We are always reading reports of the behaviour of the “born digitals” and the gen-eration who is also known as the “google” generation. A recent British study under-taken under the auspices of the British Library (www.bl.uk/) and JISC (JointInformation Systems Committee, www.jisc.ac.uk/), who provide world-class leader-ship in the innovative use of IT to support education and research, confirms whatmany of us who deal with students every day have known for a while. The LibraryJournal (www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6525984.html) in reporting on the studystates that:

• Young people are not very web-literate• Libraries must make interfaces easier• Libraries must integrate content with commercial search enginesEvery recent report including those by OCLC (www.oclc.org/) has stated the

same. Yet libraries are slow to respond to the needs identified. There is an awesomeresponsibility to ensure that today’s young people gain the information skills to accessand use the amazing resources available. The report highlights the use of e-books andwe already have over one million available. And yes book sales are dropping outsidethe recreational market. We have the resources, but can our students and faculty findwhat they need from the vast information array available? Our holdings must be fullyavailable in OCLC and then searchable via Google Scholar as well as Worldcat, forexample, and our information skills programs must be firmly linked into curriculumofferings. The future is now and we must design our products and services aroundtoday’s information searcher and not the one of yesterday.

E-books are developing in interesting ways. Best seller lists of novels in Japannow include books created on cell phones. Of ten best-selling novels in Japan lastyear, five were created on cell phones. Fast moving thumbs generated thousands ofwords over many months to form these novels. Sponsored by the popular Japanese

The Library Matters @ McGill newslet-ter, brought to you by the you-never-heard-it-from-us editors, seeks to exchange andencourage ideas, innovations and informa-tion from McGill Library staff at all levels.

The newsletter is published monthly.The latest issue, as well as an archive of past issues, can be found atwww.mcgill.ca/library-about/pubs/newsletter.

We welcome your contributions. Thedeadline for submissions is the first day ofthe issue month. Send your input to theyou-never-heard-it-from-us editorial team:Louisa Piatti, louisa.piatti@ mcgill.caEmma Buckley, emma.buckley@mcgill.caApril Colosimo, april.colosimo@mcgill.caRebecca Nicholson, rebecca.nicholson@mcgill.ca

Volume 4, Issue 1 | January 2008

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

FROM THE TRENHOLME DIRECTOR OF LIBRARIES

WHAT’S NEW 2

ESCHOLARSHIP@MCGILL ARRIVES 3

AWARDS SEASON IS HERE AGAIN 4

COMING ATTRACTIONS 5

A CELEBRATION OF ELAINE YAROSKY’S LIFE 6

www.mcgill.ca/library-about/pubs/newsletter/

Revelers at the Festive Fête held on December 18 at Redpath Hall included, from left: Prof. Anthony Masi (Provost);Janine Schmidt (Trenholme Director of Libraries); François Émond (Cyberthèque architect); Diane Koen (AssociateDirector, Planning and Resources).

PLEASE SEE FROM THE DIRECTOR ON PAGE 3

THE CYBERTHÈQUE IS OPEN!The McGill University Library’s

Cyberthèque—a large-scale, multi-pur-pose information facility—opened itsdoors for the first time to McGill studentson Monday, January 14. Located in theRedpath Library Building at street levelfacing the snow-covered field, the “expe-riential” Cyberthèque offers a diverserange of studying and learning spaces forgroups and individuals, various technolo-gy and multimedia installations andfriendly, convenient assistance. TheCyberthèque offers students fresh oppor-tunities for study, learning and informa-tion access.

The facility includes:• four glassed-in, soundproof group

study pods and nine colourful ban-quettes equipped with group worktools including glassboards and lap-top projection to plasma and LCDscreens

• quiet tables with or without comput-ers for individual study

• an e-classroom for information lit-eracy programs, equipped with six52-inch screens and adaptable tomultiple teaching configurations

• an assignment production area out-fitted with printers, scanners, photo-copiers and a vending machine forschool supplies

• a service counter staffed by librarytechnicians, librarians, student navi-gators and library assistants

• casual study areas dotted with mov-able, comfortable seating.

The Cyberthèque can accommodate250 users, on 125 workstations and addi-tional seating for wired and wireless lap-tops. Finishing touches are now beingapplied in anticipation of a formal launchin the near future.

The project was funded by student ITfunds provided through the office of theChief Information Officer, as well asfunds from donors and the Library’sOperating Grant. The Cyberthèque proj-ect was made possible by the contribu-tions of many, however special thanksgo to ékm architecture, particularlyFrançois Émond, Bregman and HamannArchitects, McGill Facilities, PierlyConstruction, McGill ICS, McGill NCSand McGill Ancillary Services.

�

Volume 4, Issue 1

2

| L

ibrar

y Mat

ters @

McG

ill

WHAT’S NEW

“...man will occasionally stumble over thetruth, but usually manages to pick himself up,

walk over or around it, and carry on. ”– Winston Churchill

cell phone site Maho no i-rando, thesenew formats of romance novels begin anew literary culture. They are also beingprinted in paper format. Perhaps assign-ments in the future will be created on cellphones?

Last year concluded with a successfullibrary festive fête. Thanks to all forcoming and for all the work we achievedin 2007. We were saddened and shockedby the passing of one of our most

respected and well liked library staff,Elaine Yarosky, on December 22 and wepay tribute to her elsewhere in thisnewsletter.

We have begun the year with the open-ing of the Cyberthèque. Thanks go toeveryone for their patience. Some of theconstruction is still not quite completed butthe students are demonstrating the popular-ity of the new space with its additionalcomputers, spots for laptops, casual and

formal seating and assistance inthe use of it all. The e-classroomin the Cyberthèque will providethe capacity for us to provide theinformation skills training classeswe know our students need tomake full use of our resources.

Janine Schmidt,

Trenholme Director

of Libraries �

Volume 4, Issue 1

What is eScholarship@McGill?eScholarship@McGill is a digital

repository that archives and showcasesMcGill’s research. The Library maintainsthe repository, thus providing anothervaluable service to the McGill communi-ty and the world beyond.

eScholarship@McGill contains ePrintsand eTheses authored by McGill facultyand students, and adheres to the principleof open access.

How are eTheses added?Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

began offering the option of submittingtheses electronically in April 2007. Thebenefits to students include wider andfaster dissemination of their work. OnceeTheses are approved by the University,they are sent to the Library and quicklyadded to the repository, thereby makingthem readily available to potentialemployers, students’ families, otherresearchers, and the online world.

What about ePrints?ePrints are scholarly publications such

as research articles, conference papers,working papers, books and researchreports. The Library receives lists of pub-lications from McGill faculty and stu-dents, and takes care of verifying copy-right permissions on their behalf.

eScholarship@McGill ensures thatresearchers’ publications are available toall and not locked up in subscription-based databases or journals.

How can eScholarship@McGill benefitresearchers?

Academic researchers write to maxi-

mize the visibility of their work; general-ly, they do not write articles for profit,they write for impact or exposure.Research publications have traditionallybeen accessible via paid subscriptions tojournals, the cost of which has risen dra-matically in recent years. We at McGillare lucky because we have access to manyof these journals through the Library.However, we do not have access to everysingle published journal. Open accessbreaks down barriers by making theresults of what is often federally-fundedresearch available widely and freely onthe internet, quickly and efficiently. Openaccess has also been shown to increasecitation counts for articles.

There are two models of open access:“green” open access, which means self-archiving (e.g. in digital repositories or onpersonal websites), or “gold” open access,which means publishing in open accessjournals (e.g. Public Library of Science orBioMed Central journals). Self-archivingor “green” open access is possiblebecause non-open access publishers fre-quently allow authors to disseminate pre-prints (pre-refereed articles), post-prints(post peer-review), or even the publishedversion of articles on their own personalwebsites, or ideally, within their institu-tional repository.

eScholarship@McGill adheres to theDublin Core metadata standard and willuse the CARLCore Metadata ApplicationProfile. These metadata elements areexposed to search engines such as Google,Google Scholar, and YAHOO! via OAI-PMH, the Open Archives Initiative forMetadata Harvesting. This substantiallyincreases the visibility of McGill’s publi-

cations on the web. As of October 2007, eScholarship

@McGill contained over 420 ePrints and152 eTheses. We hope to see these num-bers rise as the value of open access ismore widely recognized by students andfaculty alike. We also hope members ofthe library staff will encourage faculty aswell as students to contribute towardbuilding a strong repository at McGill.

