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In This Issue
New Online Election Guide Available . . . . . 2
Catalogers Are Busy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Library Announces Three New Books . . . . . . 3
Spotlight on Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Library Cancels Journals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Volunteers Needed for Library Study . . . . . 5
Faculty Publications & Presentations . . . . . 5
Mary Covarrubias-Chavarria Gets Award . . 6
2013 Library Calendar Now Available . . . . . 6
Bonus Awards Announced . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Library Celebrates Open Access Week . . . . 7
NMSU Service Awards Announced . . . . . . . 7
Norice Lee Appointed Associate Dean . . . . . 8
Mike Mitchell Retires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Kathy Sowa Retires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Lenny Silverman Retires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
In, Out & About the Library . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Jeanette Smith is Distinguished Prof. . . . . 10
Community College Library News . . . . . . . 10
Molly Molloy Gets Leadership Award . . . . 11
Library Welcomes Eight New Staff . . . 12-13
Grants & Gifts Announced . . . . . . . . . . . 14
McKee Gift Builds Collections . . . . . . . . . . 14
Library Takes Part in Technology Day. . . . . 14
In Memoriam: James Dyke . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
In Memoriam: Veronica Sieminski . . . . . . . 15
Photo Book Receives Heritage Award . . . . 15
The Lighter Side of the Library . . . . . . . . . 16
You Need Libraries... Libraries Need You!
<strong>GO</strong> <strong>Bond</strong> B on Ballot in General Election
The NMSU Library will benefit from passage of a bond issue that will appear on the ballot in
New Mexico’s November General Election.
<strong>GO</strong> <strong>Bond</strong> B is one of three bond issues in Senate Bill SB 66, the General Obligation <strong>Bond</strong> Bill,
signed March 7, 2012, by Governor Susana Martinez.
If passed, <strong>GO</strong> <strong>Bond</strong> B will provide $9,700,000 for New Mexico libraries, $3 million each to
public, academic and school libraries statewide for the purchase of library materials and
$700,000 to tribal libraries for the purchase of library materials and construction.
<strong>GO</strong> <strong>Bond</strong>s provide up to 25% of New Mexico academic library materials. Libraries at the
NMSU Las Cruces main campus and Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Grants and Doña Ana Community
College (DACC) campuses will all benefit from this bond. If approved, the $9.7 million bond
issue will cost taxpayers 56 cents per $100,000 of their assessed property value, and NMSU
libraries will receive the following estimated amounts:
<strong>GO</strong> <strong>Bond</strong> B!
You Need Libraries…
Libraries Need You!
VOTE Nov. 6, 2012
Early Voting Begins
Oct. 9, 2012
• NMSU Las Cruces Library – $386,090
• DACC Library – $83,349
• NMSU Alamogordo Library – $26,442
• NMSU Carlsbad Library – $13,539
• NMSU Grants Library – $10,461
The cumulative total for the NMSU Library
system will be $519,881.
“The NMSU Library relies on bond funds in
order to maintain its collection. We encourage
New Mexicans to get out and vote on
November 6 or to vote early,” said Dr. Elizabeth
A. Titus, Dean of the NMSU Library.
The statewide <strong>Bond</strong>s for Libraries Special
Interest Group of the New Mexico
Library Association is conducting an informational
campaign about <strong>GO</strong> <strong>Bond</strong> B.
Visit http://bondsforlibraries.nmla.org.
—Kristina Martinez, Library Administration
Fall 2012 27/2

New Online Election
Guide Available
The Library announces the creation of an
online Election 2012 guide to answer questions
that many voters have about the upcoming
election. What do the tracking polls say
today? Where can you vote early? How do
the candidates stand on the issue of alternative
energy sources? The financial crisis? The Iraq
war? What is the electoral college and why is
it important? What is the “Bradley effect”?
You can find answers to all these questions
and more at the Library’s Election 2012 guide
at http://nmsu.libguides.com/election2012.
The new book Out of the Shadows: The Women of Southern New Mexico was published
just in time for New Mexico’s Centennial celebration. Edited by University
Archivist Martha Shipman Andrews, the illustrated volume contains many historical
images from the Library’s Archives & Special Collections Department.
Above: The Amador Family, Ms00040006. Below: Family outside with musical instruments,
Ms01010373. For more about the book, see page 3.
The Library’s new Government Documents Librarian,
Josefine Smith, created the guide, one
of a new series of library guides, to inform
voters about the current slate of state and
federal candidates as well as the state and
federal election process.
For more information, contact Smith at
(575) 646-4385 or the Government Documents
Reference Desk at (575) 646-5791.
Catalogers Are Busy
Because the Library’s budget for acquiring
printed books is lower than usual this year,
some people have wondered what catalogers
are doing instead of cataloging new books.
Fortunately, we have many other materials to
catalog!
One of our most important projects is the
title-by-title cataloging of older NMSU Agricultural
Extension publications. The catalog
information we create is reused as metadata
for the Agricultural Extension Publications
Digitization Project. In addition, we have
NMSU dissertations and theses, gift materials,
Special Collections materials and new e-books
to catalog.
2
Finally, we are continuing our work on cataloging
all of the Library’s pre-1976 Federal
government documents, a large project that
we will be working on for the foreseeable future.
As you can see, we have a lot on our
plates, even without new books to catalog!—
Liz Miller, Technical Services

