Open Collections

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V. I, No. | OF THE U.B.C. LIBRARY STAFF NEWSLETTER DECEMBER %
MERRY XMAS FROM BIBLOS THE CHRISTMAS TREE BIBLOS STAFF
Jay Kincaid
Pat Gorgenyl
J I 1 i "Buttery
Susan Lissack
Mike Matthews
Mar!lyn Berry
Jure Erfckson
Jeanette Fish
Eleanor M©rcer3 Recording Secretary
Cataloguing
Acqui si tions
Science
Social Sciences
CIrculation
College (Sedgewick
L S b ra ry
Woodwar4 L i bra ry
Law Library
Lxtension Library
Gothic structure on cover by Judy Win lams
DEADLINE for next month's BiBLOS - please - January 22nd,I965
Personali ties
Diane Greenal] of SSD changed her name to Mrs, Peter Macnair
on December 5th0
Miss Rolfe, ex0 of Circulation Division, is recovering from a
badly broken arm suffered when alighting from our local public
transportat ion. - y -
5' MEETING December I5thr r964
jng Rooms and Branch Libraries
Librarian reported briefly'on his discussions with Deans,
are unanimous in tfStnking that Reading Rooms are both
rable and necessary, and should consist of duplicate
rials only.  Opinions vary as to how Reading Rooms should
inanced and administered, but the majority favour the
ralization of these responsibilities in the Library.
afeWork Reading Room
School of Social Work has requested the establishment of
ading Room in its new building.  Quarters, a small
sction and funds for books are available now.  The
arian and the Dean of Arts will attempt to resolve
Droblem of staffing in the next budget year. A being will be made on the cataloguing of the col lection
month.
;qe Library
Allege Library was opened at 10 a.m. on Sunday December
Students began to arrive around 11 a.m., and all seats
occupied in the afternoon.  The College Library will be
;d early on Sundays before examinations next spring. - k -
Extra-Mural Services
Some Heads'^Wlfleference Divisions feel that public use of the
library's collections under present regulations is detrimental
to the interests of the university community.  Others feel
that the few instances of inconvenience should be tolerated
for the sake of good relations with the public, and in particular with local business and industry.  The Librarian observed that many faculty members were asking for restrictions
on circulation of certain materials, notably scientific
periodicals.  He said that the matter would be taken up with
the Senate Library Committee, because any tightening of
regulations would cause some repercussions which might harm
the university's appeal for public support.
Telex
A Tejlsx will be installed in the Science Division on January
4th, 1965.  Initially other Departments on campus will be
permitted to use the machine, but they wi11 be charged for
transmission costs.  Users of the Telex will be ex"p*etetel8 to
do their own transmitting, but Science Division staff will
remit incoming messages to Departments by phone.  If the
Telex proves to be useful, a model capable of transmitting
from punched tape will be installed in April, in order to
reduce transmission charges.  Our Telex number wi11 be
04-5979, our answer back code UBC LIB VCR.
Constructlonl
The latest predicted completion date, excepting ODDS and
ENDS, is*.January 31, I965. - 5 -
FRONT-OFFICE
GLEANINGS
Senate Meeting
At its meeting of December 16 the Senate, acting on a proposal*
from the Committee on Professor^ En^priti, conferred emeritus
status to retired Assistant Librarian, Miss Anne M. Smith.
At the same meeting the Senate voted in favour of eliminating
the Autumn Congregation.  No longer will we have the Fall
batch of theses to bind and catalog.
In Case There Was Ever Any Doubt!
Questions regarding insurance have been answered by the
Administration.
GROUP INSURANCE, for enriching heirs, is compulsory;
persons on staff who do not wish to be remembered
fondly may not opt out.
GRIPE INSURANCE, fOr protecting staff against complaints by students and faculty, and the Librarian
against complaints by staff, will not be available
until six years after the completion of construction.
GROPE INSURANCE, for the protection of students,
faculty and staff who become lost in the library,
is no longer valid because some lights are burning
permanently in the building, and many new direction signs have been painted on walls. "*
GRAPE INSURANCE, for the assistance of those suffering
from excesses of wine and spirits, is regarded as
an employee's personal responsibility. - 6
New Year's Housekeeping
The library has been in a state of disorder for over half a
year.  Now the contractor's work is moving to completion,
members of the library staff should cast an eye over their
surroundings.  Try to see your Division as would a stranger
entering for the first time. Are there small things you
can move to make the building neater?
How Not To Use The Telephone OR Speak Nicelyl  It May Be
For You I
1. Never give the name of your Division when answering,
merely say "hel lo"-.
2. In summoning a person to the telephone, call the person
by name loudly, without putting down the mouthpiece.
3. If  the person is absent from the Division, be accurate
In describing the state of affairs, e.g. "She's gone
to coffee", "She went to put on some lipstick", or
"I don't know where he's gone, but I saw him lea<ie
with a roll of paper a second ago".