If you have any questions, please feelfree to contact Genevieve Gore,Coordinator, eScholarship@McGill.

�

ESCHOLARSHIP@MCGILL ARRIVES!BY GENEVIEVE GORE (COORDINATOR, ESCHOLARSHIP@MCGILL)

3

| L

ibrar

y Mat

ters @

McG

ill

“Open-access publishing requires no sub-scriptions to use the digital version, allowsany use of the material as long as attribu-tion is maintained, and involves placing thematerial in a public digital database that canbe rigorously searched.”

– Harold Varmus in Kleiner, K. (2003). Freedomfighter. New Scientist, Reed Business Information

Limited (New Scientist). 180: 46-49.

“A university-based institutional reposito-ry is a set of services that a universityoffers to the members of its community forthe management and dissemination of dig-ital materials created by the institution andits community members. It is most essen-tially an organizational commitment to thestewardship of these digital materials,including long-term preservation whereappropriate, as well as organization andaccess or distribution.”

– Clifford A. Lynch, “Institutional Repositories:Essential Infrastructure for Scholarship in the

Digital Age” ARL, no. 226 (February 2003): 1-7.

FROM THE DIRECTOR, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

The Library is calling for submissionsfor the library awards. Submissions aredue February 29, 2008. The details of theawards follow.

LIBRARY AWARDS AND RECOGNITION Purpose and Selection Criteria:

Many Library staff members make out-standing contributions to McGill’s contin-ued success and exceptional reputation.The annually presented CareerRecognition Award and Library StaffExcellence Award (further details below)recognize these important efforts andachievements. Library staff are encour-aged to nominate coworkers who havedemonstrated commitment and dedicationto the Library’s mission statement:

McGill University Library advancesteaching, learning, research and com-munity service by providing outstand-ing collections, access to the world ofknowledge, excellence in service andan appropriate library environment,all of which are client-focused andresponsive to the needs of the McGillcommunity.Nominees are expected to have shown

an exceptional understanding of theLibrary’s motto: Information, Innovation,Service, and may be nominated for out-standing contributions in the areas of:

• Job performance• Client service• Communication skills• Collaboration with other libraries/

sections• Contribution to the practice or pro-

fession of librarianship• Promotional activities• Teamwork• Special initiative/s• Creative problem solving.All Library members of the library

staff, with the exception of the winners ofthe 2003-2007 awards and the Directorand Associate Directors, are eligible fornomination. Permanent part-time and per-manent sessional staff may be consideredfor the awards provided the length ofservice is equivalent to three years full-time employment in the Library.Nominations will be called annually foreach of the awards.

Procedure: Following the guidelinesfor each award, complete the form (seewww.mcgill.ca/library-about/general/

awards/) for each candidate and supply asupporting statement (two pages maxi-mum) by the due date, describing how thenominee meets or surpasses the criteria.Send the printed nomination form andsupporting statement to the Office of theTrenholme Director of Libraries – StaffAwards Committee.

Frequency of Award: Annually, atthe discretion of the Trenholme Directorof Libraries.

Decision Process: The Director ofLibraries, in consultation with theAssociate Directors and the last threerecipients of each of the awards willselect the successful candidate.

Presentation of the Awards: Theawards are presented at an annual celebra-tion.

Career Recognition AwardPurpose: This award will recognize

an exceptional contribution by a librarian,currently on appointment to the McGillUniversity Libraries.

Eligibility: All librarians presently onappointment are eligible for considera-tion.

Procedure: Nominations must besubmitted in writing, identifying anddescribing the nature of the nominee’scontribution, together with the endorse-ment of two McGill librarians.

Past Winners

1988 Angella Lambrou, HealthSciences Library

1989 Jane Aitkens, Systems Office1990 Irena Murray, Blackader-

Lauterman Library1991 Donna Duncan, Library

Technical Services1992 David Crawford, Health

Sciences Library1993 not awarded1994 Joan Hobbins, Library

Technical Services1995 Selima Mohammed, Library

Technical Services1996 Stephen Park, Law Library1997 Louis Houle, Physical Sciences

and Engineering Library1998 Pat Riva, Library Technical

Services1999 Eleanor MacLean, Blacker-

Wood Library of Biology2000 Sharon Lynn Grant, Health

Sciences Library

2001 Sharon Rankin, Systems Office2002 Hanna Waluzyniec, Schulich

Library2003 Christine Oliver, Library

Technical Services2004 Joanna Andrews, Library

Technical Services2005 Cynthia Leive, Marvin Duchow

Music Library2006 not awarded2007 Kendall Wallis, Humanities &

Social Sciences Library

Library Staff Excellence Award Purpose: This award will recognize

an outstanding contribution by a memberof the support staff currently on appoint-ment to the McGill Libraries.

Eligibility: All members of the sup-port staff within the Library System areeligible, that is, all staff holding a classifi-cation of “LA”, “C”, “M” or “T”.

Procedure: Nominations must besubmitted in writing, describing thenature of the nominee's contribution,together with the endorsement of two sup-port staff.

Past Winners

1993 Francisco Uribe, Humanitiesand Social Sciences Library

1994 Diane Philip, Humanities andSocial Sciences Library

1995 Theo Lawrence, LibraryTechnical Services

1996 Adèle Toutant, Law Library1997 Gary Tynski, Division of Rare

Books and Special Collections1998 Louise Nadeau, Library

Technical Services1999 Mary Lourenço, Law Library2000 Jane Jackel, Howard Ross

Library/Systems Office2001 Anne Habbick, Blacker-Wood

Library2002 Zafiro Bouwman, Serials

Department2003 Anna Di Pietro, Health

Sciences Library2004 David Curtis, Marvin

Duchow Music Library2005 Penelope Aubin, Library

Technical Services2006 Lise Hackett, Library

Technical Services2007 John Black, Marvin

Duchow Music Library�

Volume 4, Issue 1

4

| L

ibrar

y Mat

ters @

McG

ill

AWARDS SEASON IS HERE AGAIN

Volume 4, Issue 1

5

| L

ibrar

y Mat

ters @

McG

ill

Outlook Calendar trainingMonday, February 25, 200810:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.McLennan building M3-37AThis is a hands-on training session inwhich staff will work together as a groupthrough the two Microsoft online trainingmodules below. LTS staff will be presentto assist and to answer questions. Therewill be time for practice at the end.“Get to Know Your Outlook Calendar”and“So That’s How! Great Outlook CalendarFeatures to Make Time Work for You”Registration required. Open to all Librarystaff. Please discuss attendance with yoursupervisor. Please email or call Joanne Hayat 4787.

Excel trainingThese are hands-on training sessions inwhich staff will work together as a groupthrough the Microsoft online training mod-ules below. There will be practice time atthe end of the session. LTS staff will bepresent to assist and answer questions.

Wednesday, February 27, 200810:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.“Get to Know Excel: Create your FirstWorkbook”

Friday, February 29, 200810:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.“Get to Know Excel: Enter Formulas”

Registration for either or both required.Open to all Library staff. Please discussattendance with your supervisor. Pleaseemail or call Joanne Hay at 4787.

An exploration of Web 3.0 andLibraries: was Web 2.0 so long ago?Thursday, February 28, 20082:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.Bronfman Building, Room 179If you attended one of our popular Web2.0 presentations, you know how theWeb 2.0 approach to social computing isalready revolutionizing Library services.By contrast, Web 3.0 products such asthe Semantic Web and web ontologylanguages are still highly experimental.They have not had a noticeable impactyet, but they possess even greater poten-tial to redefine the ways in whichLibraries—and Library staff—provideservice to clients. Join Andrew Collier,Rajiv Johal, Deborah Meert, and LouiseO’Neill for a glimpse of the future.Open to all staff, no registration required.Please discuss attendance with your super-visor. �

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Answer to the holiday puzzle from December

Where does Santa like to study when he’s at the Library?At the

K I L M

S A B R S

R S C C U I

H W A T E R

M I L K

B R A S S

C I R C U S

W R E A T H

C H R I S T M A S C A R R E L S

j

“I am too much ofa sceptic to denythe possibility of

anything.”

