May 20th, 2007 Thirty Years at TBPL

This year marks my thirtieth anniversary with Thunder Bay Public Library. It's hard to admit this because it gives you a clue as to how old I am. I'm not sure that in 1977 I would have guessed that I would still be 30 years later. It sounds like such a long time and yet it has gone by quickly. There have been a lot of changes in that time, in the library and the world in general. I've seen many staff come and go. Student helpers grew up and left, people retired or moved on and many are no longer with us. I'd like to share some of the things that were happening in our world in 1977.

The Way We Were
I started in the Circulation Department at Waverley. Back then you would see staff filing in the card catalogue. Patrons signed out items by writing their library card number on the card in the book pocket. At the end of the day staff would put all of those cards in order according to the Dewey Decimal system and this became the date due file. We carried vinyl records, slides and reels of film.

The Telex Machine
The Interlibrary Loan staff used a telex machine to send requests to the National Library of Canada. I was first trained on the telex in 1983. I thought it was very high tech. We would type the requests off line, then feed the tape into the telex to transmit it. I can still hear the sound of it running.

Movies
People were going to the movies to enjoy Smokey And The Bandit, Rocky, King Kong and Annie Hall, starring Woody Allen and Diane Keaton. It is a romantic comedy about a neurotic New York comedian and his equally neurotic girlfriend. This role earned Diane Keaton an Academy Award. The library carries it in both dvd and videocassette formats. Source: http://www.infoplease.com/year/1977.html

Farrah Fawcett Hair
Long before Jennifer Aniston's famous hairstyle, there was Farrah Fawcett. Charlie's Angels premiered in late 1976 and everyone wanted hair like her. I recall at least one staff member that had a pretty amazing Farrah Fawcett hair style. She still works at the library, but
the hairdo is long gone. The library carries one of the original Charlie's Angels shows, on dvd.

Elvis Presley
On August 16, 1977 the world was stunned to hear that the King was dead. Mourning fans flocked to Graceland. It was the end of an era. A few years later I was excited just to see one of his outfits on display at the Las Vegas Hilton. The library carries many books on the life and death of Elvis. You can also visit our Virtual Collection and find information on Elvis in the Biography Resource Center. Remember the Virtual Collection is available to you, 24 hours a day. Source: Chronicle Of The 20th Century

Books
Colleen McCullough's novel The Thorn Birds was released. Set in the Australian outback, it chronicles three generations of a ranching family. At the center of the story is a tale of forbidden love between a young girl and a priest, which spans a lifetime. It later became a
television mini series starring Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward. The library carries the book as well as the movie on videocassette. Source: Chronicle Of The 20th Century

Disco
In late 1977 John Travolta danced his way into the hearts of young girls everywhere, in Saturday Night Fever and the disco dance craze was born. The library doesn't carry the movie, but we do have the soundtrack on compact disc, as well as several movies starring him.
Source: Chronicle Of The 20th Century

Politics
On May 27, 1977 Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and his wife Margaret announced that they were officially separated. It was the end of their May-December marriage, which was very much in the spotlight. The library carries many books on Pierre Trudeau, as well as books on
Margaret. Thirty years later their son Justin, who seems to have the same charisma his father had, is embarking on a political career of his own. Source: Chronicle Of Canada

Metric System
On September 6, 1977 highway signs in most Canadian provinces, except Nova Scotia and Quebec were converted to metric. Thirty years later those of us raised on the Imperial system are still looking for charts on metric conversion. Source: Chronicle of Canada

If you were alive in 1977, then I hope this column gave you a few flashbacks to that time. The newly formed Thunder Bay Public Library was only seven years old then. Wow, look at us now.

Karen Craib, Library Technician