Library Announces Three New Books
The Casads: A Pioneer
Family of the
Mesilla Valley
by Rick Hendricks
The Laughing Librarian:
A History of American
Library Humor
by Jeanette C. Smith
Out of the Shadows:
The Women of Southern
New Mexico, edited by
Martha Shipman Andrews
Dr. Rick Hendricks
Extensively researched and written by Dr. Rick
Hendricks, The Casads: A Pioneer Family of
the Mesilla Valley, is a history of the Casad
family that traces its movement from Ohio
to New Mexico by way of Illinois, Missouri,
Kansas and California.
Hendricks formerly worked in the Library’s
Archives & Special Collections Department
and he also taught Latin American History at
NMSU. He is currently New Mexico’s State
Historian.
Four years in the making, the book was published
in February by Rio Grande Books in
collaboration with the NMSU Library.
The principal Casad family members are Thomas
Casad and his second wife, Sarah Van
Winkle Casad, along with their numerous children.
This book was made possible thanks to
the financial support of Dr. Humboldt
Mandell, Jr., the time and dedication of both
Dr. Mandell and his sister Ms. Madeline
Mandell and the gifts of collections from
Casad family members.
(Hendricks, continued on page 9)
Jeanette C. Smith
NMSU Library Grants/University Relations
Officer and Professor Jeanette Smith is the
author of a new book, The Laughing Librarian:
A History of American Library Humor,
published by McFarland and Company in
May.
Smith said, “Humor is an essential part of
every occupation. In this book I am presenting
the truths and the history of my profession
as they were told to me in jest.”
Smith’s examination of library humor between
1876, when the American Library Association
was founded, and the year 2000,
spans the continuum between light and
broad to dark and edgy humor from inside
and outside the profession. It covers a wide
range of topics from library quiet to the sexy
librarian, the library superhero, the fear of
libraries and librarians, and librarian activism.
By highlighting humorous aspects of this
seemingly serious occupation, this book pro-
(Smith, continued on page 10)
Martha Shipman Andrews
Out of the Shadows: The Women of Southern
New Mexico, edited by University Archivist
and Associate Professor Martha Shipman
Andrews, was published in May by Rio Grande
Books in collaboration with the NMSU Library.
The Wild West of New Mexico, with Billy the
Kid, Pat Garrett, Geronimo and the U. S. Cavalry
center stage, is so powerful and entertaining
a myth in the popular imagination that
the lives and contributions of New Mexico’s
women—especially those of Southern New
Mexico—have been largely overlooked.
Visual images provide a particularly evocative
means of examining the dark spaces behind
the overshadowing Western myths so dominated
by the concerns and exploits of men.
The extensive photograph collections of the
NMSU Library’s Rio Grande Historical Collections
and the Hobson-Huntsinger University
Archives give testimony to the experiences
of women as they helped to settle the mountains
and deserts of New Mexico between
(Andrews, continued on page 11)
3

Reference Program
The Library’s ASK US service has been a
part of Reference service since 2009. It
incorporates IM and Text/SMS reference
with information about more traditional
modes of research help over the phone
and at the desk. Soon Reference will be
enhancing its Web page to include an
FAQ database, through which questions
can be asked 24-7.
If a question is not in the FAQ database,
there will be an opportunity for the question
to be asked via email. At the first
opportunity during service hours, the
question will be answered. This database
will allow users to get around-theclock
help in answering basic questions.
4
Pictured are some of the friendly people who work at
the Library’s Information Desk. First row, left to
right: Susan Beck, Theresa Westbrock, Alisa Gonzalez.
Second row, left to right: Wendy Simpson, Jonathan
Butz, Paula Johnson, Felipe Castillo.
The Reference Program of the Reference & Research Services (RRS) Department assists in
supporting the research needs of NMSU students, faculty, staff and the local community by:
• Answering questions in traditional manners, such as in person and via phone at the
Information Desk in Zuhl Library
• Answering questions online via IM chat and implementing new virtual information
services to serve students outside the Library’s walls
• Selecting and providing print and electronic resources to best suit the information
needs of NMSU
• Referring patrons to University and community resources
According to Reference Coordinator Alisa Gonzalez, research assistance is offered across a
range of platforms: from the traditional face-to-face interaction to virtual communication,
whether it is through IM chat or an embedded online resource guide for a class or assignment.
The program acknowledges that many of our users are not within our buildings but
are in dorm rooms, at work or in other parts of the country or world.
The Reference Program focuses on better ways to provide research assistance, which can
range from introducing scholarly research to assistance with literature reviews in doctoral
research. Whether traditional or online, research assistance is provided by librarians, experienced
staff and highly trained students.
(Reference, continued on page 8)
Alisa Gonzalez, the Reference Coordinator
and Social Sciences Librarian, has worked in
both public and academic libraries throughout
her career. Alisa received her master’s
degree in library and information science
from Kent State University. Her research interests
include the cultural and sociological
aspects of library use and graduate student
information seeking behavior. In her spare
time, she enjoys yoga, cooking and watching
the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Sarah Baker
Jonathan Butz
Alisa Gonzalez
Paula Johnson
Molly Molloy
Josefine Smith
Cindy Watkins
Alisa Gonzalez
Information Desk
Librarians and Staff
Susan Beck
Felipe Castillo
Nirmala Gunapala
Mardi Mahaffy
Cindy Pierard
Wendy Simpson
Theresa Westbrock
Reference Student Employees
Emmy Galvan Richard Wright
Rebecca Elliott Andrew Martinez

Volunteers Needed for
Library Study
Science Librarian Nirmala Gunapala is looking
for volunteers for a study. Gunapala hopes
to meet with postdoc scientists in agriculture,
science and engineering for a one hour
discussion survey to get an understanding of
their information needs and information
seeking activities related to their research
work, with the goal to develop specific library
services to support postdoctoral research
at NMSU.
As an incentive the volunteers will receive an
Amazon gift certificate for $50.00 and additionally
their names will be included in a
drawing to win an iPad. If you are a
postdoctoral scientist at NMSU and interested
in volunteering for the survey please get in
touch with Nirmala - send an email to
nirmalag@nmsu.edu or call (575) 646-5551.
Faculty Publications
& Presentations
• Cary Osborne, “When I Grow Up I Will Be
a Professor,” in Chicken Soup for the Soul:
Find Your Happiness (CSS Publishing, 2011).
• Ingrid Schneider, “Making Lemonade: The
Potential of Increased Peer Metadata Training
Among Cultural Heritage Professionals,”
Collaborative Librarianship, v. 4, no. 2 (2012):
53-59.
Library Cancels 261
High Cost Low Use Journals
In May 2012 the Library announced that it would be cancelling 276 journal titles in order to
avoid a budget shortfall. University faculty contested the cancellation of 14 of the 276 titles,
noting the high research value of each. In August 2012 the University Administration intervened
and provided much-needed relief to the Library’s diminishing materials budget. Specifically,
one time contributions of $150,000 from the President’s Office and $50,000 from the Provost’s
Office will reduce the number of serial titles slated for cancellation this December and will
also allow the Library to continue purchasing requested books throughout the coming year.
Due to the generosity of the University Administration, the Library has reduced its cancellation
list to 261 titles for a total cancellation amount of $167,935. These 261 journal titles show
low use (10 or fewer uses), or no use, or cost $100 or more per use. In these times of
budgetary austerity the Library must make difficult choices and must limit its subscriptions
to publications of high use and/or low cost. A complete list of all titles slated for cancellation
can be found at http://nmsu.libguides.com/BudgetCuts.
Other library materials budgets were negatively impacted this year, including the book budget
that experienced a 64% reduction. Given current funding realities, the NMSU Library will
continue to face reductions every year, as its budget remains static, its external revenue
streams decline and serials subscription prices continue to increase annually by 4% or more.
This fall New Mexico voters will have the opportunity to support libraries through the successful
passage of <strong>GO</strong> <strong>Bond</strong> B. This bond initiative will provide $9 million ($3 million each to public,
academic and school libraries statewide) for the acquisition of library materials, and $700,000
to tribal libraries for the purchase of library materials and construction. The Library is
projected to receive approximately $386,090 from <strong>GO</strong> <strong>Bond</strong> B which will help support library
collections.
The Library thanks the NMSU community for participating in this year’s materials budget
reduction process. We value the time and energy this community contributed to the project.
The Library strives to fulfill its mission of supporting and enhancing the teaching, research
and outreach missions of the University. For more information contact Susan Beck, Collection
Development Coordinator, at (575) 646-6171 or email susabeck@nmsu.edu.—Susan Beck,
Reference & Research Services
• Ingrid Schneider and Rebecca Lubas presented
“When a Picture Needs a Thousand
Metadata Words: Metadata for the Humanities
and Social Sciences,” at New Mexico
Cyberinfrastructure Day on September 28 in
Albuquerque.
• Paula Johnson, Ingrid Schneider and
Nirmala Gunapala presented programs at Zuhl
Library during Open Access Week, October
22-28.
• John Sandstrom moderated a panel discussion
“Why are YOU Here? Non-ethnic
Minorities in the Diversity Movement” at the
2 nd Joint Conference of Librarians of Color in
September in Kansas City.
• See also the three new books by Libraryaffiliated
authors announced on page 3.
The Library hosted a table at the 2012 Domenici Conference
showcasing papers from the Pete Domenici papers. Pictured
left to right are Cary Osborne, Senator Pete Domenici and
Matt Friedberg.
5