– Thomas Henry Huxley, British biologist

j

Volume 4, Issue 1

A Celebration of Elaine Yarosky’s Life

Tuesday, January 8, 2008McGill University Library

Volume 4, Issue 1

Elaine Yarosky –Eulogyby Karen and LaurenYaroskyMom was quirky to say the veryleast, and that is something thatrubbed off on Lauren and I and setus on a very interesting paththrough life. Anyone who knew herknew she did not mince words andhad very strong opinions and it wasalmost impossible to ever changeher mind. This made her a verystrong character and a force to bereckoned with and I have no prob-lem saying that you always knewwhere mom stood on somethingonce she opened her mouth. Shewas also very very funny. Mum hada wicked sense of humour and shewas very perceptive and I’m sure wehave all sat with mom and beenshocked, horrified and completelyamused at her particular take onany situation. Her stories about allthe nogoodnicks hanging out in thelibrary (and no I don’t mean thepeople that worked there) keptmany people laughing on her par-ticular take on life. Mom loved thelibrary. You could tell, because it’swhat she complained about most.She was a librarian for all of mylife .. well that’s not true, she was alibrarian for most of my life andthen one day she came home andsuddenly she was an informationtechnologist. What kept her goingright until the end was her work atMcGill. And what was very impor-tant to her, and one of the mostimportant things that I am going tosay, and that I want everyone toknow, is that she worked there for50 years. It really was one of thebig things that kept her going. Upuntil just a few weeks ago. She wasvery proud of her commitment tothe library, and so are we.

It was incredible the things mumdid with only one arm. Lauren andI didn’t know that it was even thatspecial because that’s how we knewher our whole life. But for somebodywith one arm it was very rare thatshe ever needed a hand (and I’mallowed to say that joke ‘cause wesaid it to her quite a bit). Mum was

incredibly independent. She wasstrong willed, and she would justfind a way to get things done with-out help a lot of the time. I don’teven know how she managed halfthe stuff she did, because she justdid it. And it’s funny, because bothLauren and I open up stuff with ourteeth, and wrap packages with ourfeet and barrel through life justknowing stuff has to get done andwe just do it … and it’s one of thebest and most precious gifts thatmum gave us, I appreciate it inmyself and I see that not every-body has that gift in this world.We learned that through her just byosmosis and it has served us incred-ibly well in facing life and also infacing death.Mum faced so many brutal chal-lenges in her life and it’s really justcoming home now how strongly shefought for so much. Maybe that’swhat made her appreciative of thebeautiful things in life. Classicalmusic has always been a huge partof her life. In fact, I don’t think wewere ever allowed to play rock androll in the house, it was all classical, all the time. Maybe in the 60’sand 70’s she allowed in a little JoanBaez and Yellow Submarine ... butthat was it. Mum sang in choirs forso many years and she practiced sohard that by the time the concertcame around both Lauren and I/we could literally sing the requiemsalong with her. She specificallyrequested the music that playedtoday and I’ll never listen toChopin’s nocturnes or Schubertwithout thinking about her. Wesaw her sing at Carnegie Hall in achoir and it was totally awesome.

Mum surrounded herself with beau-tiful things. She loved art, sheloved music unconditionally andwith abandon, good food and niceclothes. All of that was reflected inher home and was something shegot from her mum Gammy Rae. Icould never do it, but Lauren wouldsit for hours with her talking aboutthe difference between beige andlight beige and pale beige, shewould freak out because they paint-ed the front door coffee and itshould have been toffee and she

would never care about the cost orthe hassle but to her there was nosolution but change it to the wayshe wanted it. And frankly she didand it and it always looked a lotbetter. She knew what she likedand she knew what she didn’t likeand it was important to her to makesure things were done right.

Our mum knew how to throw aparty – and one of the most impor-tant things we ever learned was nomatter what patisserie you orderedfrom, no matter what their reputa-tion, you always look in the box tomake sure your order is right beforeyou hop in a cab. You never knowif they’ve done it right unless youcheck yourself. This may seem likea small anecdote but it actually wasmum’s philosophy on life and it’strue. I learnt this of course becauseI was helping her out for one of herfamous New Years’ Eve parties andI didn’t check in the box ‘cause Iwas in a rush, and I came homewith a raspberry torte instead of atarte tatin. And you may say“apples or oranges”. But if youwant life to be a bowl of cherries,and you don’t check in the box, youmight end up with lemons. Andfrankly mum thought sure, you canmake lemonade … but tarte tatintastes better and she sure wasn’tgoing to serve lemonade to herfriends. A couple of other thingsthat mum taught us, that really didchange my life are times when Icalled her when I was having reallyrough times. There are two that Ican remember vividly. Once herresponse was there’s more fish inthe sea which seem simplistic butkind of changed my life at the time,and sometimes you just need thosesimple truths. The other was whenI called her in existential despairbecause I was overwhelmed withthe fact that the world was a messand that nothing I could ever do asone simple person could ever makea difference. And mom told me thatin Quebec women didn’t even havethe vote until the 50’s and womenfought and fought for that rightand it took a long time, and strongbelief to make that happen, andnow we just take it for granted. But

Volume 4, Issue 1if they hadn’t believed in that andfought for that for so long it wouldnever have come to fruition. Shetold me that I should take that withme, and fight long and hard and bepatient and that I could make a dif-ference in life.. and that you have tofight .. and it might be a long one.It was really important lessonbecause sometimes you need a per-spective that is longer than yourpersonal experience to make sense ofit … and mum could be relied on togive you that perspective.

We had an amazing education inour lives. While other kids weregoing off camping or to Disneyland, mum and dad would be tak-ing us to Europe or New York to seeplays or we would be going to con-certs on weekends. We ate at thebest restaurants, there was nobologna, Captain Crunch or EasyBake ovens in our childhood.Presents from my parents werealways educational, we were alwaysallowed to buy as many books as wewanted, even if it was 20 at a time,we took it for granted that we gotmusic lessons and horse back ridinglessons and our whole lives, one ofthe favorite things that we liked todo with mum since we were kids,was to go to museums and go frompainting to painting and discusseach one. Mum would point outthings in each one that she thoughtrepresented this or that andthrough this we learnt to evaluatewhat was put before us and createintelligent opinions about what wesaw in our lives. Mum made surethat we went through life lookingand learning, and judging andmaking our own opinions as shedid in her own life. This allows youto be a powerful person and liveyour life as best you can and as youwant it. Even when she was verysick in the hospital, she looked at usand said ”this is quite an educa-tion, eh?” and as difficult as it wasto be there and to be going throughit all, even then, mum was makingus aware that our experience hereon this earth is to be evaluated andthat we should stay aware of howinteresting, horrible, beautiful,banal and complicated life can be.

And with that you do become astronger person. And Lauren and Iare a lot like our mom.

There’s way too much to say aboutmum here, but through all theamazing conversations I’ve hadwith all her friends since mum diedI know that it doesn’t need to all besaid right now. I feel like I have toexplain to everybody what an amaz-ing and unique person she was , buteverybody knows, and like all goodart and music, she means a lot ofdifferent things to a lot of differentpeople, and through listening toher, hanging out with her andinterpreting her, we’ve all beenchallenged and humored andmoved by her presence. To end Iwish you the following that wasbred into us but I think is some-thing that we can take from mum’slife and apply it to our own …enjoy the view, demand silence(when appropriate), be strong,always check in the patisserie box(even if it comes from the Duc DeLorraine), listen to good music andlisten to yourself. It’s not a badrecipe in this tumultuous life.

Celebration of ElaineYarosky’s LifeTuesday, January 8, 2008McGill University Library

Janine Schmidt: Welcome to thisvery special memorial occasion forElaine Yarosky. We were all shockedand deeply saddened to learn ofElaine’s death in December andwhile many staff were able to attendthe service for her, others wereabsent over the holiday period. Wewanted to provide an opportunityfor a celebration of Elaine’s life in theLibrary. I contacted Elaine’s daugh-ters, Karen and Lauren, and it wasthey who decided that their Mumshould be remembered on a joyousinformal occasion which is what weare seeking to do here today.Firstly, therefore, a very special wel-come to Karen and Lauren.

We extend to all of you a very sin-cere welcome – to Elaine’s friends

and family, to former staff whoreturn to McGill to remember Elainewith much affection and respect, andto our current Library and Universitystaff at McGill.

I would first like to ask the Provost,Dr. Tony Masi, to speak.

