[Libs-Or] Gary Klein retiring from Willamette University's Hatfield Library but not disappearing

[Gary Klein]

Dear friends, colleagues, librarians, and members of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem, Oregon,
 
Yesterday was my combination 71st birthday & retirement party from 29 years of being a business reference librarian at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, USA. This caps off my 36 years of working as an academic librarian. My colleague John Repplinger painted this with watercolors, picking up a variety of images of my office space, my heritage, my previous career and even my long term involvement of being a "corporate gadfly". I was successful in motivating some of the folks attending that party to Roast, Toast & Skewer me, including my own brother, Elliott Klein https://www.facebook.com/kleinsail?__cft__[0]=AZW1GB3KCEIJI9LECFjO7bthKUgsJKWCz1iOjlsasGz28ousfT_OvRysYK8Mn-obOeBDMlaw6QhCQfDdlnNLAVZDoYqO9cXHjzCIeAeC2QtodecLAA73-bWgot8qYvIDXyU&__tn__=-]K-R (who flew in from Texas for a few days) Folks enjoyed playing a Jeopardy theme quiz game about my life, my banking career, and one category dedicated to the 3 Klein Boys. I was brought to tears several times while thanking folks, and revealing some tales to the audience of my previous jobs & unusual career path.

THANK YOU for celebrating my contributions to librarianship and for being honest when you skewered me over my shortcomings! And thank you to the folks on Facebook or through email who contacted me even though you could not attend in person. I am truly glad that my contributions of my blood, sweat and time towards educating students & fulfilling information needs of faculty were very much appreciated by my colleagues at Willamette University.

Even though my banking career in Buffalo NY suddenly ended in January 1987 when the daytime high temperature was NEGATIVE 15 degrees Fahrenheit, I was confident that I could switch gears and find myself a different career that was more emotionally fulfilling, more flexible than the 3 piece suits dress code required by banking institutions, spiritually more rewarding and less oriented to demands for ultra-fast turnaround deadlines.

About 2 months after I was jobless, I identified 5 different types of library jobs that I could pursue all based on attaining 1 masters degree in librarianship. And I could complete that graduate program in 12 to 17 months. I successfully completed that program at the same campus where I earned my Bachelors degree 11 years earlier. I developed enough skills as both an oral & written communicator along with the courage to network with professional librarians & heavy users of information resources, that I was confident that I could build a strong pathway to a successful second career.

I managed to create a second career in a tenure track academic environment where I both published, perished, and later moved forward to my 2nd job in librarianship where my talents & contributions were again recognized. But this time, faculty truly valued my skills & experience without the hassles & hurdles of attaining tenure. My job comes to an end on April 4, 2025, but my life goes on!

THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO ACHIEVE 36 years in my second professional career!


GARY M KLEIN; (he, his, him) -- RETIRING ON APRIL 4, 2025  Hatfield Library, Willamette University, Salem, Oregon
  Reference Librarian and liaison for:
  Business/Management; Civic Communication & Media; Data Science; Economics; International Studies; Politics/PPLE; Psychology and Statistics..
garymklein at comcast.net mailto:garymklein at comcast.net  / personal #503-949-3820
 

Gary M. Klein / Keizer, Oregon 97303
email = garymklein at comcast.net
cell phone #503-949-3820
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