Summary:
Robi Duncan, Senior Clerk at the old Lafayette Library, was interviewed by Mary McCosker on April 3, 2009. Robi grew up in Concord, but she had spent three months living with her grandmother in Lafayette, and going to school here, while her family was building a new home. She returned to serve the Lafayette community for many years as a librarian. She was an important participant in the early development stages of the new Lafayette Library and Learning Center, attending planning meetings with the architects and helping to select the site for the new building. She felt that the people of Lafayette “deserved the best” in terms of their new library, and that they were definitely going to get it.
Oral History:
Mary McCosker: Friday, April 3rd, and I am interviewing Robi Duncan, a librarian at the Lafayette Library. I’ve already introduced myself. So, what are your first or best childhood memories of libraries from your childhood? And maybe tell us where you grew up.
Robi Duncan: Okay, I grew up in Richmond, and I don’t remember the library so much in Richmond, but we moved to Concord, and that’s where I really went to school. What I remember is the Bookmobile. So, my sister and I used to walk down to the corner and wait for the Bookmobile, and we’d check out 12 books at a time.
MM: How often did it come once a week?
RD: Once a week. Yep, it was once a week. And we loved that Bookmobile. The library, my mom didn’t drive, so the library was a little too far for us to walk, so the Bookmobile was it.
MM: So, it sounds like reading was important to you when you were growing up?
RD: Very big, yeah.
MM: What kind of books did you like to read as an emerging reader?
RD: Back then, I loved, you know, Laura Ingalls, so historical, and then later on, as you grow up, it was a historical romance novel. So, yeah.
MM: So, did you have kind of a community awareness when you were growing up at all, or was it just sort of your local neighborhood more, or, because Concord’s a pretty big area.
RD: Yeah, I mean, we, as kids, we did some of that summer programs, we spent the summers going to the library when we could get there. I remember taking cooking classes, it was a community center and the library, and there was a cake baking class, but, you know, this is, you’re talking a long time ago. Betty Crocker.
MM: So, you went to schools in Concord, graduated from what high school?
RD: Concord High School.
MM: Okay, and then did you do more courses after, or did you go to college?
RD: Oh, yeah. I went to Diablo Valley College
MM: Mhm.
RD: And then I got married and had kids, so that was pretty much it for my kids. Then I took some, you know, classes, courses, through Los Medanos college. Worked at the schools, that was my first job, was working at the libraries at the school. I volunteered.
MM: Volunteered. Okay, all right.
RD: That’s how it started out.
MM: So, did you have a work experience at all? Did you have a job ever, or were you just, were a regular mom, like the rest of us, and volunteered?
RD: I was a regular mom. I worked for my grandfather for a while. He was a butcher, so I worked in the butcher shop. When we were waiting for our house to be built in Concord, we lived here in Lafayette with my grandmother, who was a long-time resident. And we lived in her house. She had a duplex on Better Creek by Mosswood.
MM: Oh, over on Sunset Village?
RD: Yeah. Yep, that’s it. And so I went to school here for three months.
MM: Ooh.
RD: And what I remember about it, I was 12. What I remember about it is how dark it was. Very dark in the mornings, getting up to get on the bus to go to school. And it was like pitch black.
MM: So did you go to Lafayette School or Stanley or?
RD: You know what? I can’t even remember where it was that I went.
MM: If you were 12, you probably went to middle school, to junior high, I bet. Cool.
RD: Yeah.
MM: So in your community, I mean, did you have some community experiences once you got married? And did you do community things when you had your own children?
RD: Yes. Yes. And one of the big community I belonged to, a huge dance group, and we would throw dances all the time. And the dances that we do, the monies always went to the Antioch Library. That’s because that’s where I lived.
MM: Oh, how cool.
RD: So that was fun.
MM: So library is in your blood.
RD: Library is in my blood.
MM: Okay, so you only lived in Lafayette that short period. So how do you feel that a library serves a community?
RD: You mean, how do I?
MM: How does this library serve the Lafayette community? What does the community get from the library?
RD: Other than books.
MM: Other than books.
RD: I think it’s become a gathering place. It fills not just the educational needs, but, um, and social needs. We here helped out when the school next door didn’t have a library when they were being, so we, we filled in as a school library. I think it helps the commuters with, they come in and get their books on tape, so they make their commute much quicker and enjoyable. Enjoyable, yes. They come in to use the computers. I think we’re being rediscovered.
MM: Especially in this economy, I bet your circulation numbers are huge because people aren’t buying books as much as they used to.