ELAINE SANFT YAROSKYB.A., McGill, 1957 (English andFrench Literature, Art History,Music)B.L.S., McGill, 1958Faculty of Graduate Studies andResearch, 1961 -1965. CompletedCourse requirements for M.A. inEnglish Literature.M.L.S. McGill, 1985.

Prof. Anthony Masi: Elaine com-menced work in the McGill Librarysystem in the Blacker-Wood Libraryin 1958, nearly 50 years ago! Over the span of half a century,Elaine worked in various positionsacross the Library system, in bothfull and part time capacities. We atMcGill are very proud of that amaz-ing achievement, as I am sure herfamily is. In line with her earliest academicinterests, Elaine spent most of hertime in the Humanities and SocialSciences Library, relating both to thecollections and to reference andinformation work. She also had stintsin the Law, Education and SocialWork Libraries. In my conversations with her I wasvery impressed by the way she triedto “shape collections”, and by allaccounts in the Humanities andSocial Sciences area in particular, shedid a superb job.At McGill, over the course of her

career, Elaine Yarosky provided out-standing support to generations offaculty, researchers, and students atall levels; she guided and providedwise counsel to scores of young (andsome older) librarians; and she madestrong contributions to theUniversity through such committeesas the Faculty of Arts CurriculumCommittee, the Senate Committee onLibraries and the MAUT LibrarianSection.

Volume 4, Issue 1Elaine also represented the McGillLibrary on various external commit-tees. In particular her work on theLibrary Board Executive of theShastri Indo-Canadian Institute hasbeen commended by her colleagues.She was much appreciated by thosewith whom she worked on variousCREPUQ committees and she consis-tently and highly professionally rep-resented McGill’s views to the Centerfor Research Libraries in Chicago.She was also a strong participant inthe Executive of the MontrealChapter of the Association of JewishLibraries. While I did not work directly withher, I did hear much about her fromher librarian colleagues and fromthose whom she served so well. Evena brief encounter with Elaine, giventhe chance to listen to her speak ofher work, and the immediate impres-sion, confirmed by her remarkableyears and achievements at McGilland its Library, was of a woman whowas thorough, thoughtful, imagina-tive, intelligent, and tireless in herpursuit of quality and excellence. Elaine Yarosky made highly signifi-cant contributions to the Library andto McGill University. I also remem-ber her as being kind, gentle, andgenerous. I am sure that she will belong remembered by colleagues as afriend and a guide. Elaine made adifference and she will be missed.

Janine Schmidt: In preparing fortoday, we asked people to send intheir memories of Elaine. We havebeen inundated with wonderful mes-sages describing Elaine’s contribu-tions to McGill and the impact shemade on each individual with whomshe worked. I shall read a few snip-pets.

•A fiercely loyal friend, implacableupright and discreetly present, muchlike the heroines of the novels byBarbara Pym or Ivy ComptonBurnett that she liked to read.

•She had an uncanny ability to getpeople to do things they might neverhave considered. Her technique fordoing so remains a mystery…

•Elaine was the quintessential librar-ian in terms of her commitment toservice and the development of ascholarly academic library.

•I wouldn’t want Elaine’s sense ofhumour or her concern for her col-leagues to go forgotten.

•A more dedicated, zealous librariancould not be found.

•She was always a lady in the truestsense and exhibited poise, class andpurpose in all she did. She had a wayabout her that kept those around hergrounded in reality even when shewas going through her own personalhell.

•I admired Elaine for her strongservice ethics, her unflinching butnot cynical realism and her ability tobuild and maintain relationships.

•Elaine was one of a kind and willbe greatly missed.

I had come to know Elaine andrespect her enormously in the threeyears I have been at McGill. We hadmany chats about various matters –we did not always agree but each ofus learned from the other. Elainedemonstrated an amazing capacity togrow and develop and to constantlybroaden her horizons. She saw hugechanges in her working life andadapted amazingly well to them –even if she did not like doing emailat home and even if she was not keenon wearing the dreaded name badge!She will be long remembered for herprofessionalism; her sense of whatwas right and what was good; herwit; her charm; her deep brown eyes;her enigmatic smile; her generosity;her energy; her strength; her couragein the face of personal adversity; hersense of self and her sense of pur-pose; a class one act.

In the words of My Fair Lady:

We had grown accustomed to herface.She almost made the day begin.

Her smiles, her frowns,Her ups, her downsWere second nature to us all;

We grew accustomed to her look; Accustomed to her voice;Accustomed to her face.

Elaine, we shall all miss you.

Tribute given by Kendall Wallis

Practice! Practice! Practice!Some thoughts on Elaine SanftYarosky

Elaine’s professional career is wellknown to most of you, and althoughher parallel musical career was nosecret, there were aspects of it thatremained in the shadows. The regu-lar concerts with such professionalvocal groups as the St LawrenceChoir, MSO Choir, and even a gigwith the Philadelphia OrchestraChorus punctuated her years andtestify to the dedication and aboveall the quality of the second careerthat ran alongside her chosen profes-sion as a librarian; a life which mostof us see as being quite full enough,thank you, very much.Sometimes to my delight her twocareers intersected. There were thelate evenings at work when a headwould pop around the office doorand as proper a Brooklyn accent aswas ever heard on Flatbush Avenuewould emerge:

“Take back your mink,Take back your pearls,What made you thinkThat I was one of those girls?”

And the show went on from there;“Adelaide’s Lament” from FrankLoesser’s “Guys and Dolls” wasguaranteed to put a stop to any proj-ect that was burning the evening oiland make me pack up and go home,shaking with laughter. It workedevery time.

An old joke: A man is in New YorkCity and he’s late for a concert atCarnegie Hall and he’s lost. He’swalking down the street and sees a

Volume 4, Issue 1guy with a violin case under his armand thinks “This guy’ll know whereCarnegie Hall is” so he asks, “Hey,how do you get to Carnegie Hall?”Without looking up, the guy with thefiddle case says, “Practice! Practice!Practice!” and keeps walking....

And, yes, eventually Elaine got to thestage of Carnegie Hall.

Practice! Practice! Practice! wasElaine’s professional mantra:

• In 1958 Elaine was theReference Librarian in the Blacker-Wood Library and F. Cyril Jameswas principal of McGill University;• In 1961 Elaine was theReference Librarian in the SocialWork Library and John Diefenbakerwas Prime Minister;• In 1976 Elaine was the MapCurator in the Rare BookDepartment and Saul Bellow won theNobel Prize for Literature;• In 1989 Elaine was aReference Librarian in the LawLibrary and Margaret Thatcher wasPrime Minister of Great Britain;• In 1993 Elaine was ActingHead Librarian in the EducationLibrary and Federico Fellini died;• In 2001 Elaine was ActingMcLennan Librarian and the film“Jurassic Park 3” was released. Because, as a librarian, Elaine grewup in an age of imperfect, oftenhomegrown systems, where you hadto know the scope of your collectionand the limits of your tools, shelearned to work around those limitsthrough knowledge, inventiveness,hard work, applied experience andpatience.

One of Elaine’s hallmarks as a librari-an was her sense of diligence andthoroughness. John Hobbins tells ofmore than once finding Elaine, at atime when she was a “lowly casual”(her phrase), paid by the hour, longafter her time-sheet had expired,working on a reference questionbecause it was important and unfin-ished. The answer was out there andshe would find it. She usually did.

Because Elaine had an experiential,even visceral (or “evidence-based”)feel for what was “out there” in theworld of information, a world whichshe knew first-hand in so many of itsmanifestations, she approached thenew technology with a practical viewto as to its speed (always undeni-able), scope (always less than whatwas wanted) and usefulness (alwayshigh, but rarely perfect).

When the electronic age dawned, thenewly sliced kind of bread was notautomatically better for Elaine; it hadto taste good and be nourishing aswell. To her delight, she found itwas often both. And, much to thesurprise of her daughters, shebecame an “Information technolo-gist.”

In her decades as a librarian, wemoved from an age of informationscarcity to an age of informationsuperfluity. Because of her wideexperience in all those libraries andmedia (grey literature, law reports,maps, government documents –were you counting?) she knew whatwas out there and why it was essen-tial and why it was often neglected,much to the detriment of theresearch question at hand.

Practice! Practice! Practice!

Practice made Elaine physically andintellectually aware of just howmuch information is out there andhow hard it often still is to find it.

