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April 2003
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Past Issues
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Have a newsworthy item? Comments? Questions? Contact Paula Byrne, editor
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April 2003
Dorothy McQuillan, MSLMA President
Dorothy_McQuillan@newton.mec.edu
In Memory of Joan Gallagher
After the initial shock of Joan’s death and our performing the rituals that come with it, eventually the demands of everyday life quickly make us come back to dealing with our families, our jobs, grocery shopping and feeding the cat. By necessity, we settle back into our lives. But every now and then it hits me that Joan is gone.
She came into our professional lives as a whirlwind of energy, ideas and determination. She served as President of MSLMA and led the organization to a new level. She was totally committed to the legislative effort and was tireless in her pursuit of having libraries recognized. She also came into some of our personal lives and became a friend. She was my mentor and I remember the Saturday afternoon in May that I had lunch at her house and she filled me in on the "nitty-gritty" of being MSLMA president. I had no idea how I was ever going to follow in her footsteps But I was comforted that she would still be there when I needed advice. But that was not to be. And now she is gone. It’s like a good book that is closed forever, and all I can do is try to remember it—when I really want just one more chapter or even better --a happy ending. But life does not work that way.
And memory is tricky-- things change. People retire, move away, and change jobs. Board members leave, new people come. Membership similarly changes. Soon only a few "old timers" remember. Eventually, we forget. The collective memory of the organization erodes over time—we have no historian to pass on people, events, victories, failures to the next generation. We will be able to archive our organization’s materials at Simmons College, so that is a bit of preservation we will have. But sheets of papers and letters seldom reveal the real person. Only the people who spent time with her will know the real Joan. However, we can try to convey our feelings to future members and let them know the respect we had for Joan’s contributions and the person she was.
The executive board voted on March 19 to establish an award in Joan’s honor to be given to the legislator who has supported libraries and acknowledged the contribution that libraries make. It is called the Joan C. Gallagher Legislator Award.
Our first recipient will be Jack Reed of Rhode Island and the award will be presented at next year’s annual conference. Furthermore, we are dedicating this issue of Media Forum to comments or stories people would like to tell about Joan. In this way, when our time has passed and our successors ask "Who was Joan Gallagher?" they need only look up this issue of Media Forum, and they will know.