Mary Covarrubias-Chavarria Receives
Carl Faubion Award
NMSU Library employee Mary Covarrubias-Chavarria received the 2012 Carl Faubion Outstanding
Library Staff Employee of the Year Award in a ceremony at Zuhl Library. Covarrubias-
Chavarria, the Circulation Coordinator in the Library’s Access Services Department, was commended
for her leadership within Access Services and for her many contributions to the
Library and its users. She serves as a positive role model among the staff for consistently
going above and beyond her assigned duties.
Within Access Services, Covarrubias-Chavarria worked tirelessly on staff development and
training activities. She played a key role in the successful implementation of a laptop and
iPad loan program in partnership with NMSU’s Information and Communication Technologies
Department’s Student Technology Advisory Committee, and participated in discussions
to effectively address concerns regarding ICT cluster printing. She provided significant support
for facility-related tasks, such as overseeing the disposition of large quantities of equipment
and furniture and recycling of de-accessioned materials.
In the Library as a whole, she provided oversight of substantial Big Shift projects and managed
a student labor team that worked on shelving reconfigurations in a year of unprecedented
collection moves, facility issues and other special projects.
The Carl Faubion Award is presented annually to an exempt or non-exempt NMSU Library
employee who exemplifies excellence in customer service, exceptional contributions to the
library, innovation and creative thinking in problem solving or contributions which have
reduced operating costs or resulted in administrative efficiencies.
The award was made possible by former NMSU President James E. Halligan and Mrs. Ann E.
Halligan, who established the Carl Faubion Memorial Endowment for the NMSU Library in
2007. The endowment was established in memory of the late Carl Faubion, Mesilla Valley
farmer and former NMSU regent. For more information, please contact the NMSU Library
Administration at (575) 646-1508.
2013 Library Calendar Now Available
The Library announces the release of its 2013
calendar, Life in New Mexico Through the Eyes
of the Cooperative Extension Service 1900s
– 1970s: Cooking, Gardening, Home Living,
Sewing, Youth.
Each month features a Cooperative Extension
Service Circular along with a photograph
from the Archives & Special Collections Department
that matches the subject area of
the featured circular.
Mary Covarrubias-Chavarria
Library Bonus
Awards Announced
Members of the Library staff were recognized
by the Library’s Bonus Award program in a
ceremony at Zuhl Library. The program rewards
staff for exceptional service above and
beyond the normal scope of duties. Receiving
the $500 Bonus Awards were:
Non-Exempt Bonus Award
Paula Kilgore
Leilani Horton
Lorena Ramos
Exempt Bonus Award
Dean Wilkey
Faculty Bonus Award
John Sandstrom
In addition, a Team Award was given to:
Cecelia Carrasco
Elizabeth Flores
Dean Wilkey
Lenny Silverman
Charles Stanford
Kristina Martinez
The focus of the calendar is on how the Cooperative Extension Service enhanced through its
publications the lives of New Mexicans in the areas of cooking, gardening, home living,
sewing and youth.
Calendars can be purchased for only $8 each and the proceeds support the NMSU Library.
Supplies are limited. The calendars are available at the Library’s Administration Office, Room
224, Zuhl Library and at the Archives & Special Collections Department, Branson Library,
fourth floor. For more information or to place an order, call the Library Administration at
(575) 646-1508.
6

Employee Service
Awards Announced
NMSU Employee Service Awards recognizing
a total of 155 years of service by eleven Library
staff members were awarded in University
and Library ceremonies last spring.
Honored employees were:
Thirty Years
Kathy Sowa
Cindy Watkins
Twenty Years
Stuart Peale
Fifteen Years
Lorena Ramos
Ten Years
Edward Flores
Kimberly Miller
Deborah Parker
Lenny Silverman
Wendy Simpson
Five Years
Theresa Westbrock
Dean Wilkey
lib.nmsu.edu
New Mexico State University
Library Newsletter
Editor: Jeanette Smith,
jcsmith@lib.nmsu.edu.
Editorial Board: Carol Boyse, Norice Lee,
Kristina Martinez, Kimberly Miller, Ingrid
Schneider, Elizabeth A. Titus and Jo Anne
Vincenti. Photos by Jeanette Smith unless
otherwise attributed.
Published Fall and Spring semesters at
http://lib.nmsu.edu.
Scholarly Communications Workshop
Leads Library to Celebrate
Open Access Week
For the past several years the Association of College & Research Libraries has offered libraries
the opportunity to sponsor a workshop to provide their staff with in-depth information
about the issues surrounding scholarly communications. Libraries apply, and through a competitive
process five are selected. Susan Beck and Paula Johnson of the NMSU Library
collaborated with Amy Jackson of the University of New Mexico (UNM) on an application,
and were selected to co-host the “Roadshow Workshop: Scholarly Communications: From
Understanding to Engagement” in Albuquerque on August 25.
Twelve NMSU librarians joined more than sixty other individuals at the UNM conference
center to 1) enhance their understanding of scholarly communication as a system to manage
the results of research and scholarly inquiry, 2) increase their ability to examine, initiate and
support new models of scholarly communication such as research & social interaction models,
3) learn how to select and cite key principles relevant to their own scholarly communication
plans and programs and 4) be able to identify concrete actions to take back to their
institutions and in their positions to help accelerate the transformation of the scholarly
communication system.
Stimulated by this experience to “bring it home,” Paula and Susan developed a series of
events to celebrate Open Access (OA) Week, October 22-28. While this was the first year the
NMSU Library participated, OA Week has been marked internationally every October for the
past six years. The 2012 theme, “Set the Default to Open Access,” speaks to the movement’s
inextricable link with scholarly communications. OA encourages the development of new
models of research dissemination made possible by the evolution of the Internet and digital
artifacts. Events were planned to help promote an understanding of OA and to initiate a
campus-wide discussion about how OA can expand the distribution of research results by
leveraging networked technology. OA also aims to reduce financial pressure on libraries. The
prevailing model of providing patrons access to scholarly communications via ever more
expensive subscriptions means that libraries have seen their buying power diminish.
The kickoff event was a webcast of “Perspectives on Open Access: Practice, Progress and
Pitfalls.” This was a 90 minute five member panel discussion, co-sponsored by SPARC (Scholarly
Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) and the World Bank. The World Bank, like
the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, mandates that all research
carried out on its behalf be made freely accessible to the public. The next presentation was
“NMSU Library U Scholarly Communications 101,” in which the basics of scholarly communications
and open access were presented.
Following this was “Introduction to University Scholarly Communication Programs,” which
examined University-run scholarly communication programs, designed to facilitate the increase
in accessibility, usability and impact of faculty research. EScience, viewed as fundamental
to scientific progress in the twenty-first century, was also explored. The final event
had two parts: first, a presentation on author rights and a comparison of the impact factors
of OA articles and journals versus those in the traditional models. Second was a panel of
NMSU faculty members who have either published in and/or edited OA and/or traditional
journals. It was a successful start to engaging the Library and the NMSU campus in thinking
about ways of optimizing access to research.—Paula Johnson, Reference & Research Services
7