RD: They’re going up. I think it was like 17% just in the beginning, and then the movies, I mean, they come in. We’re entertainment. I think we serve them in, in almost every way you can think.
MM: I couldn’t believe it on Monday when I came in and brought the kids and, you know, what a big group Donna has of preschoolers, you know, toddlers, just the number of, of moms and little kids that come into that program twice a week, I guess.
RD: I mean, twice a week.
MM: Yeah.
RD: Twice a week and two different sessions each time.
MM: Yeah.
RD: And, uh, she’s had crowds over a hundred, just with children.
MM: She’s good. She’s good. Now, we’re going to talk a little bit about this new library that we’re hopefully going to move into in our lifetime. Were you, um, aware of any of the studies that went on from starting from about 1996 when we first started talking about building a new library? I mean, what, you know, what are your remembrances of the initial discussions and things. Anything from your point of view?
RD: Yeah, I remember the conception of it.
MM: That’s the book drop.
RD: I remember going on the site tours.
MM: Oh, in Lafayette, here, to see?
RD: To see which place would be best-fitting for the library, and, and that was a long ordeal.
MM: Yeah.
RD: When we finally decided on the site where the old Veterans Hall was, we took that tour, and tried to visualize what it would look like without the old building there and that big old tree. I know that they tried to save the tree, but Jay couldn’t save the tree. I remember going to a lot of the meetings when they were trying to get the great architect.
MM: Oh, the architect.
RD: The architect.
MM: Oh, right. Oh, that’s right. We had competition.
RD: We had competition. It’s been quite an experience to go through this.
MM: Okay. So you were sort of in the initial part of determining the site and then looking at the architects. Were you at all involved in, in this consortium concept of, you know, are you sort of just looking at it from the periphery of, you know, how we’ve, it’s not just the library, it’s going to be the learning center.
RD: Yeah.
MM: Did they ask the staff for input at all?
RD: I don’t recall them asking, asking us questions like that, but I did do some surveys on my own when they were trying to get a feel of what this community would want their building to look like. And it was overwhelming that they wanted it to fit in with, you know, the wood and the rock.
MM: Yeah.
RD: I went to some of those meetings for the consortium and, but I don’t, I wasn’t involved in it.
MM: Why is this new library important to you aside from the obvious? It’s. I mean the, you know, the hot tub and the spa and all that. Yeah.
RD: My, my personal gain here.
MM: Yeah.
RD: Um, I love this community. This community stood by me when I was ill. This community is very important to me and I want to see the community keep its library. It’s such a close, warm community and they love their library. So I want to see Lafayette get the best library they can and I think this is going to be it. Yeah.
MM: What transformation have you seen in the community in regards to the new library? Is there any, from your day to day, watching people come and go here and talking to people? I mean, you know, what’s your feeling from the community about the new library?
RD: Oh, they can’t wait for it. They are so excited. Every day I have, I probably answer them 20, 20 different times a day, um, when the library’s going to be open, how close is, is it to being done. How we’re going to feel about moving in and they, they can’t wait. They’re so excited.
MM: What’s most exciting to you about this new library? I mean, if you could pick one thing about it, what would be the most exciting thing for you?
RD: Besides the spa.
MM: Right.
RD: I’m anxious to see how this automated handling system is going to work and the RFID tagging.
MM: I’m, I mean, we’ve been tagging books for months now. How far are you in that process, do you think?
RD: Um, we probably have maybe 2,000 more books to go.
MM: Oh, and you’ve done, so that means you’ve done how many?
RD: We’ve done, gosh, well, we’ve done the whole library except for the young adult section.
MM: Okay.
RD: So, all we’ve done, probably, at least 10,000, 18,000 books.
MM: Oh, wow.
RD: Something like that. Whatever this collection is.
MM: Because now when I check a book out, I always look in the back to see if it has the little bump.
RD: Yep.
MM: It’s got the little white tag.
RD: And that’s gonna, I’m really excited about that because apparently we’re going to get a wand that’s going, we can just, we can just walk along the shelves with this wand and it will tell us if the book belongs to us, if the book is in the right order, if it has a hold on it.
MM: Is there a little screen or something?
RD: Uh-huh.
MM: It’s like they use it at the grocery store maybe or something.
RD: Uh-huh. We don’t. So, it’ll tell us all.
MM: You won’t have to look as much.
RD: No.
MM: Search.
RD: We’ll still have to put the books up on the shelf.
MM: Right.
RD: But, but the automatic handling system will rough sort them as they’re being turned in.
MM: Right.