Practice made Elaine pedagogicallyaware of how necessary it is to makethat information available and toenable researchers and teach stu-dents to find it. Practice made Elaine philosophicallyaware how necessary it is to ensurethat the Library acquire the bestmaterial for scholars and ensureaccess to it.

Practice made Elaine ethically awarehow necessary it is to train and men-tor young colleagues to carry on thiscomplex and valuable task.

What have I and so many otherslearned from Elaine? Practice! Practice! Practice!

Kendall WallisHumanities & Social SciencesLibrary, McGill University

Tribute given by Valerie Mayman

Elaine and I have been close col-leagues and friends for many years.It was however in the last 15 years orso, that our work collaborations grewinto an almost a daily event, and onevery large or small library themeimaginable.

McGill has one of the great librarycollections in North America andinternationally. Elaine had a superbknowledge of the collections in thehumanities and social sciences andwas very proud to have been part ofan illustrious tradition of more than5 generations of librarians andlibrary staff, professors and others inthe McGill community, alumni,donors, friends, and members of thebroader public, who have con-tributed to the methodical, andsometimes serendipitous building ofMcGill's research collections ofintense intellectual and scholarlystrength, depth, and diversity of sub-jects.

Every week I personally am amazedor bemused at the numerous andvaried requests sent to the McGillLibrary by external universitylibraries, near and far, to borrowitems from our collections for theirresearchers, that few or no otherinstitutions own, particularly our19th and early 20th century materi-als, in many languages and formats. And one need only take a fewmoments to behold the astonishingexhibit currently on display in theMcLennan lobby to experience asample of the richness of our collec-tions.

Elaine was always most generous insharing her knowledge with others,whether working with colleagues atthe McGill Library or with consortia

Volume 4, Issue 1partners, or in providing enthusiasticassistance to students, professors oranyone wanting to learn about usingthe library’s collections.

She was a source of inspiration tomany. We deeply admired hercourage in the face of many life chal-lenges, and respected her work ethicand dedication.

Her commitment to the profession,loyalty to McGill, and her values,were a beacon and role model for usall. Her passion for music and hersinging, love of theatre, film, and art,nourished and defined her.

Elaine also had a compassionateunderstanding of and empathy forothers, was extraordinarily courteousand yet was always pragmatic andforthright. She brought out the bestin people. She had wonderful senseof humour and irony, and was amaster of the apt anecdote. In privateshe and I engaged in hot debates infrank and salty language, but she isamong those who taught me how totruly listen.

There has been an outpouring ofaffection and respect from many cur-rent and former colleagues andfriends who have written notes inrecent days. Several have comment-ed on her grace and elegance, herlegendary hospitality, and, as one soeloquently stated, “ her radiantsmile which would cheer the moststressed.”

A bright light has gone out in thelibrary at McGill.

As David said on the death of hisfriend Jonathan, in the OldTestament, Book of Samuel, “How the mighty have fallen”.

I shall feel the pain and void ofElaine’s loss everyday and miss herkeenly.

However, her legacy will foreverremain in our collective hearts andmind and soul as we carry on in ourwork.

Valerie MaymanHumanities & Social SciencesLibrary, McGill University

I would say that three things alwaysstruck me about Elaine. The first wascourage – courage in facing lifeunder some fairly difficult circum-stances of which her handicap wasnot necessarily the greatest. Shefaced more than the average numberof slings and arrows of outrageousfortune. Second, she was alwaysextremely dedicated to her job, oftenstaying hours later to finish ques-tions when she was a casual and didnot get paid for it. Indeed she maysometimes have worried too muchabout things far beyond her controlbecause of this dedication. She wasalways highly professional in what-ever position she was working, butshe also cared about global aspect oflibrary service for which she had noresponsibility. Finally, she alwaysacted in a dignified and appropriatemanner, at least in public, althoughshe could let her hair down a bit inprivate. Courage, dignity and dedica-tion are the main traits I associatewith her.

John HobbinsNahum Gelber Law Library, McGillUniversity

As a colleague of Elaine's, I think oftwo things. With Elaine it was all ornothing. Since nothing wasn't anoption, it had to be all.

The second thing is the extra mile.With Elaine there was no extra mile -it was always part of the journey.

I can think of no better definition ofprofessionalism. Add to thatwarmth, charm, humour and a dashof the ability to exasperate, and youhave Elaine.

Louise RobertsonAssociate Law Librarian and LawCataloguer McGill University

A more dedicated, zealous librariancould not be found. Nor could onemore gracious and fair in her deal-ings with colleagues. Elaine's vastknowledge of the library collectionsand her unswerving commitment toits growth and integrity will be sore-ly felt.

Marilyn FransiszynHumanities & Social SciencesLibrary, McGill University

She had a superb knowledge of col-lections for the humanities and socialsciences. She collaborated across theMcGill Library and coordinated hercolleagues to develop strong collec-tions across the system. Her knowl-edge of collections for researchlibraries was recognized and appliedbeyond McGill. She representedMcGill on the CREPUQ collectionsgroup – DCBV, le Groupe de travailsur le développement des collectionsde la bibliothèque universitaire et derecherche virtuelle québécoise - andcontributed significantly to provin-cial collaborative initiatives fordevelopment of collections in all dis-ciplines. This connection generated,as well, friendships with counter-parts at other universities.

Her critical intelligence made her avaluable member of McGill’s profes-sional librarian community. She wasactive in the MAUT Librarian’sSection, for many years as a memberof the Professional Issues Committeeand more recently on theNominating Committee. Her contri-butions ensured broad participationof and support for librarians atMcGill in professional matters.

Jim HendersonLife Sciences Library, McGillUniversity&Jocelyn GodolphinAssistant Director, CollectionServicesConcordia University Library

To me Elaine was the intellectualheart of the collection. She made sure

Volume 4, Issue 1we kept our eye on the ball, not let-ting us be seduced by easily boughtbundles that would give us a white-bread collection, but encouraged usto buy in unsexy formats like micro-film if it meant that would increasethe scholarly depth of the collection.She venerated the "orphan" collec-tions like GDOCS and Cutter. Justbecause the format or classificationwas cumbersome or different, sheprized them for their content, andlooked out for their interests withparticular concern, whatever difficul-ties they might present.For me these were Elaine's greatestgifts to McGill-although her memoryof the collection was truly phenome-nal. Whenever I had to give a sessionin a history class, Elaine wouldremind me to mention all kinds ofcollections we had purchased in thepast that I should have rememberedmyself but didn't. I don't think sheever had a senior moment. She had amemory like a steel trap when itcame to the collection. Who neededMuse when we had Elaine around.

Phyllis RudinHumanities & Social SciencesLibrary, McGill University

Elaine, as everyone has said, was awonderful person. As a librarian,she was the consummate profession-al - intelligent, committed, experi-enced, creative and always preparedto share her extensive knowledge.As a person she was kind, generous,courageous, sensible and extremelyfunny. I feel privileged to haveworked with her for decades andbenefited from being both her col-league and her friend…I guess youcould say her cooperative examplebrought out the best in others. Sheseemed always to be able to "riseabove".

Judy SymanskyHoward Ross Library ofManagement, McGill University

Elaine was a beautiful person. Shewas kind, thoughtful and alwayswore a beautiful smile. She was

fiercely independent. She rarelyasked for help.Elaine was an excellent Librarianwith a capital "L". She loved herwork and she loved McGill.Elaine was the one who knew thelibrary collections better than anyoneelse. She had worked closely withElizabeth Silvester and played animportant role in the developmentand growth of the library. She was aliaison librarian long before the termwas coined, connecting with Facultyin the humanities. She was instru-mental in getting some important giftcollections that have added to thegreatness of McGill's libraries andhave led to its recognition as one ofthe best research collections in NorthAmerica.Elaine had very strong convictionsabout her library and was neverafraid to speak her mind.She still had so much to contribute tothe Library and we will all miss herterribly.