Norice Lee Appointed Library
Associate Dean
Norice Lee
Mike Mitchell, a familiar face throughout the
Library for twenty-two years, retired April 1.
Mike moved to Las Cruces from Colorado in
1989 where he worked at Norlin Library at
the University of Colorado, Boulder, for nine
years.
When he arrived at NMSU, he worked in Acquisitions
from 1990 to 1993 and then transferred
to the Mail Room. From this vantage
point, Mike saw every writing implement,
journal, book, computer, desk, chair and all
other pieces of equipment enter the building.
Mike Mitchell Retires
Norice Lee has been appointed Associate Dean
of the Library after serving for a year as Interim
Associate Dean. Previously, she served
as the department head of the Access Services
Department.
Lee began her library career at the NMSU
Library, working in Interlibrary Loan, Cataloging
and Serials. Lee then worked at Doña
Ana Community College, where she began as
a library specialist, then became assistant librarian
and then library director.
She earned her master’s degree in library and information science from the University of
Texas at Austin in 1996. She has also worked as the regional branch library manager for the
western region of the El Paso Public Library.
Lee brings leadership, energy, vision and a spirit of teamwork to her professional accomplishments.
She has served as the chair of the New Mexico Consortium of Academic Libraries and
is currently the Treasurer of the New Mexico Library Association. She has organized many
library projects, including the community college/public library in Sunland Park, and was the
first chair of the Border Health Information and Education Network executive board.
One of her projects as Associate Dean is the initiation of a series of staff development
programs known as NMSU Library U. For more information, contact Lee at (575) 646-1508.
Mike Mitchell
Reference
(continued from page 4)
The Information Desk staff often refers more
complex or time intensive questions to subject
specialist librarians, many of whom are
in the RRS department. Subject specialists
have greater knowledge of an assigned subject
and are better equipped to answer more
complex questions than other staff members.
Often, these referrals occur at the Information
Desk, but appointments are frequently
made via email, phone or IM.
When working with undergraduate and
graduate students at the Information Desk,
staff often refer them to different campus
resources such as the Student Success Center
and the Writing Center. Community users
of the Library are often referred to different
departments such as Archives & Special
Collections to answer questions on local
or University history.
The RRS Department’s Government Documents
Unit also provides specialized reference
services with a focus on New Mexico
and U.S. government information. The Reference
Program and Instructional Program
work in conjunction with large undergraduate
classes to serve students who may need
extra research help during large assignments.
Information Desk staff often prepare to help
students by learning the common questions
and research difficulties that students will
have completing the assignments, and are
ready to assist.
Overall, the Reference Program is a service
point for users in the NMSU community to
receive help with their academic careers and
information needs.—Alisa Gonzalez, Reference
& Research Services
Mike also saw many of these items be replaced by automation and online resources or be
retired long before he did. In his retirement, Mike looks forward to more time pursuing his
art and other hobbies. He is involved in reenactment gunfights under the banner of Flying
Cloud Productions, where he usually plays the bad guy. He particularly looks forward to
committing malfeasance and mayhem in the persona of John Wesley Hardin, and will continue
to perfect the art of dying well with his boots on. Also, as Dr. Beauregard Orville
Buchanan, M.D, D.D.S., Ph. D. and L.L.D. (at your service), he looks forward to selling snake oil
to folks with weak minds and deep pockets at upcoming reenactment events.
The Library bids Mike farewell in the words of New Mexico cowboy poet S. Omar Barker,
“May you never lose a stirrup; May you never waste a loop; May your can stay full of syrup
and your gizzard full of Whoop.” The Library wishes him well in his retirement.
8