4. Never volunteer to take a message.
5. In speaking with other departments don't identify
yourself, but just keep them guessing.
6. Don't place the mouthpiece on the phone table gently
while waiting for called party to arrive, but drop
it on the receiver and from a height of at least six
inche|5. - 7 -
PRODUCING COLLEGE (SEDGEWICK?) LIBRARY
ie unknown country to most library staff members, College
ibrary, is an almost self-contained enclave on the ground
loor of the south wing of the library.
scking the poetic touch of Loan Division's bards, we can only
;ho the laments in last month's BIBLOS, somewhat muted from
lat mighty chorus, owing to our smaller size.  Indeed, if you
sn imagine the main library, shrunkf.to about l/20th of its
ize, and shorn of such exotic appendages as Special Collec-
ions and Asian Studies, and such specialized operations as
;quisitions and Cataloguing, you will have a f%irly accurate
Icture of the College (Sedgewick?) Library.  In other words,
5 operate much as Loan Division, Reserve Book Collection and
ie Subject Divisions combined, but on a smaller scale.
; everyone knows, College caters to undergraduates in the
rst two years.  In exchange for those enterprising first
id second year students who find our collection inadequate --
'here's just NOTHING in College", we encounter a number of
iss enterprising third and fourth year students who still
nd the main library too much for them (and others, too, who
iow we have twenty-week loan copies of a book on two hours
i RBC).
scause one of our primary functions is to initiate students
ito the mysterious ways of the library, in an attempt to
iminate (or at least to reduce in quantity) some of the more
ivious questions we are plagued with in first term, this year
. offered so-called orientation tours of the library during
:gistration week to new students (naturally enoughj conning
many other divisions as possible into helping us).  You
iy have seen us, picking our way over planks and similar
stacles, screaming to make ourselves heard over buzz saws,
ills and what have you, and followed by hordes of ead^r?
udents.  The vast number^who attended we can only attri-
te to their thinking the tours compulsory. - 8 -
In the absence of a Student Union Building, the foyer and
reading rooms of College Library have.become a substitute.
(We do not, however, serve tea or coffee - yet.)  Recently
two students spent the afternoon in the upstairs reading
room making a chai%out of chewing gum wrappers for our**
Christmas tree. We preferred not to investigate the
possible disturbance this may have caused those rare students who might actually have been studying.
A staff of only seven handles the College (Sedgewick?)
Library operation, ably assisted by a collection of
brilliant and hard-working student assistants.  Eleanor
Hoeg has been hea^ of College since it opened at the
beginning of the 1960-61 session. Most recent additions
are  Lynn Kuznetsov, transferred from Loan Division, and
Rudy Plasser, a recent arrival from Salzburg.  Janet
Robinson, after two years' dedicated service was regarded
by promotion to Library Assistant not long ago.  There
remain Marie MacLellan, also recently promoted, and
Diane Butterfield, two years' and one year d0s„ respectively, and yojjr anonymous correspondent.   (Modesty
and lack of space to do justice to the spb^^fepreclude
further comment.)
Do come down and visit us occasionally but in case we
don't know YOU, please identify yourseflfeas staff as
you come through the Staff Only door on floor two;
otherwise you will certainly be accused as a student
out of bounds!
RECENT ADDITIONS
Miss Colleen Cameron joined Acquisitions as a Clerk on
December 9th, 1964.
The Cataloguing Department gained four new members recently: Miss Kristen Martin, a Clerk on December 9th;
Miss Barbara Pepper, a Clerk on December 7th;
and     Mrs. Annmaree Lunney since October 25th.
Mr. Doug Mathieson joined Woodward as a Clerk I on
December 1st. - 9 -
»y say, they do, that adversity sponsors creativity.  We agree,
do, and have several original, unselicited, poetic traumas to
)ve it.  We like, we do, and cheerfully dedicate not only to the
)NT OFFICE but to all patient, but construction-weary STAFF.
PASSING THE BUCKET; OR, SEVEN STOREYS HIGH:
A DUET FOR TWO BARITONES,
;re's a leak in the ceiling, dear Tommy, dear Tommy,
;re's a leak in the ceiling, dear Tommy, a leak.
what should I do, dear Basil, dear Basil,
what should I do, dear Basil, do what?
fix it, dear Tommy, dear Tommy, dear Tommy,
fix it, dear Tommy, dear Tommy, fix it.
:h what shall I fix it, dear Basil, dear Basil,
:h what shall I fix it, dear Basil, with what?
:h tar, dear Tommy, dear Tommy, dear Tommy,
:h tar, dear Tommy, dear Tommy, with tar.
! where will I get it, dear Basil, dear Basil,
I where will I get it, dear Basil, so where?
>m Biely, dear Tommy, dear Tommy, dear Tommy,
im Biely, dear Tommy, dear Tommy, from Biely.
