Interview with Dr. Bill Mears

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People
Stephanie Langenkamp
Dr. Lou Maloney
Charles Johnson
Dave Huffman
Transcript
Today is Friday, February 29th. We're at the San Marcos Public Library. My name is Arro Smith. I am the director of the Capturing Our Stories National Oral History Program of Retiring/Retired Librarians. Today we are interviewing Dr. Bill Mears. He is the former director of the Texas State University Library in San Marcos, Texas. He is currently the director of the Kyle Public Library in Kyle, Texas. Doing the interview is Stephanie Langenkamp. She is the director of the San Marcos Public Library.
Stephanie Langenkamp: Bill, thank you so much for coming today. We appreciate your involvement in this great project. Can you give me just a brief rundown of your career--all the different steps in your career?
Bill Mears: Well, I'll just restrict that to my library career. I started off as a--kind of a--a forced volunteer at a junior-high library. I was involved in a program, and the principal said, "When you are not doing anything in this program, go help out in the library." And that was my initial introduction to being involved in working in a library.
After that, I went to library school and [I] was very much involved from that point forward in libraries. I was the assistant director of public services at the University of Southern Mississippi. I was the director at a community library in Ohio.
I came back and started off as the assistant director at Texas State University, formerly Southwest Texas State University. I was there for twenty-five years.
After I retired I went to help someone out--they called me and asked me to help automate the Episcopal Theological Seminary while they were hiring a director--and it was only supposed to be for three months. Well, the search fell through, and I ended up being there for eight months--and I really enjoyed that stay in a seminary library.
After that, I went to a prison library. I was the director of a men and women's prison library for two years. And then a friend of mine told me about the availability of a public library's director position in Kyle. And I took that position and I have been there ever since--and I really enjoy that.
S.L.: Wow, that is quite a spectrum.
Mears: So it's about being involved in seven libraries; but in six different types of libraries.
S.L.: I guess you make a great first candidate for this oral history interview because you have been in every kind of library, except--let's see--Library of Congress, coming up. So, which one of those did you like the best?
Mears: At the time, I said I enjoyed every single one of them. I've always liked work, and I've always liked whatever library I was working in. And I can say that and mean it. Now that I'm in a public library, I can say that I like that one the best.
S.L.: So, what's the commonality between all of them?
Mears: They are there to serve people. That has been my guiding belief in every library that I have worked--in whatever library you are in, you are there to serve the public that comes into your library.
S.L.: So is it safe to say that when you were in junior high, you already knew that you wanted to become a librarian?
Mears: No, that is not safe to say. As I said, the principal told me when I wasn't being involved in this organization to go help the librarian-- The main thing I remember from that is-- At the end of the school year, we taped newspaper over all the stacks so they wouldn't get any dust on the books over the summer. I remember stuffing paper down in the back of the shelves so that no dust could get back in the shelves. And I really didn't know at that time that I was going to get involved in libraries. It really wasn't until--this is a long story, is it too long?
S.L.: No, go ahead.
Mears: Okay. I have seven undergraduate majors. I kept going back and getting another undergraduate major. I met my future wife, and she said "You're not very smart are you?" I said, "Why?" She said, "You could have had a doctorate degree by now. Why don't you go on and get your master's?" Having just completed a major in library and information science, I said "Yeah, okay. That sounds smart." So I went and got my master's in library and information science. And finished my master's, and my wife said, "Now that you've got that, why don't you just go on and get your doctorate degree?" And had just taken a vow that I would never go back to school again. I had had enough; but then I went back to school, and got my doctorate.
S.L.: And where did you get that?
Mears: University of Southern Mississippi.
S.L.: Okay. So, after that is when you started in with the community college library?
Mears: No. First, after I got my master's degree, they hired me on as the head of public services libraries at the University of Southern Mississippi. And it was from there that I went to the community college.
