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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 27, 2016)
10A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016 Tucker: World of libraries has changed during her career In retirement, Tucker — whose favorite work of ic- tion is Ernest Hemingway’s short novel “The Old Man and the Sea” — plans to travel with her husband, Jon Lingel, and focus on family, writing and art. Continued from Page 1A “She had a tough time when she irst got here. There were drug dealers and drugs — needles and things being used in the library. She’d have to go around and pick things up. Security was bad,” LaMear said. “It was hard, and she did a good job turn- ing it around.” Tucker, who has been deeply involved in the public library division of the Ore- gon Library Association, said she will continue volunteer- ing for Libraries ROCC. This week, Tucker attended her inal Library Board meeting, a joint work session where board mem- bers and the City Council discussed the future of the library and options for reno- vating the facility or building a new one. Ruth Metz, a library con- sultant, told the large crowd at the party that when Tuck- er’s time came to leave, “she wanted to leave you with a really splendid library, and I know there’s a disappoint- ment for her in this, in a way.” But, she continued, Tucker, in addition to set- ting up the library’s many programs with her staff and co-workers, “created a plat- form for the next thing.” The library building has suffered from decades of deferred maintenance and doesn’t meet many of the needs of modern library users. But, David Oser, a Library Board member, said “I have never, in any area of business, seen anyone who has been able to do more with less than Jane Tucker.” The number of yearly visits has risen from about 50,000 to almost 90,000 since 2007, even though the library’s hours of operation haven’t changed, according to data Oser provided. At Tucker’s party, City Manager Brett Estes gave Tucker an engraved pew- ter plate commemorating her service. ‘Read and read’ Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Jane Tucker laughs with friends and colleagues during her retirement party Thursday evening at Astoria Public Library. “Jane is really the reason I’m a librarian,” said Sea- side Library Director Esther Moberg, who worked as a librarian for Tucker in Asto- ria before pursuing her career in librarianship — a decision she made with her mentor’s advice and encouragement. “I feel like I owe so much to Jane, and it’s part of the rea- son I came back here to be library director: When I saw that Jane was still in Astoria, it really made a difference.” Connecting to books Tucker began bringing books to readers as a 15-year- old bookmobile page in her hometown of Fairhaven, Massachusetts. Her high school English teachers had recommended her for the job with her local library — the grand Millicent Library built by Henry Hut- tleston Rogers in memory of Danny Miller/The Daily Astorian Library Director Jane Tucker shares a laugh during a Li- brary Board meeting Tuesday. his deceased daughter. From then on, Tucker’s path, she said, was “pretty clear: connecting people to books.” Tucker, a library and information science gradu- ate of Simmons College in Boston who has worked as a librarian throughout the country, said the profession is not without dificulties. Budget constraints pre- vent libraries from purchas- ing books on every topic the community wants to read about. And staff must make sure their collection rep- resents different sides of an issue. Librarianship, she said, is a profession for people hun- gry for knowledge and grate- ful for literature. “Most people go to work to exercise the expertise they’ve already gained, and to hone it a little more,” she said. But, every day, librari- ans confront what they don’t know. “Every day of my life, I’ve learned something new.” Her job, she said, hasn’t been to inluence patrons’ lives so much as “give them what they need to inluence their own life” — to empower them by helping them learn. “I can’t believe that I’ve been able to do something this wonderful for this long,” she said. The world of libraries has changed during Tuck- er’s career, which saw the rise of online technology. But “the basic values of librarian- ship, I believe, are still there: You’re bringing information, and you’re bringing reading, to people.” Whether the reading is done with a digital device or a printed page, “you’re still connecting people with lit- eracy,” she said. “And liter- acy is still the foundational skill ... No matter what else you want to do, you need literacy.” A growing emphasis on early childhood literacy has also shaped libraries in recent decades. “Your child starts learning to read the day they’re born, and those early growth years, birth to 5, are so important,” she said. “There’s a little bit of a science to it, and there’s a deinite advantage in hav- ing heard more words by the time you go to school.” Tucker remembers her very irst visit to the Millicent Library. She and her mother had been talking about things and places in their town that cost money. As they entered, “I said to my mother … ‘Do we pay to come in here?’ And she said, ‘No, the adults in your community give you this.’ And I said, ‘Oh, you mean like Auntie Joan and Auntie Helen?’ And she said, ‘No — all the adults in this commu- nity, even the ones you don’t know, pay to give you this.’ “And over the years, I just thought how fabulous that was, how amazing that was,” she said, “and what a gift it became to a child like me who just had to read and read.” Losing your HEARING? or are your ears just plugged with EARWAX? FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF! You are invited for a FREE ear inspection using the latest video technology Wednesday, Thursday & Friday MAY 25, 26 & 27 Call now to avoid waiting! It’s All FREE! FREE Complete Electronic Hearing Test** This Audiometric evaluation will precisly show what you’ve been missing. FREE Video Otoscope Ear Inspection*** This show-all Picture of your ear canal is displayed on a color TV monitor, so you’ll see exactly what we see. 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