McFarlin Memo - LibGuides at University of Tulsa

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

Recent Posts

Staff Spotlight - Jenny Jones

Jenny JonesThe 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. ...

"Man Without a Country" - A New Exhibit Coming to Special Collections

“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, 2018Photo courtesy of Special CollectionsA 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.Photo courtesy of Special CollectionsWhen 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 housea random 45 vinylan empty 1970s airline peanut bagmoney from various countries such as Iran, Pakistan, Canda, and Indonesia Photo courtesy of Special Collectionsall his used checkbooks, over 200, as well as over a 1000 canceled checksreceipts (which he apparently loved) including many from American eateries like IHOPan invitation from Buckingham Palace for a garden partya fan letter from actress Miriam MargolyesWith 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.Photo courtesy of Special CollectionsIn 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. ...

Staff Spotlight - Charles Brooks

Photo courtesy of Charles BrooksIn 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

McFarlin Fellows: A Legacy of Philanthropy and Intellectual EnrichmentThe 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 speakersB.H. Fairchild, Award Winning American Poet– December 3, 2024Melissa Kunz, Director of Special Collections – February 4, 2025Sigrid Nunez, National Book Award Winner – March 11, 2025For more information about the McFarlin Fellows and the upcoming speaker series, please contact Jeannine Irwin Jeannine-irwin@utulsa.edu...