S.L.: Well, that is quite a career. Now, where there things in your childhood, either a relationship to books, or just little hints when you were a kid, that made you go--looking back on it--"yeah, I think I would have become a librarian?" based on this or that--
Mears: I don't know; but I did have one unique experience--I don't know if I should tell this one; but I will--they can edit it if they want--. I did have one unique experience in a library when I was very young. I used to--there were really two experiences: Being very cheap, I used to save up Coke bottles and get two cents for every Coke bottle I got, and I would save up and get ninety-nine cents. And once I got ninety-nine cents, I could go down to a stationery story, of all places, and buy a Hardy Boy book. And I would do that so I could keep reading the Hardy Boys, because I loved the Hardy Boy books, and I suddenly found out that the public library carried the Hardy Boy books, and I didn't have to spend my ninety-nine cents on the Hardy Boy books anymore. So I could use that to go to the movies on Saturday, which only cost nine cents at the time. Anyway, so that's one thing--I loved the idea of saving money.
But the second thing--and I think that I will always, always remember this--I can still see this scene in my mind: Being a young boy, and being interested in things, I one time--I kept looking in the library for books on a certain subject--I'll tell you it was sex. And I could never find this book, so--I didn't want to go up and ask at the desk--but after enough weeks of looking, I finally went up to the desk, and I asked this librarian that was at the desk, "Do you have such-and-such book?"--I can't remember the title. And with that, she started, "Why does a young man your age want to look at that type of book--?"
And about that time, a nice woman from behind the scene came onto the scene and said, "Mary"--or whatever her name was--"I'll take care of this." And she came up to me, and she said, "We keep that book behind the desk. Do you think you are old enough to read this?" And I didn't know what to say, so I said, "yes." And so she gave me that book, and I got to look at all the pictures in that book, and was contented and turned it back in.
And I always to this day remember the kindness of that woman, because I was so embarrassed. And love that woman for that, and I still think of that woman kindly, and always insist that my staff treat people with respect--especially kids. That's a long story; but--
S.L.: So, that woman may have had an effect, in terms of inspiring you to become a librarian. Was there any other person that you think--was pivotal--?
Mears: I would love to say something dramatic and interesting; but my wife told me one time, when I was getting my degree, she said, "You need to get a master's degree." So, we were going to married, and she said, "I want you to be able to support me, and make enough money to take care of us." And having the master's degree--and it just turned out I got it in library science--turned out how I got in there. I can't say there was any--anyone--that really just turned me on to being a librarian.
S.L.: So
AS: What date did you get your master's degree in library science?
Mears: 1970.
AS: And was that part ofat that time the LBJ administration had an initiative topush people through PhD programs in library science.Were you part of that initiative?
Mears: No, I didn't get myI got my master's degree in library science. I got my PhD in administration.
S.L.: College administration?
Mears: Yes.
S.L.: Did you ever want to be a university administrator or?
Mears: Well, I kind of thought that I was, when I was head of the university library
S.L.: I guess you were then (laughter). I always thought of you as a librarian.
Mears: I do too.
S.L.: Once a librarian, always a librarian.
Mears: True, true.
S.L.: Your heart really seems to be in libraries, as opposed to administrative things. I should tell the peoplefor the audience­­that I actually know you in a rather personal way, from having worked for you and with you on the library board here [at the San Marcos Public Library]. I think it is fair to say, that you are a true librarian, and not much of a bureaucrat.
Mears: Oh, well, thank you (laughter). I'll tell you what--it's interesting--my sister is a librarian--was a librarian and opened libraries for a school system, became a principal, and has now gone back to being a librarian again. And my son-in-law--interestingly enough--is a librarian. So, it kind of runs in the family. And I assure each one of them that it is the best profession that you can get into.
S.L.: I would have to agree with that. One thing that I do remember--I worked for you at the University library here, and I--something very striking about you is that you always continue to work at the reference desk, even when you became a university administrator. Can you tell us why you felt that that was important?
Mears: I could say a lot of noble reasons--but it was because I liked working with the public. That's the bottom line of it. I truly found that much more enjoyable than pushing paper all day long. And so it was almost a relief to get out and work with the public. But I really liked working with the public. I like to do reference, because it's kind of like solving a puzzle--you know--finding the right answer. And because people usually appreciate that, and appreciate you--is another rewarding part of it.
S.L.: Now, you have had an opportunity to do reference work in a lot of different kinds of libraries. How does that vary? You have been at a prison library, for example--how would that be different?
