Libraries: Beyond the Wallsby Janna Dykstra Smith ’77
Books have always had a place in my life. I remember when I was 10 years old, a catechism teacher reading aloud Escape to Life by Gladyn Condor, about a boy in East Berlin who escaped across the wall to the West. The description of how he savored an orange for the very first time captivated me.
It was at Northwestern where I first read The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, the Christian apologist. This book was pure genius. Lewis used the letters between the senior demon Screwtape and the junior tempter Wormwood as a clever, backhanded way of teaching about Christianity.
Three friends and I once spent the night among the books in Ramaker Library, making popcorn in Senator Hoeven’s office. (I want to set the record straight, though: It was not my idea to hang the portraits of Northwestern’s presidents upside down.)
As an elementary education major, I had a work-study experience at the Orange City Public Library that convinced me to pursue a library career, but it would be a while before that happened. After teaching for two years, I spent a summer traveling throughout Europe. While there, I learned that teaching positions were available on U.S. military bases, so I decided to apply. That August, I flew to Bad Hersfeld, Germany, to teach first grade.
The city was about six miles away from the Iron Curtain, the metal fence between East and West Germany. Despite the harsh realities of the border, it was a magical land on the west side of the barrier. I enjoyed wandering through the villages where the Brothers Grimm had collected their fairy tales. I saw my first Gutenberg Bible in the Fulda Bibliothek (Library). And I met a young cavalry lieutenant, whom I married the following summer.
I followed my husband to Fort Knox, which gave me the opportunity to complete a master’s degree in library science. We had three sons, the military required a few more moves, and we returned to Germany, where we were living in 1989 when the fall of the Berlin Wall occurred. We watched the East German cars (Trabants) pouring across the border near Bad Hersfeld, which had made international news because the city was wiped out of bananas within hours. It made me think of Escape to Life, the book I was so intrigued with as a 10-year-old.
After the wall fell, the military drawdown began. Army posts that had operated since World War II were suddenly deactivated. Each base had a post library. It was encouraging to learn that rather than shipping the books back to the States, most of them were sent to libraries in Eastern Europe.
Once my husband retired from the military, my career stabilized and I became a library media specialist at a middle school in Jefferson, Wis. I became involved in the Veterans History Project through the Library of Congress. My students and I interviewed soldiers and others who had experienced war. Catharina Voorwinde, a Dutch woman who as a child was in a Japanese prison camp in Sumatra, was memorable, as she required us to read a number of books before agreeing to answer any questions. Her story can be read at www.tinyurl.com/wartimeremembrances.
I was able to work with architects to design a modern library when a new Jefferson Middle School was built, so I share the excitement Northwestern’s librarians must feel about the plans to build a new learning commons and library. We are in a fascinating time for libraries as we figure out how to utilize digital readers, e-books and other technologies. Libraries now extend beyond the traditional four walls.
Three years ago I transferred to a neighboring district. I am still a middle school librarian, but now to nearly 700 students. It is a challenging job, but I love it. Middle school students are at an interesting age. There are some great books written for this level (although, personally, I hope the vampire craze ends soon).
Things are looking up. Last week a student checked out The Screwtape Letters.