In, Out & About
the Library
• John Sandstrom is one of thirty-three new
councilors-at-large elected for three-year
terms on the American Library Association
Council.
• Martha Shipman Andrews was appointed
by governor Susana Martinz to sit on the New
Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board.
• Liz Miller is the Vice-Chair/Chair-Elect of
the Online Audiovisual Cataloger cataloging
organization
• Cindy Watkins is the Library representative
to NMSU’s Advancing Leaders Program 2012-
2013.
• John Sandstrom has been appointed to the
American Library Association’s Sullivan Award
for Public Library Administrators Supporting
Services to Children Award Committee.
• Thanks to the time and expertise of NMSU
alumnus Dr. Richard Davies, the Library and
NMSU’s Teaching Academy co-sponsored a
free self-publishing workshop on October 25.
This one-day class demonstrated how to prepare
a book for publication using Microsoft
Publisher® and Adobe Photoshop Elements®.
Hendricks
(continued from page 3)
The book was a finalist for the New Mexico/
Arizona Book Awards in the category of Best
New Mexico Centennial Book. Members of
the Casad family were excited to celebrate
the publishing of the book. On July 12, 2012,
family members from New Mexico, Texas,
Georgia, Arizona, California and Maryland
came to the Library to celebrate.
The author spoke about some of the trials,
tribulations and a few scandals that followed
the Casads across the country. Attendees
enjoyed browsing through items from the
three branches of the Casad family records
housed at the Library including the Casad/
Mandell, Casad/Bennett and Casad/Lane collections.
The event was well attended and
enjoyed by all. The paperback book is available
for $17.95. For more information, contact
Hendricks at nm.historian@state.nm.us.
Kathy Sowa
Kathy Sowa Retires
Kathy Sowa retired on April 1 with more than
32 years of service to the NMSU Library.
Kathy began her NMSU career in 1974.
Branson Library was under renovation, and
Kathy and her Technical Services colleagues
completed their work—searching massive bibliographic
sources like Mansell and NUC and
filing on-order cards in the old card catalog—amidst
the vibrant orange and turquoise
decor.
The Library began to automate in 1975 with the arrival of OCLC (Ohio College Library Center)
computers. Kathy and the other searchers raced to see who could search faster, humans
manually searching, or the computer. She reports that the computer won, but not by much!
The library budget was also in good shape, enabling the Library to purchase extensive book
collections. Boxes and book trucks filled every possible space in Branson.
Kathy and her husband Ed soon relocated to Chicago where Kathy worked in the DePaul
University Library. After several years, they returned to Las Cruces, and Kathy worked at
Branson Library in the Serials Department. As the years passed, she moved to Acquisitions,
ordering books and processing serials. Kathy was promoted to unit head of Order/Receipts,
and enjoyed travelling to an alphabet soup of conferences including ALA, NMLA and NASIG.
In 1997, Kathy moved to the Reference Department at Zuhl Library, where she worked at the
Reference Desk and taught library instruction classes. Reference continued to expand. Kathy
maintained the department’s collections, including purchasing digital reference books and
measuring, counting and calculating to manage multiple moves of the print books as materials
came and went.
After the state employees organized, AFSCME worked with NMSU non-exempt staff to form
the first union at NMSU. Kathy was one of the first employees to meet at the AFSCME union
hall to begin the organizing campaign that resulted in the signing of the union contract in
2007. Kathy may have started her career with Barry White on the radio, but she chose as her
swan song a classic made famous by Ralph Chaplin, “Solidarity forever, ‘cause the union
makes us strong.” The Library wishes her well in her retirement.
Lenny Silverman Retires
Lenny Silverman retired on April 1. He began
working in the Branson Reference Unit
on October 15, 2001. He then moved to the
Archives & Special Collections Department
where he worked in the Photographic and
Reproduction Unit.
In addition to his work in the Reprographics
and Duplication Unit, Lenny did Archives &
Special Collections reference work, and was
willing to go the extra mile to help patrons.
Lenny Silverman
He was concerned not only with the details of his job but also the broader direction of the
department and the Library.
Lenny is especially known and appreciated for his artwork. He had a show in the Corbett
Center Gallery, and images of a number of his paintings were featured in the Library newsletter.
In retirement, Lenny plans to pursue many of his interests from artwork to dog training.
The Library wishes him well in his retirement.
9

10
Jeanette Smith Named Distinguished
Achievement Professor
Library Grants/University Relations Officer Jeanette C. Smith is the first Library Professor to
receive NMSU’s University Distinguished Achievement Professorship Award. Smith is one of
53 faculty members in NMSU’s first cohort recognized in 2012 by the Distinguished
Achievement Professorship program. The University Distinguished Achievement Professorship
Award recognizes tenured faculty at the rank of Professor who have served at least seven
years at that rank and have achieved an exceptionally outstanding record and who demonstrate
a record of continued extraordinary contribution.
Smith has raised more than $1,175,000 for the Library in gifts and grants. Her work with the
naming ceremony for Zuhl Library in 2000 garnered a John Cotton Dana Library Public
Relations Award for the Library from the American Library Association in 2001. Her book The
Laughing Librarian: A History of American Library Humor, published by the McFarland Publishing
Company in 2012, is selling internationally.
She has been a member of the Library faculty for 29 years. She served as Assistant Catalog
Librarian in the Catalog Department from 1983 to 1987, as Head of the Special Projects Unit
in the Technical Services Department from 1988 to 1989, as Government Documents/Codes
and Standards Librarian in the Information Services Department from 1989 to 1997 and as
Grants/University Relations Officer with the Library Administration from 1997 to the present.
Smith received a Bachelor of Science degree in English in 1968, a Master of Arts degree in
English in 1970 and a Master of Arts degree in in library science in 1973, all from the
University of Minnesota. She worked in libraries in Minnesota before moving to Las Cruces in
1983. For more information, contact Library Dean Elizabeth A. Titus at (575) 646-1508.
Smith (continued from page 3)
vides insights into the library profession and encourages a better appreciation of libraries and
librarians in society.
According to the publisher, despite the stodgy stereotypes, libraries and librarians themselves
can be quite funny. The spectrum of library humor from sources inside and outside the
profession ranges from the subtle wit of the New Yorker to the satire of Mad. This examination
of American library humor over the past two hundred years covers a wide range of
topics and spans the continuum between light and dark, from parodies to portrayals of
libraries and their staffs as objects of fear.
The book was recommended as a “must-have” by the May 15 Library History Buff blog.
According to a review in C&RL News, the book charts the largely unexplored territory of
library wit and satire, both inside and outside the profession. Will Manley’s Will Unwound
blog number 762 states that the book “really fills a void in the black hole that is library
literature…. If you buy one library science book this year, it should be The Laughing Librarian.”
Smith has enjoyed reading and writing library humor since she became a librarian in 1973.
She received the 1999 Edmund Lester Pearson Library Humor Award for an essay she wrote
for the NMSU Library newsletter and in 2005 she was named a Fellow of the premier library
humor organization, the Molesworth Institute (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Molesworth_Institute). The Laughing Librarian (paperback, $49.95) is available at the NMSU
Barnes & Noble bookstore and online from McFarland at http://www.mcfarlandpub.com.
The paperback is also available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. It is available in a
library e-book format as well. For more information, contact Smith at jcsmith@lib.nmsu.edu.
Community College
Library News
Doña Ana Community
College Library
Tammy Powers
NMSU-Grants
Library
Cecilia Stafford
NMSU-Alamogordo
Library
Sharon Jenkins
NMSU-Carlsbad
Library
Akilah Nosakhere
Alamogordo:
• Dr. Sharon Jenkins was named library director.
• The library has a rotating Centennial display
set up in the foyer. It also has a display
of crockery from the early 1900s as well as
book titles concerning New Mexico history.
In addition, the library is doing a movie exhibit
of videos that are either about New
Mexico or that were filmed in New Mexico.
They are being shown, scene by scene, in the
library’s lounge area, through a wireless connection.
• The library sponsored a Banned Books Week
Read-Out on October 4. Readers were invited
to sign up for 5 minute time slots to
read from a favorite banned book. The guest
speaker was local author Robert Proctor, who
read an original composition about censorship.
Proctor is the author of the short story
collection, Even Gods Walk in Shadows
(Xlibris, 2008) and two books of poetry.
Carlsbad:
• A photo of NMSU-Carlsbad Library staff
member Cheryl Mendez with Dr. Chang S.
Lee, English Department Chair and Professor
of Spanish and Chinese, reviewing new books
for the library’s early childhood education
professional collection, was selected as “Photo
of the Week” by the <strong>Bond</strong>s for Libraries Web
site in August. This collection is made available
through <strong>GO</strong> <strong>Bond</strong> B funding. As winners,
winners Mendez and Lee received a gift
card from <strong>Bond</strong>s for Libraries, Inc. See the
photo at http://bondsforlibraries.nmla.org.
(Community, continued on page 11)

Community
(continued from page 10)
Doña Ana Community College:
• When filling its most recent librarian position,
the NMSU-DACC library decided to
move the position from the East Mesa Library
out to a satellite campus, the Gadsden
Education Center. By providing a constant
staff presence, the library is looking forward
to having students utilize more library services.
In her first month, Jane Villasana has
already participated in welcome back events,
tours and class visits.
• The two Virtual Learning and Instructional
Technology (VLIT) staff members, Ricardo
Montoya and Sonia White, have been busy
implementing Canvas training for students
and certification classes for faculty and staff
at DACC. With the start of Fall Semester,
the VLIT group began visiting individual
classes to help students familiarize themselves
with the learning management system course
environment. Anyone can sign-up for training.
Scheduling information is available at
http://vlit.org.
Grants:
• During the spring, use of campus funding
was approved for a few important projects,
including new carpet and baseboards for the
entire library as well as new air chillers for
Martinez Hall, where the library is located.
The new colorful, finished look of the library
has elicited many smiles and compliments
from the users.
Molly Molloy Receives
Library Leadership Award
Librarian Molly Molloy received the New
Mexico Library Leadership Award from the
New Mexico Library Association during the
association’s annual conference in Las Cruces
in April. Molloy has served since 1992 as the
Latin American and Border Studies Librarian.
She provides reference and instructional
services, develops the Library’s collections in
her assigned areas and works closely with
faculty and students conducting research on
border issues and/or Latin American studies.
Molloy’s advocacy of border issues has
extended far beyond her professional job
duties, while these professional duties have
informed and have given shape to her
activism.
Molly Molloy.
Photo, Theresa Westbrock
In the early 1990s, Molloy developed online guides for Latin American and Border Issues
(http://nmsu.libguides.com/border), which became popular among scholars and community
residents. Her Web guides receive 10,000 to 15,000 hits each month, receiving well deserved
national and international acclaim. A more recent effort to share information about social
justice on the border is found in Molloy’s work on the Frontera email list, a border news
service she created several years ago which has nearly eight hundred subscribers.
Recently Molloy collaborated with journalist Charles Bowden and filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi
on the award-winning documentary The Sicario—Room 164. This film, which premiered at
the Venice Biennale in September 2011, continues to garner praise. The film provides a firsthand
account of the life of a hit man for the Juárez cartel, and it was also the basis for the
book, El Sicario: The Autobiography of a Mexican Assassin (Nation Books, 2011), which
Molloy translated and edited with Bowden. The book received a Southwest Book Award in
April from the Border Regional Library Association. For more information, contact Molloy at
(575) 646-6931 or mollymolloy@gmail.com.
Andrews (continued from page 3)
1880 and 1920. Photographs from these collections capture the unexpected: the selfreliance
of women ranchers, the craftsmanship and industry of Native American women, the
comfortable lives of a prominent Hispanic mercantile family, and the opportunities for women
created by educational institutions. The accompanying essays by scholars and faculty have
found the lives of women in southern New Mexico to be not full of endless toil and deprivation
but, rather, in the words of young Mildred Barnes from Lake Valley, “delightful, exciting,
and filled with a sense of abundance.”
New carpet at Grants
• An exhibit was prepared on the upcoming
election. The New Mexico Secretary of
State’s Web site is highlighted. Information
is also provided on the three General Obligation
<strong>Bond</strong>s that will appear on the ballot,
especially <strong>Bond</strong>s B and C, explaining how, if
passed, those two bonds will assist publicly
funded libraries and higher education institutions
statewide.
Contributing authors include the editor, Martha Shipman Andrews; Dr. Margaret Jacobs,
former member of NMSU’s Department of History and now Professor of History, University
of Nebraska; Terry R. Reynolds, former curator of the NMSU Museum; Linda G. Harris, noted
local historian and author; Dr. Joan M. Jensen and Dr. Darlis A. Miller, Professors Emeritae of
NMSU’s Department of History; Charles Stanford and Maura Kenny, both former Library
archivists; and Wendy C. Simpson and Mardi Mahaffy, of the Reference & Research Services
Department. Dr. Rick Hendricks, New Mexico’s State Historian, contributed the introduction.
The book was a finalist for the New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards in the categories of Anthology
and Best New Mexico Centennial Book. Out of the Shadows is available in paperback
($17.95) at local bookstores and online at www.LPDPress.com and Amazon.com. For more
information, contact Andrews at mandrews@lib.nmsu.edu.
11

Library Welcomes Eight New Employees
Tiffany Schirmer
Tiffany Schirmer is a Library Assistant at
Branson Library in the Technical Services Department
where she is responsible for repairs,
labeling and quality control. Tiffany is pursuing
her degree in history at NMSU. She was
previously employed at the El Paso Public Library
as a Library Assistant.
Originally from Los Angeles, Tiffany and her
husband and daughter have lived in El Paso
for the past twelve years. She has many interests
and activities, among them watching
and discussing movies, cooking, reading and
traveling. Tiffany can be contacted at (575)
646-1192 or at tschirm@lib.nmsu.edu.
A Library booth promoted the Cooperative Extension Service/
Agricultural Experiment Station Publications Digitization
Project at the Leyendecker Plant Science Center Centennial
Field Day. Pictured from left to right are Kristina Martinez,
Ana Henke, Susan Portillo and Cindy Watkins.
12
Library student employee Claire Cortner staffs a booth
promoting the Library during Aggie Welcome Week.
Cassie McClure
Returning to the NMSU Library, Cassie McClure
has been hired as a Senior Library Specialist in
the Cataloging Unit of the Technical Services
Department. She came most recently from
NMSU’s Center for Animal Health, Food Safety
and Bio-Security’s PREDICT Open Source Intelligence
Laboratory, but was previously a Library
Specialist at the Library for the Hobson-
Huntsinger University Archives from 2008 to
2010.
Cassie is a 2006 NMSU alumna with bachelor’s
degrees in German and journalism and also
has a master’s degree in rhetoric and professional
communication.
She’s trying to learn more Spanish, her
husband’s native tongue for when their first
joint linguistic venture, more commonly
known as a daughter, arrives at the end of
October. Cassie can be reached at (575) 646-
4542 or at cmcclure@nmsu.edu.

