Article by Duncan Stewart, University of Iowa. Written June 10th, 2008

I am not a reference librarian, but did answer one call yesterday. I responded to the University of Iowa's cry for volunteers to sandbag around its buildings along the Iowa River.

I went over to the parking lot at the School of Music and by found half of my colleagues from the University Libraries there filling sandbags. Most librarians like to squirrel old stuff away; those in special collections even get paid for it. So it was fitting that a special collections librarian and the university archivist were there shoveling sand to preserve university buildings.

When the plaintive email asking for volunteers went out from the Provost's office I pictured myself knee-deep in mud, heroically stacking 100 pound sandbags to keep the new art building from getting wet and rusting. But truth be told, we worked on solid ground, filling bags, nibbling granola bars, and drinking pop provided by the University. 

I saw the one library staffer stagger by, carrying a pallet of full sandbags, and then a forklift that had broken down. My friend in Acquisitions kept up my flagging strength with the promise of a real can of possum meat when he next travels home to Georgia. Several of my fellow catalogers finished their shift and took the most direct route back to the library-swimming downstream amidst the logs, houses, and other flotsam.

Though many claim that all UI librarians live in a prescribed area on the east side of Iowa City, in fact there is no law demanding this. One librarian barely escaped with his family on the last barge out of Manville Lows.

There truly is a silver lining to every cloud. I promised to help our film librarian and her husband lay a wooden floor in their new condo, but I didn't offer to arrive by canoe. The new place is off Foster Road, and comes equipped with an emergency life-raft, but you can't carry a loaded nail-gun in an air raft. Dang!

In all seriousness, library staff have turned out in droves to sandbag everywhere from Hancher to the Iowa City Animal Shelter. The Music Library has been evacuated, and we are hoping that we won't need to sandbag the Main Library itself.

A Final Note...

Thank you to the Newsletter Committee and to the non-committee members for their contribututions.

Kate Hess, Newsletter Chair