Marilyn BergerBlackader-Lauterman Library of Art& Architecture, McGill University

A best friend to so many people Intellectual curiosity Care and concern to students, facul-ty, all library staff, individual libraryworking in at any given time, theMcGill library system and McGillUniversity as a whole50 years of service to an institutionshe loved deeply and held in highesteem and proud to be associatedwith Patience Extremely accurate in all her endeav-ors Good nature So much fun to be with (girls nightoutings--various groups) Young of heart and mind Youthful appearance Classy dresser Her singingA big yes to so many things herdaughters had to say about her

Joan HobbinsCollections Services, McGill Library

Committed to excellence in servicedelivery to the usersVery high sense of dutyThorough researcher as a referencelibrarian - would not leave a singlepossible source unchecked Concerned for the future of theMcGill Libraries and of the librariansunder her supervisionSuperb knowledge of our collectionsand resources elsewhereA lady in the whole sense of theword. She had class.

Juanita Jara de SúmarHumanities & Social SciencesLibrary, McGill University

When I think of Elaine I think ofclass and courage and excellence inall things.

Halyna Carpenter,Humanities & Social SciencesLibrary, McGill University

Hard to single out particular memo-ries out of so many, but we bothused to get a lot of conversations outof both the London theatre of whichshe was very fond, and of the Britishcomedies on PBS. It is hard to believethat I shall not hear her calling meagain in a very English voice "MrsFarthing, are you free?" when shewanted to see me. Those familiarwith the show Are You BeingServed? will recognise the line.

Sheila Farthing, Retired, LibraryAssistant Collections DepartmentHumanities & Social SciencesLibrary, McGill University

I always got on very well withElaine, particularly at the start of mycareer at McGill (she mentored me atthe HSSL reference desk, where Iworked afternoons in the late '80s)and when I was Principal Librarianin 2006. She was always the level-headed one who could find a way topersuade others that somethingcould actually be done, even if theythought the opposite. She was also a

Volume 4, Issue 1lady in the truest sense and exhibitedpoise, class and purpose in all shedid. She had a way about her thatkept those around her grounded inreality, even when she was (appar-ently) going through her own per-sonal hell. Elaine was a wonderfulcolleague to a great many of us, andshe will be greatly missed.

Robert F. Clarke in conversationwith Judy SymanskyUniversity Librarian, TrentUniversity

Elaine was someone for whom I hadboth great affection and greatrespect. Unswerving professionalism,dedication, intelligence, wit.She was an example to us all.

Margaret (Maggie) MonksMcLennan Librarian, 1992-1997,McGill University

Elaine had extensive experiencethroughout the McGill Libraries.Wherever she was, she brought aprofessional approach that translatedinto special collections being docu-mented and excellent public servicesin law, government documents andthe social sciences and humanities.Recently she presided over the tran-sition to electronic journals forMcGill’s largest library, maintaininga judicious balance of electronic andmore traditional formats. Elaine wasone of a kind and will be greatlymissed.

Carol MarleyFormer Information SciencesLibrarian and BibliographerHitschfeld Geographic InformationCentre, McGill Library

I had many occasions to work withElaine during my time at McGill,both as a “regular” professor and asChair of the Department ofPsychology. Much of the latter wasduring the period of significantbudgets constraints, when the libraryserials required significant cuts.Elaine was always well-informed of

the interests of the department andensured that our core collectionsremained intact. Equally important,she was a fun to interact with, bothprofessionally and personally. I missher.

A. A. J. MarleyProfessor Emeritus McGillUniversityAdjunct Professor University ofVictoria

I admired Elaine for her strong serv-ice ethic, her unflinching (but notcynical) realism and her ability tobuild and maintain relationships. It istruly mind boggling to think of howmuch change she witnessed over thepast 50 years, especially the last 10.

Elizabeth Silvester, former Head,Reference & CollectionsHumanities & Social SciencesLibrary, McGill University

Everyone who had the good fortuneto be a colleague of Elaine's musthave appreciated her hard work,dedication and excellent manners.As a friend she was always good funto be with and her hospitality andgenerosity were legendary. In recentyears, since we moved to England,we have had to rely on telephonecalls and on her visits here. We aregoing to miss that quiet voice on thetelephone, and the hilarity of herEnglish trips, when she would fitmore theatre visits into a day thanseemed humanly possible. A friendlike Elaine is irreplaceable.

Albert SchachterEmeritus Professor,History, McGillUniversity&June Schachter, former, Reference,Collections & GovernmentDocuments LibrarianHumanities & Social SciencesLibrary, McGill University

I first was introduced to Elaine,appropriately enough, at a restaurantwhere she was enjoying a fine meal.

A little later on she was the one withwhom I switched jobs. She came towork up in Law (for some peace andquiet) and I went to HSSL (for somebuzz and activity). Over the yearsElaine, who eventually taught mehow to be a better reference librarian,reference desk supervisor and bibli-ographer was steadfast and loyal.

She could always be counted on toremember the facts and details. Shewas never without her little note-book which seemed to be an ongoingto do list. I remember her ability tohave an opinion and you certainlyknew what it was. Topics werebroad ranging, from the items heldin CRL, to discussions aboutInspector Morse and AdamDalgleish, (yes we knew they werefictional characters), to whether youcould tell how expensive a piece ofclothing was by just feeling it withyour fingers.

Her enjoyment of time with friendswas evident as was her love of cul-ture be it music, art or movies. Ifyou went into her office you foundher cocooned with selection slips,budget sheets, reports, etc but some-how the conversations always camearound to culture. How did you hitthe high soprano notes? Which pas-sages of either Mozart’s Requiem orHandel’s Messiah were the mostinspiring to sing? What plays didyou see in London? ( she told meabout seeing the actor John Thaw,even though we still referred to himas Inspector Morse)

She would always try to remind usabout culture. Supper discussions atthe Taj would often be interruptedwith a plea for a cultural discussion -what have you read, or seen orheard…Did you go to a museum onyour holiday?

She had an uncanny ability to getpeople to do things they might neverhave considered. Her technique fordoing so remains a mystery…..to thisday I am not sure how she convincedme to run for and serve a term asChair of the MAUT librarian’s sec-tion.

Volume 4, Issue 1

I never heard her say “I can’t”. Facedwith a new challenge, she figuredout a way to do it. If asked, shewould tell you how she did it. I wascurious to know how she turned thepages of a music score which was ina three ring binder. Ey’s answer wasquite practical…she put paper clipson the top of the pages….simpleonce you think of it….

Louisa PiattiLaw Library, McGill University

Thank you for the invitation to theMemorial/Celebration for Elaine. AsI will be going to Toronto that after-noon, I will be unable to attend. Idid, however, attend the funeral onDecember 24. Elaine was a fine per-son and utterly authentic. We will allmiss her.

As a student in my “History of Booksand Printing” course, I recall Elainebecoming so immersed in her semi-nar presentation on the GrabhornBrothers of California that she madea special trip to New York to see theNYPL exhibition on Grabhorn Press,and persuaded the then Rare BookLibrarian – Mrs. Elizabeth Lewis – toincrease substantially the ColgateCollections holdings of Grabhornbooks. As you might expect her pres-entation was excellent and very pol-ished!Elaine was the quintessential librari-an in terms of her commitment toservice and the development of ascholarly academic library. She wasunfailingly polite and pleasant. Herapproach was always sane and intel-ligent.

Thank you again.

RegardsPeter

P. F. McNallyProfessor, School of InformationStudies, McGill University

I was shocked and saddened to learnthat Elaine has passed away. Over

many years she was one of the librar-ians I most often turned to for adviceand information. We were on manycommittees together, and she had anexcellent ability to conduct businessin a pleasant and positive way.Elaine was always someone I couldcount on to be cheerful and helpful,even when we were working onsomething neither of us wanted to do– such as cut back on journal sub-scriptions or otherwise figure outhow to cope with inadequateresources.

With my deep sympathy at this verysad time,

Mary MacKinnonAssociate Dean, AcademicAdministration and OversightFaculty of Arts, McGill University

I have known and appreciated Elainefor several years. As McGill's onlyprofessor of Latin American historyfor many years, I was always frus-trated by the paucity of books fromLatin America in our collection.Awhile back, Elaine and I plottedtogether that I could buy history,political science, sociology andanthropology books on my forays toColombia, Chile, the DominicanRepublic and the library would reim-burse me for them. I took greatpleasure in searching bookstores inthe capital cities for the best, mostcutting-edge books and luggingheavy suitcases back for the McGilllibrary. As a result of Elaine's open-ness, her willingness to cut throughthe red-tape, and her concern forlearning in all its guises (even if itcreated administrative hassles),McGill's library is now a beacon forColombian and other Latin Americangraduate students in Montreal tofind the sources they need to writetheir graduate theses. Last year theson of the administrator of the RoyalBank in Latin America in the 1940sand 1950s wanted to donate hisfather's books to our library. Elainewas the one person who most facili-tated this donation of a collectionwith many rare books, worth morethan $40,000 in all, which will stimu-

late much exciting research on theAtlantic World in the 18th, 19th and20th centuries. She worked in closecontact with the professors and had adeep grasp of what we care about,how we do our research, and whatbooks mean to us and to our stu-dents. I feel deeply privileged tohave known your mother, who was awonderful human being and anexceptional librarian who kept theflame of learning alive. I so enjoyedworking with her and I will miss hervery much.