Mears: In the prison library, the primary reference work that I did there was helping the inmates find the law books that they needed to do an appeal, or something of that nature. --Very little reference work in the traditional sense of coming in and having a question about whatever--and looking and using the reference books for that--most of that did not occur in the prison library.
S.L.: Did you enjoy working with the prisoners?
Mears: Oh, the prisoners were just great to work with. First of all, it was a privilege to come into the library [for the prisoners]. And they always did real well in the library. There was only one thing that didn't do well in--and that is--they had--it was a male and female prison, and it was separated, of course--but they used to have women in the library--in the prison--that would come in and cook each day--and the inmates that were in the library were not supposed to look at them as they went by. And I was supposed to insure that they did not. Well, you know, that was just impossible. (Laughter) And so, in that sense, I wasn't too successful. But they were great. They would come in there--and the workers--the prison inmates who worked in the library--were just super. You would just say, "I'd like re-do all the spine labels." That's all you said. And they just went and did it. And they loved to just do some work in there. They were great.
S.L.: Oh, that's interesting.
Mears: Can I tell you a story?
S.L.: Sure.
Mears: I think one of the most pleasant experiences that I had, is that after I left the prison--and it was about a year after I left the prison--I got a call from a woman. And she said, "This is Mrs. So-and so, from Fayetteville, Arkansas." And I said, "Hi." And she said, "Are you Bill Mears?" I said, "Yes." And she said, "Did you work in a prison library?" And [I] said, "Yes." She said, "I have spent months running you down, and finding out where you were." She said, "I want to tell you something."
She said, "You told my son about inter-library loan." And she said, "You have made his prison stay a real, real positive thing--in some ways." And she said, "I want to thank you." And she started to cry. And it kind of got to me, also.
S.L.: Sure--
Mears: It made me feel good. And that was one of the nicest compliments I ever got.
S.L.: Oh, yeah. That's a great story--. Do you feel like your library school career prepared you well for your work in libraries? Or was it more learned on the job?
Mears: A combination of both, I think is the diplomatic answer. And, in truth, the real answer. There are some things that I learned in library school, that I think were helpful--especially in the area of cataloging, although how much I remember remains to be seenbut I think that helped me when I started doing cataloging. But I think a lot of it was learned on the job. And then there were things that you had to know, that I never learned in library school--or any school at all.
An example of that might be: At the University, one of the little things that I know how to take care of, was when the men's urinals ran over because the handle got stuck. I knew how to go in and unstick that. And they would always call me and say, you know, "Dr. Mears, can you go to the restroom (laughter) and fix it--." And--
AS: That's a guy-librarian thing.
Mears: And I would always think, walking there to do that job, "This is what I went and got a PhD for? (laughter) So I could____." But anyway--I like every part of being a librarian. I like that part. I like every part of being a librarian.
S.L.: It has a bit of everything in it, doesn't it?
Mears: It does.
S.L.: So, tell me about some of your triumphs--you know--. You have mentioned this touching story about this prisoner; but in terms of--you know what you see as your big accomplishments in the library field. Talk about a couple of those. And I know you have some. --Well, you built a big building, for one thing. Why don't you talk a little bit about that experience?
Mears: That was a unique experience. And I think that's an experience that every librarian should have, and would I hope they would have. That is being involved in a new library. At the [Southwest Texas State] University we were growing short on space, and the president called me in, and said, "Bill, how would you like to have a new library?" Well, of course, you say "Yes." And I got my hopes all up, we thought we were going to get a new library; and he said, "Well, the political climate isn't right to ask for itI'll get back to you." Yeah, I know what that means. But, he did.
And we became involved in building a huge seven-story library. Each story was about the equivalent of one football field. So it was the equivalent of seven football fields, stacked one on top of the other. It was a big undertaking. And what made it special, was the fact that the university had never involved the department in the building of a building before. What they would do, is they would have the university physical plant work with the architects, and then they take and build the building, and then they would turn it over to the department people.
So, I don't know why they chose us--and it turned out to be a very good experience. We worked--I worked very closely with the project architect. I got way more credit than I deserved for the building. But the real credit belong to the staff, because what would happen is: I would get the plans from the project architect, and then I would take them to the different department heads. And I would say, "Would you talk to your people about this. Look over your area, and see how you think this is going to workand what's not going to work." And they would say, well--they would find doors that were going to open where the desk was going to be, and that wouldn't work. And so they constantly refined the plans. And we really--I think we got a very functional building.
The building was very impressive, physically. The materials used on the building were impressive. And I always felt like what most people missed was the functionality of the building. I felt like the building functioned very well. With one exception--and it was something that I worked on with the head of circulation for a long period of time.
And that was the book drop. We worked on the location of the book drop, and making sure the book drop would be just so--so that we could put a cart under there and roll the cart from the book drop to the circulation desk in the shortest amount of space. And--when they put in the book drop, they didn't have the floor down. There was some granite flooring they were putting in, and it wasn't down--and it wasn't down. So, when they measured it, they measured it wrong. And then they put the book drop in--and either I didn't figure it right, or somehow or another it got wrong--and the book drop had to empty all the books onto the floor. And everydayto this day--people have to bend down and pick up one book at a time (laughter) and put it in the cart, and then to the circulation desk--. It is the major one thing that went wrong. So I like to talk about the things that went wrong with the building better than the things that went right--. Seriously, it was, I believe, a very functional building. I still like the flow of the traffic in that building. I like the way a lot of things were done. And I do have to attribute my staff--not myself--for all they ways it worked well.
S.L.: Well, it is a very, very beautiful building--a real asset to the university.
Computers have changed a lot about libraries since you started your career, and I know you enjoy computers a lot. Could you reflect for a few minutes on the change that came with computers to your library?
Mears: Okay. When I started at the library--the library at the [Southwest Texas State] University library--let's see. Where should I start? The first--
S.L.: How about the first computer that you interacted with in your library?
Mears: As an online catalog? Or as a PC computer?--just trying to figure out where to start here--.
S.L.: PC.
Mears: PC. That's a good place to start. The first--I'd also like to take credit for this; but, again, I can't. I had a friend that was very, very much into calling himself and identifying himself as a futurist. And he told me that computers were the thing of the future--that I really needed to be aware of what was coming, in terms of the future.
S.L.: Was that Charles Johnson?
Mears: It was Charles Johnson and Dave Huffman. And I think being smart is getting smart people around you--and I've always tried to get as [many] smart people around me as I possibly could. So I got--the first computer that we got--was a little Radio Shack computer. We got one of those. And then we--then they were talking about--they came to me and said, "You know there's a four K [kb] color computer out there." "Four K, what are they going with all that?" (laughter) And so I ordered those, and those were called compu-colors. They were constantly breaking. And I embarrassed that I had ever ordered them. And then from there we went to Apples, from there we went to PCs, and the whole scene exploded.
And today, I don't know how people kind of--can even think of a library with the personal computer there. The interesting thing that I see coming is that we have gone from the "dumb" terminal, to the pretty much independent PC terminal, and now people are starting to talk in terms of going to the "thin client." I'm just--I find it hard to believe that we are going to go back; but we'll have to wait and see, is all I can say. It has made a huge difference. I think that one of the main services, that our library today provides to the public--to a certain aspect of the public--are PCs, to get on the Internet. For those people that don't have a PC at home--don't have something that is hooked up to the Internet. And to show you what a futurist I am, when I took this job, they had nine computers in the library--
S.L.: And you are talking about the Kyle Public Library--.
Mears: --Kyle Public Library--and Kyle was a very small town five years ago. Most people won't know how much it has increased in size in the last five years. But anyway, it had nine computers, and two of those computers were for the staff. So they had seven public computers. And my thinking at that time was: everybody will soon have a computer in their home, like everybody had a microwave, and so we'll probably need less computers in the future.
But right now, we have nineteen computers in our library. I am ordering five more--I just got permission to order five more computers for our library--and I would say a good portion of our patrons come into the library to use the Internet.
I think it has had huge role in changing--at least in my mind--librarians argue with me about this--I think it has changed the role of the library significantly. I know that we have talked about how you have answered reference questions--and I've answered reference questions; but most people today come into the library and they sit down and they Google their answers. It is when they can't find their answer--that's when the librarian comes into play. But I think that I've seen a change in the way reference has taken place--in the last five years--in so far as people just sit down and Google things. Now, I know we could talk and argue about this--. I remember being in a meeting about two years ago, and bringing this up, and some of the librarians there vehemently disagreed with me--and pulled me aside after the meeting, and told me I was totally wrong; but I know from our experience in our library at least, that happens--that happens all the time.
S.L.: What skills do you think are most important for being a good librarian?
Mears: I think the most important skill that any librarian can have, is good people skills. When I hire, I just look to see if I can determine if the person is going to work well with the public. During the course of my forty years of being a librarian, the people that I have had to let go, have been people who have not been able to work well with others--whether that be fellow staff members, or the public. They didn't have the ability to have good people skills--they could have been outstandingly bright; but if they can't work with the public, if they can't work well with people, I don't think they can be a good librarian.
And that even applies to the librarians that are in tech services, if you have a tech services department. Again, that ability to work well with others just comes to the fore all the time. And it makes for a better operation; it makes for a better library; it makes for a better cooperation among the staff, when you have people that can work well with one another. I just--I could talk all day about this, and I don't think I could get to the next part, because I think this is so key.
S.L.: Absolutely. But obviously--beyond that--there are some specialized skill sets that you would seek out in a professional librarian, besides the good people skills. What would you look for if you were hiring a second-in-command for the Kyle Public Library, for example? And you've got five candidates that are all great people-persons, what would you look for next?
Mears: Next, I would look for a person that would be willing to--maybe--I hate to use the term "think outside the box"--because it is when you think outside the box, I think that's when you make progress. I think the person ought to have a degree of curiosity--and also, have a degree of--liking to solve problems. I love to solve a problem. There is nothing more that makes me happier then when someone says, "I have a problem." I say "Oh, boy. Let's go. What is it." And once I hear about their problem, then I'm looking for a solution. Or they come in and say, "You know, this just isn't working out at the circulation desk--we've got to do something else. What can we do?"
I like to bring people together, and sit down and talk with them, and collaboratively work with them. So, I guess I like that quality also--to be able to work collaboratively with others, and to be a problem-solver. Those are some of the other things I think they should have.
S.L.: Now, I understand you are getting ready to build a new library in Kyle. So, how has this process been different from the--political part--of building the library at the university?
Mears: Well, there is politics involved in both aspects, and in both situations. At the university there was politics involved. Most of it--no, ninety-nine percent--I was not involved in it at the university. I am involved in it more at the public library. I remember reading something in Wheeler's book, when I was studying and trying to figure out how to build a library--what happened when I was told we might build one at the university--and that is, he said: that the librarian has the least influence in the designation of the spot of the library. And I find that to be true.
Although I am involved in that politically in Kyle, there are groups that want the library "here;" there are groups that want it "here;" and there are groups that want it "there;" and there are groups that don't want it "here." And so, I--if it comes to a bond issue, I want to have all of those groups voting for the library, and so the way I handle that is, I say, "I don't care where it is, we just need a new library to serve the patrons of Kyle better." --What was your question?
S.L.: Well, how the politics differed at the university versus the public?
Mears: Just working with the key people is the same. At the university, it was the president, and the regents--I didn't have too much to do with the regents, although I did meet with them on one or two occasions. In the city, it is working with the city manager, and the different council members, and the board on the library. So, it is working with all of the different people that influence the situation.
S.L.: Do you find that there are people out there who feel that the library has become sort of an anachronism, and that it's not needed anymore? Are you confronting that at all?
Mears: No. No, I have yet to--I always think of the library as something like motherhood and apple pie. People don't have a tendency to look at the library as something not worthwhile. You might think, in this age, where people have Internet access, that the library is not necessary; but some of those people that are highly computer-oriented, come into the library to get books to read. They want to spend their money on computer and electronics, and so there are also readers saying they--rather than have to go out and buy a book, they use the library. So, I haven't encountered that--I can't say I've encountered that a single time.
