Stock Car Racing Endowment

Students in HIS 5581Society and Records get a lesson in paper conservation from guest lecturer Pam Mitchem who is special collections’ preservation archivist. Associate Professorand University Archivist Norma Riddle, teaches this introductory archival course for thepublic history graduate program.

BELK LIBRARY AND INFORMATION COMMONS218 College Street • ASU Box 32026 • Boone, NC 28608-2026Phone: 828-262-2186 • Fax: 828-262-3001 • www.library.appstate.edu

• Editors: Patty Wheeler, Megan Johnson• Editorial Board: Lynn Patterson, Mary Reichel, Patty Wheeler• Writers: Patty Wheeler, Megan Johnson, Margaret Gregor• Cover Image: Garner Dewey

♼ PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER