Date: Fri 09-Apr-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: JAN

Quick Words:

Booth-Library-Armstrong

Full Text:

A Library Veteran Moves On

(with photo)

BY JAN HOWARD

A longtime employee of the Cyrenius H. Booth Library will be saying her

goodbyes next week to fellow staffers and the people of Newtown she has

served.

Maureen Armstrong said she has "so many memories" of the library and the

people to take with her when she steps down April 15 as technical services

librarian after 27 years with the library.

She said she will make no commitments for the first six months of her

retirement. She wants to just enjoy being at home with her husband, Tom, who

is already retired.

She said some recent deaths of friends "have given me a new way of thinking

about time. I want to have some good times with Tom."

The Armstrongs have been residents of Newtown for 41 years.

They have three children: Tom and his wife, Paula, and their daughters,

Crystal and Sandra, live in Middlebury; Janet and her husband, Vic, and

daughter, Lara, live in Wolf Point, Mont.; and Jeffrey and his wife, Cheryl,

and their baby, Samantha, live in Newton Centre, Mass.

Mrs Armstrong said she has no plans as yet for her retirement.

"We may be doing some traveling. My daughter lives in Montana, and we've done

some wonderful trips with them," she said.

One thing she said she won't do is volunteer at the library, despite what

library patrons may have hoped. "I don't think it's a good thing to volunteer

where you worked," Mrs Armstrong said.

Mrs Armstrong's first assignment with the library was on the circulation desk.

When the current director, Janet Woycik, took over, Mrs Armstrong began to do

the technical services part of the job, which consists of assigning Dewey

decimal system numbers to books and entering books, videos, magazines, and

books on tape into the computer system.

"It sounds boring, but it's not," Mrs Armstrong said.

She also does inter-library loans. "That's my favorite thing to do."

Many questions enter into inter-library loans, she said. "Is the title the

patron has given me correct? Does the book exist? Who has it? and Can we get

it?"

Mrs Armstrong said each library is unique in its collection. Because Mrs

Woycik likes how-to books, the C.H. Booth Library has a large collection, and

they are widely used. "It's amazing how many people can fix or make things for

their homes," Mrs Armstrong said.

There are many things Mrs Armstrong will remember about her years at the

library.

"In the early years, there was one person from Fairfield Hills Hospital who

was allowed to walk to the library," she said. "He had a thing for numbers,

and one day he called in to say he couldn't return his books that day and

identified himself with his library card number."

Mrs Armstrong remembers another man who would come into the library and always

say, "It's a good day for the race."

"When we asked `What race?', he would say `the human race,'" she laughed.

Mrs Armstrong described the library as always "very friendly." She has worked

for three library directors.

"My first boss was Betty Downs. She was devoted to the library, patrons, and

staff. She had a wonderful sense of humor," Mrs Armstrong said. "Betty Downs

was a very stabilizing influence."

Mrs Woycik "is a shaker and a mover," Mrs Armstrong said. "I have a problem

with change. She's helped me adjust to all the changes she's made, which are

numerous. I really love working for Janet, and my younger son once said

`You're the only person who enjoys going to work everyday.'"

Mrs Armstrong has seen many changes in the library in her 27 years. There are

now more employees and services and resources than in her early years.

"When I started, moms volunteered for story hours and puppet shows," she said.

"Betty was very good on sports, I liked psychology and sociology, and another

woman liked antiques. We drew on each other's strengths. The World Almanac and

the World Book Encyclopedia were our two main sources."

People expect many more services from the library today, she said.

Mrs Armstrong has also seen changes in the books the library offers. "The

artwork in children's books is so beautiful," she noted.

Mrs Armstrong explained that high school students helped the library in its

transition years ago from paper records to the computer.

Mrs Armstrong said she likes libraries, hotel lobbies, and college campuses.

"I love to visit them. They're fun."

She said when the town turned down a proposal for a library addition more than

20 years ago, the children's library was moved upstairs.

With the new addition, the library is now restored to how Mary Hawley wanted

it, with the historic rooms upstairs, Mrs Armstrong said. "Her legacy has

returned to the town."

"It's like working in a museum that has books and computers."