S.L.: Oh, that's great, great to hear. So often, it seems like people do want to jump to that conclusion.
Mears: Well, I guess maybe it's because most of the people I'm talking with are in the library. And they are there because they want to be there; so I'm not meeting that other end of the spectrum.
S.L.: Do you take special effort to get out into the community? I know at the university, you always loved to walk across campus and go meet everybody, all over campus. What's your equivalent process now that you're a public librarian?
Mears: I jump at the opportunities to speak with groups--the Lions, they need a speaker--I'm always glad to jump in there and say, "Oh yeah, I'll come talk about the library. And it's pretty much the same talk. I'll talk to the Lions--I just had an opportunity recently to talk to the Friends of the Library's Board in the neighboring town, Buda. So, anytime I can get out and talk about the library, I do so. Other than those groups, I really--well I did go to a ribbon-cutting of the bank so I could meet some people. Anytime I get an opportunity or invitation, I go because I am one of the faces of the library, and I like that face to be out there--so people get to know about it.
S.L.: Kind of just sum up a little bit: What do you see as your biggest challenge? Here you are, you have had a great, long career--none of your enthusiasm seems to have lapsed at all. You seem as enthusiastic as you did thirty years ago. What keeps you going, and seeing new challenges everyday?
Mears: I think the challenge of seeing new challenges. I like to do new things. I don't know--I just like working in the library. Like I said, it's a great job. It's putting in--I think you know--we put in a new automation system to call people and remind them they have overdue books. I like to find new things that will make the library more productive: make it more service-oriented. What makes that for me? I don't know. Like I say, I've always liked work, and I've always loved being in the library. It is just a great profession to be in. Why I still have the enthusiasm? I don't know. I just do?
S.L.: So, what's your next challenge? After the Kyle Public Library, what library will you go to next?
Mears: Probably the library in the nursing home (laughs). So, after retiring four times, maybe after this time it will be the last time. But, I don't know. Hopefully I can stay there a little longer, and be a contributor: help [the] people of Kyle--.
S.L.: Get that new library built.
Mears: Yeah.
S.L.: Is there anything you would do differently, in the whole arch of your career?
Mears: If I had one thing to do over again, I think it would center around the one regret I have about working in the library. And the one regret I always had, in working with the library, is in the people that I've had to fire. I've always felt--I've never been real successful in taking people that worked in the library, that were problems, and changing their attitude or their characteristics or whatever was the problem that caused me to fire them--I never have been able to get a good enough handle on making people change the way--so that they--so that I wouldn't have to fire them. I've always felt badly about that. I have always wanted to know that secret--that key--that you put into a person--whatever you say to a person to turn them on--and get them to change and be a better person so that they can stay with the job. I remember, I remember every single person that I have had to fire; because I dreaded it, I didn't like doing it, and yet I felt like I had to do it for the good of the patrons that came to the library. And I always wish that I was--could have done something to help those people.
S.L.: That's a hard situation. In terms of the outer part of the profession, I see you very much as totally committed to your own library, and that sort of thing--what about your larger obligations to the profession? Have you been very active in the professional associations, and reaching out to other libraries through that?
Mears: Yes, to a degree. And probably not as much as some people. I always looked at reaching out as trying to find a balance between reaching out and being involved in a lot of organizations related to that outer area that you are talking about, and also doing the job that I was paid to do. And even though the university, especially, encouraged you to be involved in different aspects of the profession, I always wanted to find that right balance between being there when I was needed, and going out and running whatever organization that needed running. And if I erred, I always erred on the side of being too much involved in the library--in the running of the library.
I did--I was involved in T.L.A. [Texas Library Association] and involved in T.L.A., I was active as chair of the Presentations, Papers for five years. One year I was involved in the creation, with a team, of the theme--which took eighteen months. One year I served--just on a bunch of committees for a year or two. But I was always reluctant to get too much involved, for example, in A.L.A. [American Library Association], where I would have to be off in San Francisco when I felt like I should be in our library. And so if I erred, I erred on the side of being close to home, as opposed to being on those outside areas.
S.L.: Has it been difficult to balance your demanding career with your family life?
