McFarlin Memo

This month McFarlin celebrates its 95th anniversary of being a partner site for the Federal Depository Library Program (aka FDLP). Unlike the general collection in McFarlin Library, the FDLP documents are publicly accessible. To better understand how the program works, I spoke with our FDLP librarian in residence, Rhoen Dellinger, who is currently responsible for helping TU and community patrons access government documents. 

Rhoen provided background on the Federal Depository Library Program, and McFarlin's role as a depository site.

Government resources provide information on health, careers, business opportunities, science, technology, the military and much more. Depository libraries provide the public access to current and historical information, assistance in locating information, educational opportunities, and help to preserve public memory. The Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) was established in 1813 to ensure that government information is accessible to the American public via depository libraries throughout the U.S. and its territories. Initially the program was headed by the U.S. Secretary of State and the information was distributed through Congressional journals.  

Today, the Government Publishing Office oversees the FDLP.  The FDLP has been a part of the Government Publishing Office since 1895. McFarlin has been a partial depository since January 10, 1929. Typically, a member of Congress designates a library for entry into the FDLP. From 1979 to mid-2015, McFarlin served as a depository for publications produced by the state of Oklahoma and received via the Oklahoma Publications Clearinghouse unit of the Oklahoma Department of Libraries. 

There are two types of depository libraries, regional and selective. A regional library is responsible for retaining a copy of all government publications received and provides services like interlibrary loans and reference to the selective depository libraries it serves. A selective depository library chooses to receive certain classes of documents from the government that best serve their clientele. McFarlin is a selective depository that serves Oklahoma State University’s Edmond Low Library, which is the regional depository for Oklahoma. Many depository libraries work together to provide people with a variety of resources, both current and historical.  

Currently, McFarlin is making the transition to a digital depository, which means that government documents must be accessible online. The Government Documents collection at McFarlin is built to support the curricular and research needs of the University’s undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and the greater Tulsa community. This transition ensures that our collection is accessible via several different websites, databases, and the library’s online catalog. With so many options, users can access the collection from anywhere. Changes in information seeking behaviors and the internet have changed the way the FDLP operates. The demand for physical collections is decreasing now that federal agencies are starting to publish public information online. 

Working with Federal Documents may not sound like the most exciting task for a librarian, but Rhoen does not discredit the importance of her work with the program. In fact, she sees it as a great asset to both the TU and greater Tulsa communities. One of the primary functions of Rhoen's position is to get people interested in government documents and make it easier for them to find these resources. Though many government agencies have dedicated websites to share documentation, minutes, or updates, the depository is more than that. Rhoen explained that “the FDLP makes it easier for people to discover different kinds of governmental assistance and services that are available to them. There are of course things like Congressional Bills, Presidential Papers, and other publications by government agencies as well. The FDLP informs the public while also protects public memory. Each depository has items or collections that are unique and can’t be found at every depository library. Depositories benefit local communities and the public by maintaining records whether they be published today or 100 years ago.”

Like me, you may wonder what people are looking for when they access documents from the FDLP. The most common access requests are for historical government documents, many of which are difficult to find through something like a Google search. However, users of the FDLP collections are not just looking for older iterations of a house bill or a state statute, they are also looking for documents on careers, health, and legal or regulatory information. “People can use these documents to get things like unemployment, health insurance, and other kinds of assistance programs,” Rhoen stated. With access to information that can help with research and daily living, it's surprising to me that more people are not taking advantage of this service. Though most FDLP programs are moving to online access, this format can actually present a barrier. For example, people who need information on unemployment may not have consistent internet access, and the map of FDLP locations is only found online. This means that “its entirely possible that people are just unfamiliar with the program altogether. Which is understandable because it’s not really advertised in a way that might interest people.”

How can we raise awareness about the excellent resources contained in the FDLP? Well, it starts with information like you'll find in this post. Sharing knowledge of its existence is the first step. And now that you know it exists, check out the new government documents Libguide. The best place to start is the ‘Basic Collection,’ which lists websites that are available for anyone to freely use. Or, just reach out to McFarlin. Librarians like Rhoen are here to help , and don’t want you to be afraid to ask for research assistance or give us your feedback. 

As I always try to do, I ended my chat with Rhoen by asking for something interesting she has come across while working with the FDLP collection at McFarlin. Though there are a large number of interesting finds in the collection, the most surprising has been items a person may not see as traditional “government documents.” Rhoen said the items that shocked her the most were pop culture related: coloring and activity books, comics, recipes, etc. “I came across a cartoon illustrated by Dr. Suess for the U.S. Army that’s kind of strange. It’s called ‘This is Ann… She drinks blood!’ It follows a mosquito named Ann that has Malaria and explains what can be done to prevent it from spreading.” Like any great librarian, Rhoen shared links to Ann and other interesting finds in the collection. 