: Biely's in hiding, dear Basil, dear Basil,
: Biely's In hiding, dear Basil, he's hid.
where Is he hiding, dear Tommy, dear Tommy,
where is he hiding, dear Tommy, so where?
the washroom, dear Basil, dear Basil, dear Basil,
the washroom, dear Basil, dear Basil, he's hid. -10
He'll drown in the washroom, dear Tommy, dear Tommy,
He'll drown in the washroom, dear Tommy, he'll drown.
Oh why wi T T he drown, dear Basil, dear Basil,
Oh why will he drown, dear Basil, oh why?
'Cuz there's a leak in the ceiling, dear Tommy, dear Tommy,
There's a leak in the ceiling, dear Tommy, a leak.
Then fix it, dear Basil, dear Basil, dear Basil,
Then fix it, dear Basil, dear Basil, fix it.
Oh, Audrei
Open l.pnpr to Santa Bbs i 11
We've suffered silently - almost - whilst lights and
cei1ings crashed.
We've dodged the buckets cheerfully as water dripped and
splashed.
We've  strained our eyes  through murky dust,  wore sweaters
one,   two,   three.
Ate aspirin tablets by the score and kept our "corp
d'esprit".
Lack of toilets, what's four flights? No dignity was lost,
Upholding library decor, with legs sedately crossed.
With fq$ri  complaints we martyrs sat, our posts we ne'er
vacated,
Though floors quivered, hammers jacked, and odours
infiltrated.
But please, no bouquets, cash awards, or medals stamped
by hand,
Just fill our Acquisitions sock, with COAT AND BR0[fLl£f
STAND.
Dear Santa  Basil   more
Please   let   it  be   in  Sixty-Four. finally there is...    THE SURVIVAL OF THE BARBERSHOP
rican poet and critic John Clardi recently remarked, apropos
surlng certain bohemlan elements in American youth for intell-
ual laziness and, in effect, a linen indecency only, that
e library is still the most subversive building in town".
yesV" we exult, thinking only isi'A^B  too-cften-unactual ized
slbles of a liberal education, and of the Incendiary treasures
our stacks.  Vfe too quickly or too determinedly overlook a
ture this building has In common with !argo public and
tltutlona! buildings everywhere.  1 refer to our Faclllties-
er^Than-DI vi s ional, our Men's Rooms, and their d I s 11 ffec.tis'e--..
:erlngs of verse and graphics, both obscene end scatological.
s sort of literary endeavour has a peculiar poignance and
iniflcance when it occurs within a library building, because"
Its dramatic relationship, owing to geographical nearness,
the official literature of our culture.  The scabrous and
vocal (it recurs and recurs in these environs) couplet which
signed by "John Keats, 1861" or "John Keats, 1650" (Oh shame!)
dies a happily Rabelaisian notion of culture in general and
:erary scholarship in particular.  They might, one thinks,
re  the decency to ascribe to Keats something bearing at least
>arodic relationship to his actual work.  But no, its just
i  name which they wish to invoke; Keats' poetry is a closed
>k and a dead issue.  But they know that the University ex-
;ts them to love "that stuff", and If love leads to exploita-
)n (and how often does it not?) they are ready to be as
agmatic and unscrupulous as any Pop Artist,,
ich comparison suggests a consideration of the graphics on
splay; these are for the most part cartoons, two-dimensional
Jtches with much concern for matters of dimension, mechanics,
^rational principles.  One finds here, as in the verse, an
/entive sense of possibility; the fresh, wondering vision of
^ eternal student abides here. r £2 *.
Always in time-sanctioned forms of course, such is the conservatism of the locker-room, or this equivalent of it. The
sketches are representational with a vengeance, and the simpls
rythmns and regular rhymes of the verse stand in lowering
opposition to the arhythmnic complexities of modern free vers<
For all its youthful vitality and cultural ieonoclasm, this ii
a deeply conservative male institution; it is the survival of
the barbershop, one floor down.
The best feature of such subversive activity is that it is a
reversal of all censorship. Whatever can, by virtue of its
belligerent frankness, never appear in public print will appjei
on these walls,, And no- male, however unwilling, can finally
escape exposure to itc Women may; it would seem that they do
and this, in spite of the Emancipation, is quite as it should
"^fei^^%'"i^g^*sBh0p".^^*more recognizes the Emancipation than
it'does free verse.
MAIN STACK BOOK MOVE
Between December 21st and January 2nd, the entire main stack
collection (Levels 1 to 4) will be in motion..  The collection is to be spread out into the new stack areas in such a
manner as to allow for expansion.  The movement will be
entirely horizontal, not vertical; all classifications wi11 %
remain on the levels they are presently on.  These are
"final8* pos.M?feesSSj**end maps, signs, and other such guides
to hunting will be made up in the New Year,
This would normally be under the supervision of Stack Supervisor Len Williams, but with Len unhappily recumbent in
hospital, the crew of two dozen students will be under the
direction of Bob Harris, John Cull, and Pat O'Rourke.