Mears: Yes. I don't have too many regrets. I look at--my career has enabled me to provide for our children and my family, and my wife, and myself, in a good fashion. Were there times when I wished I could have been at two places at once? [I] haven't learned to bi-locate yet (laughs); but I wish I could have sometimes. I remember taking my daughter to a tennis team tournament when she was in school, and just wishing the whole time I was there, "I wish I was back at the library." And then I can remember times and occasions when I was at the library, and wishing I could be at my daughter's play, or something of that nature. So, it's always kind of a stretch in both directions; and, yeah, there are times when I wish I could have been more with the children, and there are times that I'm glad--and especially--I have three children that have turned out way beyond my expectations, and have done very well--not because of me; but because of their mother--and I wish I had spent more time with them. But they turned out well, so I think all's well that ends well.
S.L.: Well, are there any other things that you would like to bring up at this time?
Mears: Yes. You know--being in the library has just provided so many unique experiences for me, that it has just been--I just wonder if there is any other profession where you could enjoy the experiences that I have had. And they are just really weird things--dealing with--. One thing that just popped in my mind--we have a brick building made of native brick, and there is a lot of space in-between it--in-between the bricks--and someone said, "I think there's a snake outside." And so we went outside, and we started poking around. And out comes this snake that's about this long--and it's wrapped up--I thought there's just a tiny hole about this big. There's that experience. There's the experience of helping a person having a seizure in the library--that I remember helping. There are so many diverse experiences that I've had being in the library. Giving a letter of recommendation to one of the inmates that we talked about earlier, that worked in the library--and giving him a letter of recommendation to work in one of the libraries in the Dallas area--that was kind of a nice experience that I've had.
The librarians that I have run across, in my career, have all--almost to a person--been exceptional helpful, with sharing their information, and sharing their knowledge, and sharing their ability to teach me, as I went through my profession. You have helped me so many times--and that's just one person. One person that has always been very kind to me--and if I ever had a question about things in the circulation area--I always called--God rest her soul, who just died this past week, or so--JoAnne Hawkins. I could call on her, and she was always more than kind to give whatever knowledge she had. People--librarians--I think librarians--libraries--attract a certain quality of people. And maybe that is why I became a librarian, because I wanted to be one of those--that kind--of people. I think that--I really do believe this--that they attract a quality patron; I think they attract a--there are some that are not--but I think overall, that librarians that I have met during my profession, have just been wonderful people--above the average--way above the average. That's been great. The people who use the library have always been great. The staff that I've worked with in the libraries--just really good people. I just really think that's one of the real things that I've enjoyed about the profession.
S.L.: What about books?
Mears: Books? I was fortunate in having two mentors that really helped me in my career. My first job was given to me by my first mentor, who was one of my teachers. I don't know, I guess he saw--though he saw--something in me. I hope he didn't make a mistake. Usually you start out as a librarian in some job--well, I started out as the head of public services. That's kind of skipping a step. Of course, I was a little older; and I had--whatever--. He was a real bookman. And my second mentor, Dr. Lou Maloney--he was a real bookman. (Stephanie's watch makes a chiming sound.) We have a few more minutes?
S.L.: No, that was--.
Mears: Okay. Dr. Maloney was a real bookman, also. I don't know that I am a traditional scholar, in the sense of books, as they were. But I knew current fiction better than they did. I'll take that title from those two. I can talk with the patrons about who the current authors are. And I've been around long enough to have a recollection of the older popular authors of the past. But being a bookman, per se, and--I would say I'm average in that area. I can hold my own in a fair crowd.
S.L.: They do add a lot to the job though--you have to admit that.
Mears: What's that?
S.L.: Books.
Mears: Oh, you're talking about as to how it adds to the job?
S.L.: Well, not really. That's not how [I meant] the question led in. But you've talked about how great being a librarian is--and you have to add that into the whole mix--that it is fun to be around the books.
Mears: It is fun to be around books. And it is fun to have the right book to help the right person out at the right time. And I've always been accused of being--what was Bill Griffin's term for me?--what's the old library of ancient Greece?
S.L.: Alexandria?