Catherine LeGrand Associate Professor and Chair,Department of History, Faculty ofArts, McGill University

I received this morning a forward ofyour memo asking for memories ofElaine for the memorial service. Ihave a couple that might not readilybe thought of.I worked with Elaine for quite anumber of years. She had, in manyways, the same zany sense ofhumour that I had; and very often,when I was upset by something,came up with exactly the view thatwould laugh it away. As a sort offootnote to that, we enjoyed playingat an act of two feet-on-the-groundJews surrounded by all these crazyGentiles, and colleagues realized thatrunning commentaries by Elaine andmyself in a heavy Yiddish accentwere ... just our way of having funwatching something.

The second is more grave. Elaineand I both lived many years underthe shadow of chronic illness; andwe spent a lot of time quite seriouslychecking up on each other whensome new might-be symptomappeared, and were great advocatesto each other of what I can alwaysdescribe as, "If you're feeling off-colour, GO HOME. The McLennanwill still be standing when you getback."

I wouldn't want to have Elaine'ssense of humour, or her concern forher colleagues, go forgotten.

Volume 4, Issue 1With very best regards,

Martin Cohen

ELAINE from Irena Murray

She was a fiercely loyal friend -implacable, upright and discreetlypresent - much like the heroines ofthe novels by Barbara Pym or IvyCompton-Burnett that she liked toread.

In her reserve, music was the closestshe had to religion - it encompassedbeauty, emotion and transcendence,gave fulfillment, was rich with possi-bilities. She responded to it with allher soul and music suffused her life.The recordings she gave us as giftsover the years are the most preciousI own, not only for their exquisitequality but because of what and whyshe chose.

She loved and understood theatre ina visceral way and could be unfor-giving, but unerring, in her judge-ments of it. The last time she came toLondon this past Summer, wewalked out of the Royal CourtTheatre in protest against an "insuf-ferable" play (as the great anglophileElaine described it), and into thedusk of the ever beautiful SloaneSquare. Her legs were giving hertrouble, but the passion for the dra-matic truth remained undiminished.The great excitements that we haveshared after my move to London -Derek Jacobi in Schiller's Don Carlos,Anne Marie Duffy in Shaw's SaintJoan - will stay with me as memoriesinflected by Elaine's voice, by heracute reflections on what great the-atre means.

In her work, as in everything else,she was a resolute perfectionist andher contributions to the greater gloryof McGill collections will in them-selves be a memorial to her. She hadan innate understanding of collec-tions as the underpinning of univer-sity life and while the "Republic ofLetters" was her natural comfortzone, she learned each new subjectdealt her over the years with equal

zeal. Elaine hated compromise andwould never willingly accept it. Sheepitomised the great generation ofprofessionals who came on board inthe 1960s and from whom we alllearned in our own careers. She hada profound and highly pitchedunderstanding of quality - in peopleand in things - and it informedeverything she did.

With her grave, beautiful face, Elainegave both dignity and elegance tolife that tested her in some very fun-damental ways. She has marked usall by her bravery and her determi-nation, but my memories of her willtake a more mundane form - herpride in the accomplishments ofLauren and Karen, and her warm,affectionate and delicious NewYear's Day gatherings in her homeon Argyle, surrounded by friends.

New memories have emerged thisweek, of a period in which Elaineand I used to have an "early bird"supper on Stanley Street together,just to catch up. I think we bothhated the concept (the "early bird"meals smack of Florida and docileretirements), but it was a way to betogether. Neither of us would admitit though, so we treated it as if wewere having a lemon sole in the oldRitz!

I will treasure one special memorythat united us in a caper the immedi-acy and the lightness of which wenever duplicated, but that might aswell serve as a way of partingbetween two otherwise very seriouspeople. It took place in Paris, in themid-1980s, during one of my sabbati-cal stays there that coincided with atrip to Europe by Elaine and her fam-ily. After a couple of wonderful daysin Paris, the Yaroskys were about toleave for Tous and I went to wavethem good-bye at the railway station.Elaine and I started an animatedbook conversation and as the con-ductor whistled for the final time,she said "why don't you just comealong?" and I, without as much as atoothbrush, jumped onto the partingtrain. In the event, we continued theconversation for three more days!

Rather then saying good-bye then, Iwill continue that long-ago railwayyarn with Elaine - a special friendwhose life has illuminated our own,and whose train has simply partedahead of time.

I am still in a state of disbelief aboutElaine. It seems only a few monthsago that she was visiting us inLondon. I always admired hercourage and the grace with whichshe handled her handicap. Perhapsyou'd be kind enough to convey toher daughters how very much Iadmired her, first as a colleague atMcGill and then as a friend. I appre-ciated her fine intelligence, herexquisite manners, and her sense ofstyle and my appreciation and admi-ration for her great qualities onlygrew with the years. She was a per-fect lady under all circumstances,even when justly outraged over somenew stupidity on the part of thelibrary or university administration(some committed by myself, I fear).She was not only a consummate pro-fessional and an expert librarian butan exceptional person. I will missher very much.

Eric OrmsbyPrague, 24 December 2007

Tribute to Elaine, from LenoreRapkin

Elaine and I have been friends forover forty years (!), predating myinvolvement in the McGill Librariesbut obviously not hers. When wefirst became good friends Elaine wasthinking of going back to school toget a Masters (and/or Ph.D.) inEnglish lit because she had becomefascinated with Doris Lessing’s writ-ings and thought she would like towrite a thesis on her—no doubt shederived some satisfaction when Ms.Lessing recently received the NobelPrize for Literature, but then, Elainealways had the sensitivity to recog-nize extraordinary works of art, bethey books, musical works, or liter-ary or musical performances.

Volume 4, Issue 1However, the project quickly took aback seat when she became a mumand decided that a part-time job inthe Map Room would be a better bal-ance in her life than a return to aca-demia. Eventually Elaine went backto her old love, the McLennanReference desk—and anyone andeveryone who worked with her thereknew that when Elaine fielded a ref-erence question there were no limitsto the extremes she would go to findthe answer. She always told me itwas like solving a huge jigsaw puz-zle, putting all the little piecestogether until they formed a whole.She worked tirelessly, as she didwith everything she tackled, it had tobe absolutely perfect, indisputable,before she could finally consider itdone.

Our families spent many summerstogether at Cape Cod, wonderful forthe kids but not always so easy forElaine who suffered a great dealfrom the dampness. But she wasalways fun, and my children havesuch wonderful memories of herfrom those days as well as from morerecent days, Christmas dinner at ourhouse, other events, when Elainewould sit on our sofa surrounded bymy three children, all of whomwould be in fits of laughter most ofthe time, overcome by Elaine’s wit.Not that she always meant to befunny, she was just so clever andinsightful, you couldn’t help laugh-ing. Then there were her imperson-ations—she had an extraordinary earfor music, she had either perfectpitch, or near perfect pitch, so whenshe would mimic someone it wasdead on—I still smile when I think ofcertain people because I can still hearElaine mimicking them.

A few final comments—I don’t thinkI have ever known anyone who wasas sensitive and as intelligent asElaine. And as sensitive and intelli-gent as she was, she would never, ina million years, have believed that onher death all these old friends andcolleagues would get together to payher this wonderful tribute. She wasalso one of the more stubborn peopleI have ever known, she would never

let anyone help her with anything,she took great pride in being able tomanage on her own, especially afterlosing her arm. I never make a saladwithout thinking of her tossing asalad when we would go to herhome for dinner—and she was notamused if I asked to help—I don’tknow how she did it. And of coursemy husband was always blown awaywhen he would offer to open thewine for her—no way, she was per-fectly capable. And she was,absolutely so capable.