Teddie Payne-Riehl
Teddie Payne-Riehl has joined the Library’s
Archives & Special Collections Department
as a Library Specialist. In 1996 Teddie worked
as a co-op student at Zuhl Library. After her
co-op experience she was employed by the
Thomas Branigan Memorial Library as a Library
Technician for 14 years. In 2009 she
became the director of the Española Public
Library. She brought many changes to that
library and secured capital outlay money to
help build a new library for Española.
Teddie intends to complete her associate’s degree
and eventually work towards a master’s
degree in library science. Geocaching, reading
and crafting are among her favorite pastimes.
She currently has three grandchildren
with one more on the way in February. Teddie
can be reached at teddiepr@nmsu.edu or
(575) 646-7455.
Erica Aguirre-Bautista
Erica Aguirre-Bautista is the Library’s new
Administrative Assistant in Library Administration
Department. Erica received her
associate’s degree in graphic design and arts
in 2010. She also has her certificate in digital
graphics. Before coming to NMSU she
worked at the Doña Ana County Detention
Center as a Document Technician.
Erica enjoys spending time with her husband
and family. She loves to go shopping, listening
to music and photographing friends and
family. Erica can be contacted in the Library
Administration at (575) 646-1508 or at
aerica@nmsu.edu.
Felipe Castillo
Felipe Castillo has joined Reference & Research
Services as the new Business Librarian.
He is a recent library and information
science graduate from the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign Library School.
There he worked for the University Library.
Felipe earned a bachelor’s degree in business
administration at Azusa Pacific University.
Felipe moved to Las Cruces with his wife
Sasha. He enjoys long-distance running and
is currently seeking a four-legged companion
to join him. His office is located in Zuhl
Library. Felipe may be reached at (575) 646-
7481 or fcastil@nmsu.edu.
Josefine Smith
Josefine Smith, the Library’s new Government
Documents and Maps Librarian in the Reference
& Research Services Department, received
her master’s degree in library and information
science and her bachelor’s in literature
and history from the University of
Pittsburgh.
When she is not working, Josefine enjoys
spending quality time with her husband Eric.
Josefine enjoys hanging out with friends and
family, hiking and a good story whether in
video or print format. You can reach Josefine
in the Government Documents Unit in
Branson Library at (575) 646-4385 or at
jmasmith@lib.nmsu.edu.
Jonathan Butz
Jonathan Butz joined the Reference & Research
Services team as a Library Specialist
after working as a student in the same department.
In 2007, he earned a B.A. in journalism
& mass communications from NMSU
and an A.A.S in creative media technology
from Doña Ana Community College. Eventually
he would like to earn a master’s degree
in library and information science and develop
a career in library science.
As an undergraduate, Jonathan was a DJ for
KRUX 91.5 FM and wrote for the student
newspaper. Jonathan’s writing and photography
have appeared in the Valencia County
News-Bulletin, the Albuquerque Journal and
the Las Cruces Bulletin. In his free time he
enjoys building Web sites, playing music, writing,
drawing, reading, camping, bike riding
and haunting libraries. Contact Jonathan at
(575) 646-2869 or butz@lib.nmsu.edu.
Matt Friedberg
Matt Friedberg joins the Library as a Library
Specialist for the Political Papers Unit of Archives
& Special Collections. He will process
papers in the Domenici collection and supervise
the department’s student employees.
Matt previously worked for the department
as a student for the last two years in Special
Collections. He is continuing to work toward
his B.A. degree in history.
Matt enjoys following baseball and college
basketball. After finishing his six-year stint
as a reservist in the U.S. Marine Corps, he is
likely to be found on his boat on Elephant
Butte Lake or hiking and target shooting in
the deserts and high country of southern New
Mexico when not on campus. Matt can be
contacted at (575) 646-7454 or
mfriedbe@lib.nmsu.edu.
13

Grants and Gifts Announced
• Norice Lee is the Library’s project director for a $9,477 Federal Aviation Agency Center
of Excellence contract for the Library through the New Mexico Space Grant Consortium for
a project to “Capture a Body of Knowledge for Commercial Spaceport Practices.”
• Norice Lee is the Library’s project director for the “Grow Our Own Librarians” project,
with a consortium of El Paso libraries, funded by the Institute for Museum and Library
Services Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program. The Library will receive approximately
$4,000 for a future librarian-in-training program. For more information, see http://
lib.nmsu.edu/sites/libnews/nmsu-student-learns-about-libraries/.
Several librarians recently received grant
awards from NMSU’s Southwest and Border
Cultures Institute:
• Molly Molloy, $2,199.80 for “Expanding Access to Cartoneras in the U.S.-Mexico Border
and the American Southwest.”
• Cindy Watkins, $2,000 for “Digitizing NMSU’s Historical Agricultural Extension Service
Publications.”
• Mardi Mahaffy and Sarah Baker, $1,704.65 for “NMSU Library 2013 Program Celebrating
El Dia de Los Ninos/El Dia de los Libros.”
• Ellen Bosman, $2,000 for “An Online Map of New Mexico’s Literary Heritage.”
• Bosman also received a $1,000 award from the New Mexico Library Foundation for “An
Online Map of New Mexico’s Literary Heritage,” for a $3,000 project total.
Library Takes Part in
Technology Day
The Library participated in NMSU’s Technology
Day on September 27. Volunteers at the
Library booth promoted LibChat and
LibGuides, new digital collections, and laptop
and iPad checkout at the Library.
There were drawings for a Pistol Pete USB
drive, won by James Knight; the Library’s 2013
calendar, won by Elena Ulloa; and note cards
of “Capturing the State of New Mexico’s First
100 Years,” won by Vanessa Mendez . NMSU
student Jessica Duarte was the winner of a
copy card.
The booth was organized by Ingrid Schneider
of Technical Services and Josefine Smith from
Government Documents. Volunteers were Jo
Anne Vincenti, Yolie Chacon-Valle, Lisa
Mendoza-Valdivia, Jennifer Chavez, Dora
Morales, Gracie Martinez, Jonathan Butz,
Linda Landez-Garcia and Cassie McClure.
—Josefine Smith, Reference & Research Services
McKee Foundation
Gift Builds Collections
14
The Library and the NMSU Alumni Association are sponsoring an Author Showcase
at the first annual Southwest Book Fiesta, May 10-12, 2013, in Albuquerque. NMSU’s
Author Showcase will offer opportunities for author “meet and greet” sessions as
well as a chance to showcase your book(s). If you are interested in having your
book considered as a featured work, please submit a copy for review to:
NMSU Library
Attn: Kristina Martinez, Director of Development
P.O. Box 30006, MSC 3475
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8006
For more information about the event, call Kristina Martinez at (575) 646-3642
or visit http://www.swbookfiesta.com/
The Library has received $6,000 from the
Robert E. and Evelyn McKee Foundation of El
Paso. The gift was used for the purchase of
more than fifty new current engineering
reference titles for the Library’s collection.
The McKee Foundation has supported the
Library since 1995. Robert E. McKee is
remembered as the “master builder” whose
construction company, McKee Construction,
built seven buildings on the NMSU campus.
McKee also built major structures in El Paso
as well as Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta and
other cities.
The selection of the engineering resources was
conducted by Engineering Librarian Paula
Johnson. For more information, please
contact her at paulacj@lib.nmsu.edu or (575)
646-7251.

