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Retiring librarian leaves literary legacy
The Advocate
Jan Marie Fortier-Calbaum said she has always liked the people she meets in libraries.
Working in libraries since her days as a student at Lake Oswego High School, she said she has always enjoyed the academic atmosphere surrounding these environments and those who mingle in them.
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The MHCC dean of information resources said farewell Tuesday at a retirement party, finalizing her 36-year career as a librarian. In her three decades of work in various places, Fortier-Calbaum said she has learned that libraries are very strong tools for bringing people together.
“Libraries are important as a place for human beings to come together,” said Fortier-Calbaum. “We are so divided by computer screens and the impersonal aspect of them, in spite of MySpace and Facebook and all that, and there is nothing quite like human interaction and getting help from a real live human being. That’s part of the reason I love the field.”
And since 2003, Fortier-Calbaum has shared this love with MHCC.
“I really wanted the opportunity and the challenge of working at a community college, which I hadn’t done before,” Fortier-Calbaum said. “I had been at small privates and big publics, so that was great. And I was given the opportunity of working with this incredible library staff here, to help rehab the library.”
To this self-proclaimed “bookworm,” life in a library is about far more than just books.
“I like academia,” said Fortier-Calbaum. “I like the people that you meet in colleges and in libraries, public and private. I think the most important thing in life is people and relationships. And people that have a good education get beyond a lot of problems in life.”
And for Fortier-Calbaum, that’s where libraries come in — human development. But sometimes, they themselves need some development.
“It (MHCC’s library) was pretty dismal (when she was first hired). The carpets were orange and duct-taped together, and the collection was terrible,” Fortier-Calbaum said. “It was a lot of dead, old books. But the librarians and the administration at that time all really worked together and got together a big sum of money to rehab the library.”
When the remodel was done, librarian Anna Johnson said the transformation was incredible. She explained it used to be really cluttered, like a maze.
“I think we can give her credit for having made the library a hot place to hang out. The biggest problem we have now is that it can be too noisy,” said Johnson.
Fortier-Calbaum is also proud of her accomplishments, many stemming from the library’s much-needed facelift.
“I would say it’s the most popular place on campus. I think students pretty much love it. It’s not perfect. We don’t have everything that we wanted out of the remodel, but it’s been a pretty wonderfully functioning library, and the collection is very good now for a community college library,” she said. “It really matches the needs of the students and the faculty really well.
“I’d say it’s one of the best (community college libraries) in Oregon now. It’s by no means one of the biggest, but I think it’s really serving our college well and will continue to do so.”
Following the physical remodel in 2005, Fortier-Calbaum also revitalized the library staff.
Johnson said, “She’s great to work with. She’s very supportive as a dean. I think the best thing about her is that she really encourages professional development.”
Johnson added that as a supervisor, Fortier-Calbaum is more nurturing than forceful. “She is calm and welcoming, she really emphasizes team-building.”
As a dean, Fortier-Calbaum juggles managing the library, Testing Services, Teaching and Learning Cooperative and the Learning Success Center, as well as being the accreditation liaison for MHCC.
“Yeah I have (enjoyed all the departments under her supervision). They are great people in all those areas,” said Fortier-Calbaum. “It’s just amazing the kind of people that are attracted to work at Mt. Hood. This really is the best group of people I’ve ever worked with.”
Fortier-Calbaum said she will miss the work she has done at the library but has enjoyed the lessons and opportunities she has had at MHCC and in the field.
“I’ve learned a lot about leadership, I think. Being a leader and the challenges that go with that, and the different learning styles that people have and the different leadership styles. And how wonderful people are.”
In addition, the nature of the field itself has given Fortier-Calbaum an ongoing lesson in life.
“It’s a field that really changes rapidly, technologically and in every way. Just constant change,” she said. “So I guess that has an effect on the changes that occur in life, and dealing with all the changes.”
But while the field of library sciences may be behind her, Fortier-Calbaum still plans to keep up with her love of writing and education in a retirement that she’s excited for.
“As part of my retirement, I really want to lead — this is kind of mushy — but lead sort of a scholarly academic life,” she said. “And I’m going to continue to teach here as an adjunct in writing online.
“I like fiction, I like essays, I like to blog, keep a journal. I just love to write, I don’t do it enough, but it’s one of my goals when I retire to take time to write. I feel pretty blessed to be able to retire. I still have my health and time,” she said.
“I’m going to miss it here, but like I say, I’m going to hope to stay in touch with being an adjunct. And I may even take an art course here or something sometime,” she said.
According to Fortier-Calbaum, her time at MHCC has been a great end to her career.
“I’ve been here several years, and it’s been a great experience,” she said. “I’ve really learned how amazing community colleges are here.”