Mears: The Alexandria--he would always call me an Alexandrian because I wanted to keep everything. I never wanted to weed. And I told him that it was my philosophy that a book was like a fire engine at the fire station: it was maybe not needed at the present moment; but when it was needed: you really needed it. And that's why I didn't want to get rid of it. That was always the logic I used for keeping books that other people wanted to throw away. Yeah, I like to have them around.
S.L.: Do you think that has changed any, now that you are finding more electronic books, and Google is digitizing so many books, and the way the Internet is revolutionizing reference--do you still feel we need to hang on to as much?
Mears: Oh, definitely. Books are still the cornerstone. That may change with all this digitalization that's going on--all those big programs that are going on by Google and others--and the different universities that are digitizing different aspects of their collection; but I still think that there is nothing as good a picking up a book, and sitting down and reading it. And being able to look for the thing you want in that book. I don't see that changing--. I've been wrong about other things, and I may be wrong about that; but not to my mind. And I don't see it happening soon.
The electronic book--one of my board members is always quizzing me, "What do you think about the electronic book?" I said, "The electronic book has been on the scene for a good while now. You might not realize it, but the electronic book has been around for about fifteen or twenty years." And I said, "You hear all of the sudden, this is the way things are going to be," and then it fades away, and then it pops up again, and then it fades away. And now it's popping up again. And maybe this time it will catch hold; but it still--it's still not going to take the place--when you are riding on that subway and the battery runs out--it's still not going to take the place of that book that you can open right there and read. I think there is nothing better than sitting in the doctor's office waiting room, or taking an airplane ride, and having a book in your hand. I think we're in a safe area there.
S.L.: You know, a lot of library schools have changed their names, and they don't even include the word "library" even in the title of the school--. What do you think about that trend?
Mears: You know, that trend is alright. I don't have any problem with it. It's usually information services now, or something, or information sciences, or whatever they want to call it--. We all know what it is. I think that there are new areas that are opening up for people in the information field, that weren't there before. I interviewed a young lady who is working in an architectural firm--and they hired her because she had a library degree and help them organize and categorize the information that they had there--architecture plans, or whatever. So, it is opening up different fields for them--and that's great. But there are still going to be librarians needed. I don't see libraries on the decline. I see bigger and better libraries being built all the time--in small towns, and bigger towns, and metropolitan areas. More libraries are coming with each passing day.
S.L.: Is there anything that you really wish you had known when you started out your career, that now--after forty years--you do know?
Mears: I wish there were a lot of things that I had known back then. But one of the nice things about life is this kind of unraveling of things as they happen, as you need to know them. I think you learn things as you need to know them. I don't--very seldom--I shouldn't say very seldom--seldom do learn something before you need to know about it--at least in my stage in life--and even while I've been a librarian. As you need to know something, that's when you usually learn about it. If I needed to know how to knit next week, then you know, I would find out how to knit. So I'm glad I didn't learn how to knit twenty years ago--if I needed to know it next week--because I probably would have forgotten it by now. So, there were probably a lot of things that would have made life a little simpler for me; but then I would have missed out on the fun of learning about them when I did. So--no--I don't think so. I would have liked to have; but I've also enjoyed finding out about them when I did.
S.L.: Well, you know, Bill, it sounds like you really, truly, more than anybody I can think of, have totally enjoyed your career. And it sounds like you've got enough enthusiasm to keep you going for another twenty years--and the profession is much the better for all of that. We really appreciate all you have done, and will do--and especially our neighboring community of Kyle--I think they are very, very fortunate to have a man with all this wisdom behind him; but also the enthusiasm of a young, new graduate out of library school--running their library.
Mears: If that isn't the nicest wrap up I've ever heard--I'll never hear a better one. Thank you. You are more than kind.
S.L.: Thanks for coming today.
Mears: Thank you. It has been a pleasure to be here.
Contents
Career overview
Early influences
About the library
From a librarian
Education
Librarians in family
Reference desk work
Prison library
Building a new library
Computers in libraries
Necessary skills to be a librarian
Library politics
Community involvement
Biggest challenges
Biggest regret
Involvement in professional associations
Balancing career and family
Experience of librarianship
Books
Library school name change


Places


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