Photo Book Receives
State Heritage Award
The book Las Cruces: A Photographic Journey,
a collaborative project of the Las Cruces
Bulletin and the NMSU Library’s Archives &
Special Collections Department, was awarded
the Heritage Preservation Award by the Cultural
Properties Review Committee and the
Historic Preservation Division of the New
Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. The
award was presented to representatives of
the Bulletin and the Library at a ceremony in
May in Santa Fe.
Dr. Rick Hendricks, Chair of the Cultural Properties
Review Committee, said “many elements
of lost Las Cruces history are now
available to a wider audience because of the
book.”
The pictorial history, published just in time
for New Mexico’s centennial, has become a
collector’s item and heirloom for families
throughout this area. The 288-page book
offers an illustrated tour of the first 100 years
of New Mexico statehood in Las Cruces and
Doña Ana County. Of the nearly 1,200 photos
in the volume, more than 500 are from
the archival photo collection of the Library’s
Archives & Special Collections Department.
To order the book, contact the Bulletin at
(575) 524-8061. For more information on
the award, contact Dean Wilkey at (575) 646-
4727.
Kristina Martinez gives a campus
tour to NMSU alumnae Stephanie
Crystal Thorp and her cousin
Cynthia Land during their visit
from Mystic, Connecticut. Not
pictured is Barry Thorp.
In Memoriam: James P. Dyke
Lt. Col. James Parvin Dyke USAF, Ret. of Albuquerque
passed away peacefully on April
11, 2012, at the age of 91. He was born in
Breckenridge, Texas, on September 10, 1920.
He graduated from high school in Walters,
Oklahoma, and attended Hardin-Simmons
University (B.A. history), the University of
Oklahoma (B.A. library science), and the University
of Illinois (MLS and Ph. D. library science).
James served during WWII as a B-24
pilot in the USAF. He flew 35 successful missions
out of Norwich, England. He continued
as a reservist until his retirement.
Dr. James P. Dyke
During his career, James was the library director at Eastern New Mexico University, Texas
A&M University and New Mexico State University. James married Dorothy Mae Singleton
Andrew in 1972, and she preceded him in death. A memorial reception took place at La Vida
Llena Retirement Community, where he resided. Memorial gifts may be sent to La Vida Llena
Retirement Community, 10501 Lagrima de Oro NE, Albuquerque, NM 87111.
In Memoriam: Veronica Sieminski
Veronica Sieminski
Veronica Susan Sieminski was born April 24,
1920, in Pittsburgh to Adam and Tillie
Sieminski, immigrants from Poland and
Lithuania. She died on April 23, 2012, at
Good Samaritan Village Health Care Center
in Las Cruces.
After graduation from high school, Veronica
worked for the <strong>Bond</strong> Division of the U.S. Treasury
Department in both Washington, D.C.
and Chicago. In 1942 Veronica joined the
Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) which
later became the Women’s Army Corps
(WAC).
Upon her discharge from the Army in 1944, Veronica entered college on the G.I. Bill. She
attended the University of New Mexico for two years and then transferred to Pomona College
in California. She continued her education at Columbia University in New York City
where she received a master’s degree in library science. Veronica moved to Las Cruces in
1957 to become the Serials Librarian at the NMSU Library, a position she held until her
retirement in 1982.
She was active in various professional organizations including the New Mexico Library Association
and the American Library Association. Veronica was a sports enthusiast and travelled
the world. In her later years she became an avid golfer and a member of the University
Women’s Golf Association. She also had season tickets to all Aggie football and basketball
games, supporting them—unless they were playing her Lobos!
Veronica loved classical music, enjoyed symphony concerts and took up piano and cello later
in life. She also loved the theatre and rarely missed local performances. Donations in her
memory may be made to the Good Samaritan Society, Las Cruces Village, 3025 Terrace Drive,
Las Cruces, NM 80011.
15

Now that J. K. Rowling’s first novel for adults, The Casual Vacancy, is
hitting the best-seller lists, it seemed like a good time to revisit a
piece from the Library newsletter of September 2001:
Muggles and Magic
Recently, a friend told me that she had been invited to a Harry Potter costume party and
needed some advice on what to wear. Since she was not familiar with the Harry Potter
books, I advised her to go as herself and announce that she was a Muggle.
We like you!
How about liking us!
http://lib.nmsu.edu/webfeeds.html
http://facebook.com/LibraryatNMSU
http://twitter.com/#!/nmsulibrary
http://www.youtube.com/nmsulibrary
Muggles, as Harry Potter fans know, are ordinary humans who live outside the world of
magic that Harry and his friends Hermione and Ron study at Hogwart’s School.
The fascination of today’s children with the Harry Potter novels reminds me of my own
childhood reading patterns. I read everything from Archie and Veronica comic books to
cereal boxes to Charles Dickens. I remember finding gems in my parents’ home library such
as “Rappacini’s Daughter.” Only much later did I learn who Nathaniel Hawthorne was. In the
sixth grade, I read The Merchant of Venice and memorized the poem “The Lorelei” by Heinrich
Heine.
In junior high, I began reading Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, which published science
fiction and fantasy as well as mystery stories, and remember well the classic time travel story
“Vintage Season” by C.L. Moore. Through my teenage years, I devoured the works of H.G.
Wells and the sci-fi anthologies edited by Anthony Boucher. J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings
marked my debut into the world of epic fantasy, a world that is still alive and well in the
famous “Wheel of Time” series by Robert Jordan.
Whether you bury your nose in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, The Fellowship of the
Ring, The Eye of the World, Hawthorne, Dickens or Shakespeare, enjoy your venture into the
magical world of reading, and go there often. Hogwart’s School is as real as New Mexico
State University—only a Muggle would disagree.—Jeanette Smith, Library Administration
New Mexico State University Library
MSC 3475, P.O. Box 30006
Las Cruces, NM 88003-8006
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage
PAID
Las Cruces, NM 88003-9991
Permit #162
16