RD: This is, this is all high tech stuff. This’ll be neat.
MM: So, maybe it’ll give you more time to deal with clientele and not as much time in the nuts and bolts maybe with some of it, I hope. I hope. What outcome do you hope for most with the new library? What do you look forward to doing or using or, I mean, a lot of these questions are for people who live in the community.
RD: Yeah.
MM: So, you’re sort of seeing it from a different way, but.
RD: Yeah. I, I can’t wait to see how, how proud everybody’s going to be of their new library. This community deserves the best. We’ll be the only one in the nation like this. So.
MM: Mm-hmm. That’s exciting for a small place.
RD: It’s going to put Lafayette on the map.
MM: Who have you observed making a real impact on the library? Any particular personalities in this process that you’ve, you know, are aware of?
RD: Besides you?
MM: No, I really haven’t done that much.
RD: But the Foundation has done a great job. The Friends have done, the Friends of the Lafayette Library have done a very generous job. I think our Branch Manager, Susan Weaver, has done a great job. And Laura O’Donohue, who was here from conception is a major part of this. And Steve Falk, too.
MM: Right.
RD: Everybody’s worked so well together.
MM: Yeah. It’s a community effort, for sure. It was said that the Internet would kill the printed word, and libraries would become obsolete. How will our new library avoid such a fate, do you think?
RD: Oh, it’s never gonna happen. People love to hold those books in their hands. I know they have this new thing that Kindle is supposed to look like, holding a book, but it’s never gonna. The Internet is not gonna take the place that, it’s just one extra source of information. But books are gonna be here forever.
MM: The woman, Brenda Hepler, who kind of came up with this whole project, the oral history project, her little mantra is that communities build libraries, but libraries build communities.
RD: Very good.
MM: How do you, how do you think this library is going to enhance our sense of community here in Lafayette?
RD: Well, we’ll have better parking so people can meet here. And because it is such a, a center of this community already, I don’t think it’s going to decrease. Uh, I think we’re just going to be using this library, and with the economy. I think it’s just gonna be the center of town.
MM: Can you think of anyone else, I mean, can you think of any names of people we should be interviewing? We have this huge list we’ve already done, but I mean, is there anybody from your point of view that you think would be important to talk to in terms of the history of the library, the libraries, you know, all libraries in Lafayette here, and that’s kind of the process that we’ve just gone through in terms of, of building this new one. We did Susan. We did Donna. I’m sure Laura O’Donohue, I think she’s on the list. Ann Cain’s on the list.
RD: Oh, definitely. Yeah.
MM: We gotta do Gail Uilkema, because she was involved with the city as a, you know, council person.
RD: And you’ve already talked to people from the foundation.
MM: Right. We’ve got this extensive list. I’m sure we’ve probably hit, but I’m just thinking from your perspective here, the library, is there anyone in the library, anyone else here besides the three of you who’ve been around to talk to, or?
RD: We have a couple of shelvers who have been here almost as long as I have.
MM: Really? Yeah. Tell me who they are.
RD: And that would be Edie Morales. And Emi Beefus.
MM: I’m not sure how to spell her last name.
RD: E-M-I. Those two have been here probably nine, ten years.
MM: Okay. It’d be fun to maybe talk to them.
RD: And Edie actually is, she’s a resident.
MM: Okay.
RD: She lives and works here. So.
MM: Anything else you want to say about libraries in general, or our library, or?
RD: Well, this is, well, like, this is the best job I ever had.
MM: Okay.
RD: And this community, I can’t say enough about the community. So.
MM: What’s your official title here?
RD: I am the senior clerk.
MM: So that’s good stuff.
RD: Senior being good. You know, it doesn’t mean I’m old, but I have been.
MM: No, it means that you’re the senior of the clerks.
RD: Yeah. I’ve been here a long time.
MM: And how many other clerks are there?
RD: We only have one other part-time clerk.
MM: Okay. And you’re full-time?
RD: And I’m full-time.
MM: So basically you and Susan and Donna are the full-time staff here?
RD: Yeah.
MM: And everybody else?
RD: Rebecca.
MM: Okay.
RD: No, I left here at Lafayette, you know, for a short time to become the senior clerk. On the condition that I could come back here.
MM: Joan Merryman made sure it would be hell to pay if you didn’t.
RD: I miss Joan Merryman.
MM: I remember that a couple years ago. It’s too bad Joan never let us interview her. She didn’t want to be interviewed about it.
RD: She would have been a great one to interview.
MM: I know.
RD: We shared a lot history.
MM: Well, that’s very helpful.
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