My reminiscences of Elaine will goon for many years to come and I willshare memories with her girls. ButI’m not sure if they know, or if any-one else knows that Elaine is the per-son responsible for my havingbecome a librarian. I was thinking ofreturning to school, not quite surewhat would suit me best, but sheassured me that this was the rightthing for me. She encouraged me allthrough library school, promising meit would get better and that I wouldlove working as a librarian. Thankyou, Elaine.

Lenore Rapkin

Dear former colleagues,

I am unable to attend the celebrationfor Elaine tomorrow as I am out oftown but I did speak to Karen andLauren Yarosky tonight and am surethat they appreciate the effort byMcGill.By her example, Elaine influencedme to become a librarian and in turnmy sister Joni Waiser who is still atthe Reference Dept. of the NationalLibrary.Elaine was a devoted and outstand-ing professional.

I miss her.Jewel Lowenstein

Needless to say, I was shocked andsaddened to hear this afternoon ofElaine’s passing. Memories floodedback to the time in the ReferenceDept. when Elaine was one of our

stalwart “alumnae” who hadreturned on a part-time basis.Imagine trying to re-introduce ourpolicies and procedures to Elaine, aone-time head of the department!Thankfully, budget restrictions wereeventually lifted and she came onboard full-time. Many good years ofworking together followed.Over the holidays I was reading The

Good Terrorist by Doris Lessing(1985). I was not entirely taken by it.I felt the heroine was quite infantileand should really grow up. I keptwondering what Elaine, an early fanof Doris Lessing, would havethought of it. By the end, I came tosympathize, a little, but not entirely,with the heroine. Unfortunately Iwill not be able to hear Elaine’sdefence of the book. I will just haveto grow up and figure it out myself.Perhaps I will try reading more ofDoris Lessing in memory of Elaine.

Lu

Lillian Rider

While she had a passionate commit-ment to her profession and toMcLennan Library, Elaine lived a fulllife outside the university, maintain-ing close relationships with her fami-ly and a persistent interest in singing.I knew Elaine from the library.I first met Elaine Yarosky in 1984when I joined the McLennanReference Department as a younglibrarian hired on contract. I workedwith her in the Reference andCollection DevelopmentDepartments until 1998. Elaine’sintelligence, breadth of knowledge,calm practicality and wry wit madeher the perfect colleague.I recall a dreary spring day in the1980’s when a new arrival came intothe Reference Area. He carried a wellpreserved suitcase, and looked asthough he had come straight from aninternational flight. Tired but tri-umphant, his overcoat dripping withrain, he walked purposefully up tothe desk where I was on duty.I don’t remember the dialogue exact-ly, but it centered on his urgentrequest for a book about amber that

Volume 4, Issue 1he was certain would be found in thelibrary of a stellar institution such asMcGill University. The referenceinterview was complicated by hisheavy East European accent. This wasan important book, he informed me.Everyone had read this book. Even hehad read it in his country where somany books were banned. Now hewanted to see the original Englishedition.Everything about his speech andbody language indicated that wemust have this book and that I mustsatisfy him by giving it to him imme-diately. No other resolution would beacceptable and clearly I was a fool if Ididn’t know what he was talkingabout. I hadn’t a clue.Luckily, Elaine was on hand, cool as acucumber. “Amber? How interesting.Is this a scientific work?”The man turned red and blustered,“No, a novel! Surely you know it!”Ah yes, and the author? His replywas unintelligible.Elaine engaged him in further conver-sation by showing great interest in thebook he was looking for. The onlything she could get out of him wasthat it was likely published sometimein the nineteen fifties. He didn’t seemto want to outline the contents in anyway and seemed incensed that wecouldn’t identify it off the top of ourheads.Remember that this was before thedays of the Internet in libraries andwe had no access to an online catalogor anything that would allow us tosearch by keyword. We had toregroup. We excused ourselves andretired to the index stands along theSherbrooke Street windows where theprinted volumes of the CumulativeBook Index (CBI) were prominentlydisplayed. Bent over the heavy vol-umes, we whispered conspiratoriallyas we flipped through the pages. Wehad no author and no clear title, onlyan increasingly overheated patron.We weren’t getting anywhere.

An important novel, published in the1950’s with the word amber in thetitle? A novel we ought to have in ouracademic collection, or face shame inthe eyes of an intelligent looking, ifdifficult East European visitor?

Elaine stood up straight as a ramrod.“Could it be…,” she wondered aloudand moved quickly back to the deskwhere the visitor was waiting, “…amber… was it…a very popularnovel…?“Yes, yes…” Our patron looked hope-ful.“Forever?” said Elaine.That was it – Forever Amber, byKathleen Winsor! New York,MacMillan, 1944! CBI bore out thedetails.This mass market novel had beenbanned in Massachusetts and wasdescribed to me by Elaine as, “Youknow, like Peyton Place, not the sortof thing we would have here.”Elaine had nailed it. We heaved a col-lective sigh of relief and referred ourvisitor to the public library.So went our days. They were filledwith personalities and reference ques-tions big and small. We were so busythen that we rarely sat down or evenstopped for lunch. Times havechanged. Forever Amber was reissuedand reviewed by the Guardian andeven become the subject of at leasttwo dissertations on popular litera-ture.Now, such a question would be somuch easier to answer. In fact, ourvisitor would have identified it onGoogle and ordered his own copyfrom Amazon for $5 without comingto the library at all, not to mentionthat he might have been happy to stayin Eastern Europe. Nevertheless, peo-ple still line up to ask questions, eitherin person or online. A stellar rolemodel who witnessed librarianshipboth pre and post Internet, Elaine hasleft us to ponder them.

Helen Anderson, Head CollectionDevelopment at the University ofRochester Library. Helen was a ref-erence and collections librarian andHead Collections in HSSL at McGill.When Helen left in 1998, Elaine tookover as Head Collections.

I am very sorry to hear of Elaine'sdeath and regret that I did not get theopportunity to become moreacquainted with her. I will convey thisinformation to others here at CRL.

Meanwhile my sincere condolences toElaine's family and to the McGill com-munity.

BernieBernard F. ReillyPresident, Center for ResearchLibraries

I feel so sorry hearing the news.Please convey my message to herfamily if possible. I never got thechance to meet her. May her soul restin peace.

SanghamitraSanghamitra Jana ("Sanghamitra"),the Librarian In-Charge of the BookProgramme, New Delhi Office,Shastri Institute.

A very sad and shocking news thatElaine is no more with us.

I will be honoured if the Director ofLibraries would include my thoughtsabout our dear friend Elaine!

She was a great colleague and won-derful Librarian to work with.

I have known her since my Graduatedays in Political Science when shewas a Reference Librarian. Alwaysthere to help students in search ofinformation.

In my later life as a Bibliographer,Elaine displayed understanding andcourteousy to her colleagues.

I will never forget her radiant smilewhich would cheer the most stressed.

I hope to join in honouring herMemory.

Even if may not be there in body mythoughts and soul will be there.

I offer my deepest sympathy to thefamily.Many thanks for informing about her

passing. It is hard to accept that sheis gone.

Syed Naseer

Volume 4, Issue 1

YAROSKY-SANFT, Elaine. After a courageous battle on Saturday, December 22, 2007 in herseventy-second year. Beloved daughter of the late Auckie and the late Rae Sanft. Survived andmourned by her loving daughters Karen and Lauren (Kevin). Dear sister and sister-in-law ofArthur and Judy. Fondly remembered by her nieces and nephews Justin, Jordana (Amit),Meghan, Ryan and all of her wonderful friends. A special thank you to Suzie. Funeral servicefrom Paperman & Sons, 3888 Jean Talon W. on Monday, December 24 at 11 a.m. Burial at theCongregation Shaare Zion Section, Eternal Gardens Cemetery, Beaconsfield. Shiva at her broth-er's home, Monday through Wednesday evenings, 7 to 9 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations inElaine's memory may be made to The Program for Multiple Myeloma and Related Diseases,Princess Margaret Hospital, 610 University Ave. Suite 5-207, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 2M9.

Published in the Montreal Gazette from 12/23/2007 - 12/24/2007.

Elaine and collections colleagues at a breakfast to celebrateSheila Farthing’s MLS, 2002.

The University flag is lowered in memory of Elaine, January23, 2008