Vintage Chicago Tribune: Lost — a World War II plane, Cezanne’s paintings, Vivian Maier’s photos — and found
If you didn’t realize something was missing, then was it ever really lost, Chicago?
That’s what I wondered when an e-mail titled “found: one library card” hit my inbox a few weeks ago.
The kind note was from Angela Baker, business librarian at the Mount Prospect Public Library. Baker explained she had been “weeding” through book titles in the library’s advertising section when she discovered something inside the pocket of “The Shocking History of Advertising” by E.S. Turner — my Des Plaines Public Library card circa 1991. She wanted to know if I would like to have it.
Librarians and reporters apparently share a similar curiosity — which means we both love to Google. It was by searching my name that Baker realized there was something else amongst the more than 412,000 items in the Mount Prospect library’s records with my name on it — a book I co-authored with Marianne Mather titled “He Had It Coming: Four Murderous Women and the Reporter Who Immortalized Their Stories.”
“How fun it was to discover that it belongs to an author whose book is also in our collection!” she wrote.
Ditto, Angela. :)
Of course I took her up on her offer, but not before asking her a few questions.
Q&A with Angela Baker: What it’s like to be a librarian
Can you tell in your records when I checked that book out? Let’s see. The library card expiration date tells me I was either in junior high or high school at the time — that makes me feel old!
Baker: “Sadly, I can’t tell you when the book was checked out by you. Our circulation records only keep short histories and they are deleted after a certain amount of time for privacy purposes.”
Does this mean no one checked out that book after me?
Baker: “It was checked out several times in the 2000′s, and as recently as 2020, so it has definitely circulated since you had it. The card was cleverly hidden in the pocket which once held the card with due date stamps on it, so it’s possible that other people read the book without knowing it was there.”
Thanks so very much for explaining how you came across my former library card! Okay, what are some of the weirdest items you’ve found stuffed into library books at the Mount Prospect Public Library?
Baker: “I knew this question would come up!
We find a lot of things you would expect we might in library books: receipts, boarding passes, tissues or toilet paper, personal letters, bills, gift cards, Metra cards ... anything that might be used as a makeshift bookmark. If we find it when we are inspecting the item at check-in, often it can be returned to the person who lost it.
My colleague in Circulation tells me that a few years back someone returned a birthday card with a $100 bill inside. It was a children’s book, and the card was from grandma. The mother never even realized that it existed, so that was quite a surprise for her!”
How often would you say people are reunited with items they’ve left at the library?
Baker: “Very often. Most often in the Research Department where I work, people leave USB drives, or device chargers.”
Okay, what’s gonna happen with “The Shocking History of Advertising” book — will it remain in your stacks?
Baker: “Sadly, no. Due to the fact that it is outdated, hasn’t circulated much lately, and is in generally poor condition, it will be weeded. We will thank it for its service and send it on its way.”
How long have you worked as a librarian at the Mount Prospect library?
Baker: “I have been a librarian here for about a year and a half, and I’ve worked at this library for 7 years.”
What has it been like to work throughout the coronavirus pandemic? You are definitely a front-line worker in my book — thanks for all you do!
Baker: “Working in a library, or any public space, has definitely changed through the pandemic. Masks and enforcement of rules took up way more of our time than any of us were accustomed to.
There were a lot of people that we stopped seeing after closing down and reopening, which was sad. It took a little while for people to feel comfortable enough to start coming back. And when people did come back, oftentimes the level and intensity of their need for assistance had increased. All of these are challenges that I think our library has done an amazing job of adapting to.
We started doing virtual programs, which it turns out is way more convenient than in-person programs for many people. Parking Lot Pickup was very popular for a while and is something we still offer. We’ve increased our technology offerings to support remote workers and job seekers coming into the library to do job interviews. Our youth department has done more outdoor programs, which are very popular. Sometimes the weather even cooperates!
There’s is a lot we can do virtually, but for many people, the opportunity to be in the physical library building is still very important. Whenever there’s an internet or power outage in town, we see a notable increase in remote workers using the library as their workspace. We know that social isolation is a real problem, and library programs and services are an easy and approachable way for folks to reconnect with their community. Though some things about the library have changed because of the pandemic, it is still the safe, comfortable community spot it always was.”
Is there anything else you’d like to add, Angela?
Baker: “People who work in a public library are there because they like people and want to help. We also like books, but people first.
Also, before I ever worked in a library, I returned a library book with the ultrasound pictures from my second pregnancy, never to be seen again. That was a different library. So, maybe those are out there somewhere? It is less upsetting now that I have the actual child that I can look at.”
Angela, here’s hoping another wonderful, caring librarian discovers those precious images and gets in touch with you soon!
Don’t forget
Now is a great time to subscribe to the Tribune. It’s just $12 for a 1 year digital subscription.
Thanks for reading. See you next week!
— Kori Rumore, visual reporter
More newsletters | Puzzles & Games | Today’s eNewspaper edition | Chicago Tribune 175th anniversary coverage | Quiz: Test your Chicago history knowledge | 100 historic front pages | Did you miss last week’s Vintage newsletter? Read it here.
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Have an idea for Vintage Chicago Tribune? Share it with Ron Grossman and Marianne Mather at rgrossman@chicagotribune.com and mmather@chicagotribune.com.