The next interview in the “Staff Spotlight” series is Jenny Jones. Jenny shared her humor and insights on the importance of libraries. A dependable employee since 1999, she brings joy to the processing offices and has an unmatched ability to recall the policies and procedures of McFarlin's past. Read the full interview below to learn the strangest thing she has ever witnessed in the library stacks, and why she has chosen to spend her career working in libraries.

How long have you been at McFarlin and what roles have you had during your tenure?
I’ve been with McFarlin for 25 years. I started out as a part time employee working at what was once called the “Cyber Café” in August of 1999. A few months later I applied for an opening in the Interlibrary Loan department and was hired on as full-time staff just days before my 21st birthday.
In 2007 I shifted from ILL to running the library remote storage unit for McFarlin’s regular stacks. This involved moving materials in mass from one building to another, and then organizing the various collections at the storage site. Currently, I split my time between the Research and Circulation Departments, helping patrons with reference questions as well as managing holds.

Why librarianship? What made this career appealing to you?
I used to HATE reading when I was much younger, but a teacher in 5th grade changed my mind about books and I haven’t stopped reading since then. Although, I never imagined I’d end up working in a library, much less an academic one. 
After working in a library, I now see libraries as portals to imagination and information for any and all who seek it.  Libraries are where you go to find answers to questions. I have found, over the years, that there are some interesting questions out there to be asked, and I’ve learned some interesting things while working in this library.

What is your non-library training and/or degree, and how does it help you working at a library?
I have the distinction of being the only one on staff with just a high school diploma. I was hired at McFarlin right out of high school.  Though I do not have any college education, I was able to integrate into the Research and ILL Departments without a formal education.  Nowadays, it gives me the advantage of being on an equal footing with students just out of high school, and that helps build a rapport with some students. 

What’s your favorite spot in McFarlin Library and why is it your favorite?
Back in the day, there was a spot in the stacks with a little study nook that I would sit at when taking a break from schlepping materials to remote storage. Because there is a vent directly above the chair, I could be cooled with frigid air during the summers. 

(This is a tip to any students who find themselves in McFarlin during our hot Oklahoma summers.)

Can you tell me about a memorable interaction you have had with a patron? 
I had a patron from a few years ago that was in town from out of state and they wanted to see their thesis on the shelf with all the other thesis and dissertations on the shelf in the stacks. That was fun, they were super stoked. They took pictures of it on the shelf and everything. 

What is your favorite media to consume and what makes it your favorite?
I love to read. I want to say reading, but my first love would be the movies. I think film is my favorite medium because it continues to evolve new and spectacular special effects. These effects come from someone else’s imagination and provide incredible visuals that feed the audience’s imaginations. One of my favorite examples is the scene in the Lord of the Rings film when Arwen calls the river to surge, and it looks like horses. Yeah, it was cool in my imagination when I read the scene, but it looked even better on film.

What’s the best (non-human) resource in McFarlin?
The Writing Center. For years, no one was sure what building it was in and what exactly they could and could not help you with.  Now that they’re located in McFarlin we have a copacetic relationship with them.  McFarlin staff have a better understanding of what their operational parameters are, and it's much easier to direct patrons to them.

Tell me the most bizarre thing you have seen while walking through the book stacks.
Catching a couple in a heavy make-out session by the copy machines that used to be on the Intermediate Level. I blushed as I told them, “This didn’t count as a private room.” 

If you could go back in time and talk to one of the designers who modified the building, which phase would you jump to and what would you tell them?
That’s easy! In the last major renovation, they took out the carpet on the main level floor between the processing offices and the book stacks. Book carts full of books do not do well on tile floors – they just vibrate right off the cart. 

You’re trapped in McFarlin for the night: what do you do when no one else is around?
Hunt for the Ghost of McFarlin. They gotta be around here somewhere!  

What is an exciting project you are currently working on, or a future endeavor you are anticipating?
I’m excited to be working on new acquisitions for the Browsing Floor novels and graphic novels in the coming new year.  The various collections on that floor have not seen an update since before Covid. It will be fun to see which new and exciting titles can be added, as well as updating some of our current series. 
 

“Mr. Naipaul exempted neither colonizer nor colonized from his scrutiny. He wrote of the arrogance and self-aggrandizement of the colonizers, yet exposed the self-deception and ethical ambiguities of the liberation movements that swept across Africa and the Caribbean in their wake. He brought to his work moral urgency and a novelist’s attentiveness to individual lives and triumphs.”

Rachel Donadio, New York Times, 2018

A Nobel Prize recipient for Literature, V.S. Naipaul was a highly praised and scrutinized author. Born to parents who were indentured servants that moved from India to Trinidad, Naipaul was raised in Trinidad but left for Oxford University in 1950. After university he settled in England. However, he was a man who never remained content in one place. He travelled the world, writing more than 30 books, both fiction and nonfiction, that were inspired by his critical takes on displacement, personhood, belonging, and citizenship. Considering all this prestige, it may surprise you to learn that V.S. Naipaul’s personal collection of manuscripts, mementos, letters, and other possessions reside in McFarlin’s own Special Collections Library. 

I was able to chat with the Director of Special Collections, Melissa Kunz, and the Archival Processor for the V.S. Naipaul Collection, Elissa Howe, about the significance of Naipaul’s archival collection and some of the items it contains.

With the help of former Provost George Gilpin, the collection was originally acquired in 1993. “Naipaul himself was interested in having his collection in a university. Provost Gilpin was interested in Naipaul, and interested in bringing the collection here,” Melissa explained. After the initial acquisition Naipaul would send things to Special Collections twice a year, so that he could have some control over what went in. This transactional nature allowed Naipaul to have a say in what researchers could view. However, this also meant that at one point this was a living collection. With a constant influx of new materials, the chance to complete accurate and accessible archival processing was complicated. After Naipaul’s passing in 2018, the collection needed assessment and reorganization – a process that had to be done to ensure that researchers could use it and fully understand the importance of the artifacts contained. Special Collections needed a full-time Naipaul processor.
In 2023, McFarlin Library founded the Adrian Alexander Librarian in Residence program. This program was started thanks to a generous gift from Peggy Helmerich in Dean Emeritus of McFarlin Library Alexander’s name, upon his retirement. With this donation, Special Collections hired Elissa Howe, a graduate of the TU Museum Science Management program, as the archival processor for Naipaul’s collection. Though it may be difficult to grasp the importance of having a dedicated archival processor for a collection, Melissa recognized that it was a critical step in getting this collection ready for public viewing. Naipaul’s collection “has the importance and prestige of being the lifetime collection of a Nobel Laureate,” Melissa explained. “It’s now a fully archived, fully accessible collection. This is a big reason to celebrate in the archive’s world. Multiple attempts have been made to bring it into control.” Elissa working on this, and finishing it, is a phenomenal accomplishment.

When I asked Elissa if it was the work itself or Naipaul specifically that drew her to this position, she explained that she joined Special Collections for the chance to process a collection. Elissa stated that she knew nothing about Naipaul – “I knew some of his contemporaries, but I wanted to go in blind so I could learn about him directly from his materials.” While processing this collection, Elissa began by first using an old finding aide to assess the collection. Then she had to sort manuscripts, letters, photographs, and various other artifacts in order to establish the organizational structure. She explained that “for a few years, Naipaul had some say in how it was organized. So, I used modern day standards to make notes on the reorganization of the older processes.” If this seems overwhelming or even baffling to you, then you best believe that Elissa encountered her own share of challenges with this collection of over 30,000 items. 

As is true with many archival collections, letters are an essential element. Elissa explained “you never expect that your letter will end up in an archive. A lot of time when people sign a letter they don’t put their last name. When attributing credit, [the archivist] wants to represent everyone accurately, so they have to make some educated guesses. Fortunately, for half the correspondence from early on in his life, Naipaul made notes on who items were from. So, I can use these notes to make a match.” What happens to the correspondence that cannot be attributed? It remains in the collection in hopes that one day connections can be established.

At this point you are probably eager to know what’s in this collection. While I was not able to view the collection in person, Elissa and Melissa gave me a teaser of some of the item holdings both commonplace and unique. In addition to his own writings and correspondence, Naipaul’s wife, Patricia, also has items in this collection. Though she lived in the shadows, Patricia was more than just a wife to this Nobel Laureate, she had her own research, was involved in community politics in 1960-90s London, and even gave input on some of her husband’s writings. Elissa learned that Naipaul dictated some of his books to Patricia and she would suggest edits. There are notecards in the collection with records of these interactions. Also, there are unpublished writings and notes from Naipaul’s father who had a failed writing career. While these items may not seem out of place, this once living collection has far more than pieces of paper. 

Some of the unexpected items in this collection are…

• keys to Patricia’s mother’s house
• a random 45 vinyl
• an empty 1970s airline peanut bag
• money from various countries such as Iran, Pakistan, Canda, and Indonesia 

• all his used checkbooks, over 200, as well as over a 1000 canceled checks
• receipts (which he apparently loved) including many from American eateries like IHOP
• an invitation from Buckingham Palace for a garden party
• a fan letter from actress Miriam Margolyes

With such an array of items that might seem inconsequential to some, Melissa clarified that the variety “speaks to Naipaul’s sense of what his collection meant and its importance.” In a way, this collection is a time capsule that truly allows a life to be fully documented and examined.

In addition to the exhibit beginning in January, there will be an exhibition catalogue that will include essays from Colm Tóibín, George Gilpin and Hermione de Almeida, Bhoe Tewarie, and Lars Engle. And, in Spring 2025, a New York Times article by journalist Aatish Taseer will be published about V.S. Naipaul. Taseer was travelling the US in 2024 writing about his favorite authors who explored themes of exile. Elissa was interviewed by Taseer because of her work with the collection and developed understanding of his life. 

Be sure to look for upcoming announcements for the opening day of the exhibit “Man Without a Country” to learn more about this illustrious author. 

In this first staff interview, I reached out to the incomparable Charles Brooks to chat about his tenure at McFarlin. He shared insights on the trends he has experienced over the past 37 years at the library. Read the full interview below to learn about his opinions on the building's design and what he would do if he was trapped in McFarlin for the night. 

How long have you been at McFarlin and what roles have you had during your tenure?
I started working at McFarlin Library on August 17, 1987, just as I was beginning the master’s program at OUSLIS.  My first job was working half-time for Nancy Henry, who was then the Instruction Librarian, preparing workbooks for Writing I, II, and III as well as working on Library Research Guides and Pathfinders, among other things.  When a full-time position opened in Technical Services the following spring, I applied for it and was hired as a paraprofessional copy cataloger.  
In December 1990 I received my MLIS from OU.  At the same time, a professional position opened in McFarlin. I applied for it and got the job.  So, I began my professional career here in January 1991.  
At that time the hot concept of the moment was the “holistic librarian”, which basically meant that reference librarians were cross-trained to do cataloging and catalogers were cross-trained to work at the Reference Desk.  So, I started out working in cataloging half the time and the other half in reference and instruction.  As a cataloger, I specialized first in media, then in non-English language materials (once cataloging a book in Icelandic!) and finally as a Special Collections cataloger.  
Meanwhile, I learned the ropes at the Reference Desk, which was very busy back in those days, being double-staffed most of the time.  I also started teaching classes, working first with Nancy Henry and then with her successor as Instruction Librarian, Hildy Benham.  I got along especially well with Hildy, and we worked very closely together the two years she was here.  Like Lisa, her background was in education, and I consider her very much my mentor in instruction.  (“Charles, you must move around more!”) She and I also offered some of the first Internet training on campus, teaching workshops on using Gopher, Archie and Veronica and finally Lynx and Mosaic.
When Hildy left in the summer of 1994 (to take a job in Abu Dhabi!), I became the Instruction Librarian full time.  (No more cataloging. Yay!)  I remained in this position until 2000.  During that time the Internet really took off and the library began investing in more and more online resources.  We had been teaching LIAS-TU (the online catalog that dated back to 1984) for years, but I now found myself having to teach database searching instead of how to use a print index.  This required a few changes.  For example, in 1994 I had a classroom for “show and tell” with an overhead projector that showed transparencies.  By 2000 I had a hands-on computer classroom with an LCD projector and a computer for every student.
During the 1990s, as the Internet exploded, I became increasingly interested in how we in the library could best make use of it, both in instruction and as a way of getting information out about the library.  So, I taught myself HTML and in 1995, using only Notepad, brought up the first McFarlin Library website.   As a result, I served as the library webmaster at the same time as I oversaw Instruction.
In 2000, with the growing importance of the Internet and our website, the library hired Rita Howell as Instruction Librarian and I took on the role of “Web Services Librarian”, responsible for our online presence.  However, I continued to work the Reference Desk and assisted Rita with Instruction.  
By 2006, digitization had become the latest “hot topic”.  The library hired Tiffany Benson to take over management of the website and I became “Digitization Librarian”.  I did this for about 18 months.  My main accomplishment was to digitize and transcribe the Alice Robertson correspondence from Special Collections and put all the transcriptions into a searchable Access database (using Microsoft ASP) with the transcription of each letter linked to the original digitized image.  This was online for several years, although it no longer is.
In 2008, not long after the arrival of Adrian Alexander as our first Dean, the library underwent an organizational shake-up.  The digitization project ended, and I became “Electronic Resources Librarian”, my current position.  I’m responsible for managing the library’s online resources: databases, e-journals, e-books, etc.  In this position I have also continued to cover the Reference Desk and assist with Instruction.

Why librarianship? What made this career appealing to you?
I’ve always been a library user.  Some of my earliest memories are of visiting the public library in Lampasas, Texas, where we lived.  You walked in the door and Mrs. Dickinson, the librarian, sat at her desk.  To one side of her was the children’s section and to the other side was the adult section.  I still remember how excited I was at the age of about 9 or 10 when I got to go into the adult section for the first time to find a biography of Theodore Roosevelt. I felt so grown-up! In college I majored in history and practically lived in the library.  I’m one of those people who needs it quiet to study and nothing cuts the noise quite like the bookstacks.  However, it was only after working part-time at the public library in Stillwater that I realized I had found my calling, moved to Tulsa, and began taking classes from OUSLIS at what was then UCAT, the University Center at Tulsa (now the OSU-Tulsa campus).  The rest you can read above!

What is your non-library training and/or degree, and how does it help you as a librarian?
I have a B.A. with a history major and a political science minor and an M.A. in history, both from Midwestern State University.  (Midwestern is located in Wichita Falls, Texas.)  After finishing my M.A. I went to OSU in Stillwater to work on a PhD in history, never completed. I’m still ABD after all these years.  I think the experience of spending the better part of a decade as an undergrad then grad student/teaching assistant made me sensitive to the pressures of student life, while writing umpteen term papers and a thesis based almost entirely on original research made me appreciate the challenges and satisfactions of the scholarly process.  I hope the result is that I have a better grasp on student needs as well as a stronger feel for what the library should be doing to meet those needs.  

What’s your favorite spot in McFarlin Library and why is it your favorite?
My favorite spot isn’t in McFarlin.  It’s actually in front of McFarlin, the plaza on the west side.  When I’m feeling stressed or just need to take a break and stretch my legs I go out and walk around the Plaza, look out over the “U” (and it will always be the “U” to me!) toward downtown Tulsa.  Not sure why, but it always makes me feel better.  

Can you tell me about a memorable interaction you have had with a patron? 
I remember back in the 90s I was about to teach an education class, introducing them to our education-related resources.  As I recall, it was an evening class, with a good number of non-traditional (i.e. older) students.  One student came up to me before the class started.   “I really don’t need this.  I’m already familiar with all the education stuff.  I just don’t see the point of this.  It’s a waste of my time.”  “I’m sorry you feel that way,” I said.  “We’re mainly going to be taking about ERIC.”  “Who’s Eric?”  I kept a straight face.

What is your favorite media to consume and what makes it your favorite?
I’ve always been a reader (hard to believe, right?), so I guess books would be my favorite medium.  I remember as a kid, any spending money I had went toward books. When I was in high school we lived in Greenfield, Missouri.  Never heard of it?  Not surprised.  About 1,300 people when we lived there.  Doubt it’s any bigger now.  It was always exciting to get to go to Battlefield Mall in Springfield, about an hour away.  Why?  Because it was “bright lights, big city” or to check out the latest clothes, or something?  No.  Battlefield Mall was home to Waldenbooks and B. Dalton Bookseller.  Yeah, all I cared about was getting to a bookstore.  (The Greenfield Public Library was in a room in the basement of the courthouse and the high school library was at one end of the study hall. I’m sure you can imagine how up-to-date they both were.) When I first started buying paperbacks they were $.50.  Then they went up to $.60, then $.75, $.95, $1.25, $1.50, $1.95, $2.25 . . .  Yeah, I track inflation through the price of paperback books.
However, I’m also a movie lover.  So, movies would be a close second to books.  I started collecting my favorite films first on VHS, then DVD and now Blu-Ray.  I’m big on physical media.  Streaming you can keep.  I want my movie where I can grab it and watch it whenever I want and not be dependent on the licensing whims of some mega-corporation.  Vintage Stock rocks! (Probably not too surprising that my daughter Maggie majored in Film Studies and now has a movie collection even bigger than mine.)

What’s the best (non-human) resource at McFarlin?
Starbucks.  I mean, sure, there’s the awesome Special Collections, the beautiful reading rooms, the incredible databases (if you include the virtual McFarlin), and so on.  But get real.  Only Starbucks has coffee.

Tell me the most bizarre thing you have seen while walking through the book stacks.
Probably watching it rain in the North Main Level stacks years ago.  Just another in the unending series of leaks in this building.  Fortunately, it wasn’t a heavy rain, and we got books moved and plastic sheeting up quickly.  Not fun, though.

If you could go back in time and talk to one of the designers who modified the building, which phase would you jump to and what would you tell them?
This one is easy.  The “ramp” by the Reference Desk where the ‘79 wing meets the original building.  They couldn’t get them to meet evenly?  Seriously?  The first time I really became aware of it was a few months after starting here, when I got to it going way too fast with a truckload of books.  All I’ll say is that most of those books did not stay on the truck and leave the rest to the imagination. 

You’re trapped in McFarlin for the night: what do you do when no one else is around?
Oh, I’d do what everyone wants to do: find a way up onto the roof of the tower.  Never been up there, but I’ve always heard it’s an amazing view of campus.

What is an exciting project you are currently working on, or a future endeavor you are anticipating?
I consider myself so lucky, having spent my entire professional life working in McFarlin Library.  There’s a quote that I always remember, attributed to Albert Einstein (if he didn’t really say it, he should have): "The only thing that you absolutely have to know is the location of the library."  How true is that!  Working at McFarlin has been a genuine blessing.  My colleagues are the most wonderful and deeply committed people at TU.  We get to work with some amazing students.  And I believe we contribute more than just about any other unit on campus to the success of this university.  Truth is, even after all these years, I still look forward to coming in to work each and every day, not necessarily to any particular project.   

McFarlin Fellows: A Legacy of Philanthropy and Intellectual Enrichment

The McFarlin Fellows, founded in 1992, is the longest-standing giving society associated with the University of Tulsa’s McFarlin Library. Members generously donate $2,000 annually, directly supporting the Department of Special Collections and University Archives. While university funds cover staffing and overhead, the acquisitions of rare books and manuscripts depend solely on these donations.

The society’s influence extends beyond material collections, funding a distinguished lecture series that has brought Nobel Laureates, national leaders, and celebrated authors to Tulsa. Speakers have included Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney, former Irish President Mary Robinson, and renowned documentary filmmaker Ken Burns. By fostering a vibrant intellectual environment, the McFarlin Fellows help elevate Tulsa’s academic reputation.

The roots of the Fellows’ philanthropic efforts stretch back to the 1940s when Tulsa Bibliophiles, a group of local book collectors, began donating significant literary collections. This spirit of generosity was formalized in the early 1990s when then-Provost George Gilpin and Professor Hermione de Almeida, along with Curator Sidney F. Huttner, hosted informal gatherings with like-minded supporters of literature and history. These meetings soon evolved into the establishment of the McFarlin Fellows, whose dependable contributions have enabled McFarlin Library to act quickly on special opportunities and acquire valuable materials from respected book dealers.

By contributing both financially and intellectually, the McFarlin Fellows have significantly shaped the library’s esteemed collection, ensuring its growth and continuing relevance within the academic community. Their support also helps preserve McFarlin Library’s status as a cultural hub for scholars, students, and bibliophiles alike, promoting intellectual development in Tulsa and beyond.

This year, the McFarlin Fellows host three speakers

• B.H. Fairchild, Award Winning American Poet– December 3, 2024
• Melissa Kunz, Director of Special Collections – February 4, 2025
• Sigrid Nunez, National Book Award Winner – March 11, 2025

For more information about the McFarlin Fellows and the upcoming speaker series, please contact Jeannine Irwin Jeannine-irwin@utulsa.edu

One of the most famous ghosts at The University of Tulsa is the one affectionately known as Farley, who wanders the McFarlin Library. It seems no one knows who Farley is, and many speculate it could be the ghost of McFarlin himself. 

Teri French, Tulsa's Haunted Memories

The autumn and winter seasons tend to alter our perceptions of the waking world. These seasons create an environment with fewer daylight hours, but more time for the dark atmosphere that welcomes in the unexplained and (possibly) paranormal. Whether it's the Halloween season or simply the dropping of leaves and temperatures, this time of year sends many in search of something to chill our bones and test our bravery. For some this experience can be derived from a haunted house or moonlight stroll. Others will seek out a classic horror film, or a dark and twisty novel. And yet, for a select group at the University of Tulsa, that spooky experience might be found in the halls of McFarlin Library. There are those who believe this nearly 100 year old building could be housing more than old books.

It's no secret that old buildings have quirks, but some visitors cannot accept the notion that “it's just an old building." It's not enough to explain the vibes of a dark hall, the creak of a stair, or the cold spot in a room. While most students and staff who fill the spaces of McFarlin are working in the warm autumnal sunlight of the browsing floor, or the ambient table lighting of a reading room, there are times when the darkness of this building rushes at you and fails to part around your presence.

Take the automatic lights in the main and intermediate level book stacks. These lights are set to detect your presence, responding with a click and illumination. However, I myself have had moments when I am halfway down a side of the stacks and the light fails to respond. Worse still, I was working in the periodicals section when the lights clicked on around the corner. Stepping out from the aisle to see if there was a patron who needed help, I waited and listened for steps. None came. I stepped around the corner looking for source of the motion, and the lights suddenly clicked off behind me. Was this most likely a sensor not detecting my movement? Yes. Did it make me snap a glance over my shoulder and shiver? Absolutely. 

There is something almost gothic and romanticized about working in a space with so much history and architectural beauty. Knowing that there many departed scholars who walked the same routes, touched the same books, deepens the sense that something more than fingerprints could be left behind. Though it is easy to logically dismiss any apparent creepiness of an old space, it is also easy to get too comfortable and fail to consider that you may not be the only presence in a room. With the help of a unique Tulsa history book, and the input of current and former students, staff, and professors, I set out to see if I was the only who thought McFarlin Library could be haunted.

Speculation of a ghost is the simplest form of haunting. Due to it's age and rather strange construction phases, it is no extreme stretch to consider that an unsettled spirit may haunt these halls. Author Teri French collected some lore on McFarlin's specter, Farley. Whoever the “ghost” might be, people have attributed many unsettling experiences to the presence of this ghost: books found rearranged when no one is in the building, items going missing with no explanation, and strange noises. 

French also details two specific paranormal encounters of a former librarian and a janitorial staff member.
While working late one evening, a former librarian heard whistling. When she went to investigate the sound (believing it to be a patron who was present after hours), she found no one. After returning to her desk and beginning to work again, the whistling started back up. This continued throughout the evening, but no person was ever identified. In what is now called The Learning Studio on the main level of McFarlin, a janitorial staff member was cleaning the room when she looked up and saw a phantom form that appeared to be wearing graduation regalia. She fled the room and did not return. However, others have also noted the appearance of a man in similar garb that appears to be waiting in the corners of various rooms (96).

As any modern-day investigator should, I also pulled my resources and took this question to the online social platforms. From those responses I learned that many people believe McFarlin has a weird vibe, especially at night and in the original parts of the building. 

Below are some of the stories that anonymous staff and former students wanted to share…

• In the fourth floor women’s restroom, to the left of the sinks, there is a door that leads to the bathroom stalls. One day I opened the door, and all the stalls were available. I went into the first one. A moment later, I heard the most plaintive, sad, and prolonged sigh from the adjacent stall. No one had opened the main door to access the stalls. Seeing as they would have walked by my stall, I would have seen them through the crack of the door. When I finished I looked into the other stall, and it was still empty. It was so unsettling that I haven’t been there since.
• Sometimes when I've used the ladies' room on the fourth floor, I have thought I saw a shadow pass by me. It is, of course, only ever out of the corner of my eye.
• After spending more than a quarter of a century on campus, I've seen it, heard it, and felt it: ghost lights, secret stairwells, Farley, underground tunnels to ghost buildings and many more.…
• Years ago, when I worked at TU, we had a staff development meeting in the Library's Faculty Study. We were all quiet and seated while the VP of Student Affairs was talking of past history and TU’s vision of the future. All of a sudden, a floor lamp that was in the corner came crashing down! 

• All I know is that we heard some weird noises in one of the upstairs study rooms in the middle of the night during finals my junior year.

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  This fall I challenge you to be aware of the season's eerie nature. Whether you go looking for it, or just happen into a quiet space, listen in the silence. Take a moment to recognize the atmospheric weight of an old room. Acknowledge the peripheral flashes of movement near you. And whenever you are in McFarlin Library, be leery of the fourth floor bathroom.

  

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For more information

French, Teri. “Tulsa’s Haunted Schools.” Tulsa’s Haunted Memories, Arcadia Pub, 2010, pp. 95–96.

History of McFarlin Library

Behind an unmarked door on the 4th floor of McFarlin Library, there is a storage room which is dark – some might say it is haunted. Stored here are works of art and books made of rare materials…and some of those materials might be laced with poison. In current rhetoric, the contents of many books are considered “harmful." As an academic library, we promote reading and access to all books with the exception of books that might be an actual danger to your health. Many of these Victorian-era book covers were created using heavy metals and other hazardous substances that helped them capture vibrant colors.

I interviewed McFarlin Special Collections Cataloging Librarian, Brandis Malone, to discuss a little of the history behind these poisoned books as well as how McFarlin is handling these materials in Special Collections.  

Kathryn: Can you tell me a little bit about what makes these “poisoned” books?

Brandis: Yeah, for sure. So, we're specifically looking at books from the Victorian era. Generally, these are books from the 19th century from about 1800 to 1900, about 100 years. But some poisoned books are generally more from like 1830 to 1870. And that's about the time when the Victorians loved throwing poison into everything. They put it into medicine, they put it into wallpaper, and they were putting it into book cloth as well to make it super vibrant and colorful. They would put arsenic into book cloth to make it this beautiful emerald-green color. They would put chromium and lead with Prussian blue to create this dark, forest-green color. And then they would put chromium and lead and, there's some other chemical I'm forgetting, to make this nice yellow-orange. And obviously, lead and arsenic are not safe for people. So, you know, you're not supposed to touch it with your bare hands. You wouldn’t go around licking books or something. But also, you try not to breathe in those sorts of things. And little bits of exposure are technically fine. It's just if you're working in a library and cataloging or paging books, it can be pretty dangerous. 

Kathryn: Why is Special Collections participating in the poison book project?

Brandis: Lots of libraries are doing it all over the world. It's not like a conglomerate we’re joining essentially. It's kind of just this movement around libraries to identify these poisonous materials because, for a long time, people didn't know they were there. And so now we're like, oh, this is actually like a health hazard, we should probably start seriously tackling this issue.

Kathryn: Are you guys reporting the findings?

Brandis: There is this website called the Poison Book Project from the University of Delaware. And they do have a reporting feature. So, like, if you test something and it does test positive, you can submit it. And hopefully, we can do that once we start doing some serious testing.  Currently, they're only tracking arsenic, though. And we're branching out into the chrome yellows and the chrome greens, which I'll show you.

Kathryn: Were these books purchased by McFarlin because they were poisoned, or did you find out after?

Brandis: No. Particularly literature, and children's books, but these books span every genre.

Kathryn: Okay, so it's not like a specific type of book or anything like that?

Brandis: No. Now it's becoming a collecting area where people want to get cool poisonous books. But previously it was just, “Oh, look at this pretty green book.”

Kathryn: So, what has been the most unique find in terms of the content within these poisonous books that you guys have kind of looked through?

Brandis: That's a good question. I don't know. We haven't looked through the books to see what the content is. We're mostly worried about the actual binding itself. Most of it is literature.

Kathryn: Okay, so most of the poisonous material is in the binding, though it's not in the pages itself necessarily?

Brandis: It can be. So, the binding is what we're mostly worried about, but it can also be on the edges of the books. Sometimes they'd stain the edges in different colors. That’s something we're looking at. And then also the endpapers of a book. Because they would do that for the pretty endpapers.

Kathryn: In terms of what you guys have looked through already, have you found one that's super dangerous?

Brandis: We’ve done a little bit of testing, but we haven't gotten the results back yet. I'll show you this downstairs, but the current plan is to bag them in Ziploc bags. We're going to put them through testing. And then once we have some that are confirmed poisonous, we're going to put them in more long-term plastic bags that are a little bit thicker. So they're more resistant to puncture – more like polyethylene bags. It’s never going to be anything like locked in a lead case. You’re not going to drop dead if you touch a poisonous book.

Kathryn: So, for you to keep testing, are you guys partnering with someone else or do you have to run the test yourself?

Brandis: No, we're trying to do a collaboration with the chemistry department. We've reached out to a professor there and we did some initial testing. We're hoping to eventually get access to an XRF, which is a kind of chemical testing gun. It would tell you exactly what the chemical makeup of the binding is. We haven't gotten to that yet. You need special training and stuff to use that. We'd also need approval and it's expensive. But yeah, we're mostly doing some other sort of fluorescent microscopy. He has his whole system over there.

Kathryn: Okay, so when you handle these books, which I'm sure I'll see downstairs as well, what particular manner do you handle them?

Brandis: So, you want to handle them safely, like any sort of rare book. You just want to make sure that you have gloves on. We generally ask people to wear a mask if they're going to be handling them a lot. It's mostly the gloves we're worried about. You want to wash your hands after, even if you are wearing gloves. And then we also have precautions for like surfaces. So we have polyethylene sheeting to put down. We have a special kind of book cradle that's made of acrylic, which is easily cleanable. And it's just making sure that we're clearing up the residue.

Kathryn: So, you’re making sure people are not transferring it or anything like that?

Brandis: Yeah, that's the problem too with arsenic because it's super friable. So even if you don't see it, it's transferring to everything pretty much.

Kathryn: Is there anything else you want to share about this project or that you found interesting that you'd like people to know about?

Brandis: We're kind of in the beginning stages. So, it's new, but I think the whole thing's cool. It’s just a really interesting part of book history that people don’t talk about. 

For more information on Poisoned Books and the history of arsenic green, please consider the following sources:

• This article from The Washington Post - “Old books can be loaded with poison. Some collectors love the thrill.”
• This article from Heritage Science - “Hidden in plain sight: revisiting the synthesis, characterisation, degradation and the intricate relationship between Scheele’s green and Emerald green”
• Bitten by Witch Fever by Lucinda Hawksley
• The Arsenic Century : How Victorian Britain Was Poisoned at Home, Work, and Play by James C. Whorton