ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


C‹SRL News ■ March 2001 1287

C o l l e g e  & R e s e a r c h  L i b r a r i e s  Mews

Partnering with the post office

Southwest Missouri State University Libraries’ 
advantageous relationship

by Karen L. Horny

O n  May 10, 2000, Southw est Missouri State University Libraries (SMSU) held a cel­
ebration o f the M eyer Library ex p an sio n  and 
renovation project w hile honoring the Library 
o f Congress (LC) bicentennial through its com ­
m em o rativ e stam p. T his w a s y et a n o th e r 
event in a long-standing relationship far b e ­
yon d  routine mail services b e tw e e n  Meyer 
Libraiy an d  the Springfield Post Office.

The first link was es­
tablished through the 
Ozarks Labor Union Ar­
chives (OLUA), founded 
b y  a d j u n c t  f a c u l ty  
m em b er Neal M oore 
a n d  eco n o m ics p r o ­
fe s s o r D a v id  L ages, 
a n d  acquired from the 
E c o n o m ic s  D e p a r t ­
m en t by the library in 
the 1995-96 academ ic
year. American Postal Workers U nion (APWU) 
Local 888, already a major d o n o r to  th e col­
lections, w as inspired to set u p  an  e n d o w ­
m en t fu n d  for OLUA.

A $5,000 don atio n  established the e n d o w ­
m en t in N ovem ber 1995, a n d  APWU’s co n ­
tin u ed  donations, including th e  m ost recent 
$1,000 gift (January 26, 2001) have increased 
th e fu n d  to m ore th an  $16,800. T he APWU

The LC b ice n te n n ia l stam p w ith  th e  SMSU 
Libraries seal.

co n n ectio n  also resulted in the library ho st­
ing a m arvelous exhibit of d o cum ents an d  
m em orabilia o n  th e history o f the letter car­
rier as p art M issouri’s an n u al celebration of 
Labor H istory Month.

As OLUA’s ou treach  program  d eveloped, 
th e  p ostal w ork ers indicated they w o u ld  like 
to sp o n so r a b iennial p a p e r prize co m p eti­
tion to  en co u rag e th e study o f lab o r history 

b y  aw arding $200 for 
th e  b e s t SMSU u n ­
dergraduate or graduate 
research p a p e r about 
organized labor. The 
m o st re c e n t w inner, 
graduate student Sandy 
Peters, authored “Death 
by Demographics: The 
Defeat of the 1978 Mis­
so u ri R ight-to-W ork 
A m e n d m e n t . ” T h e  

p riz e  w a s p r e s e n te d  at S p rin g fie ld ’s L abor 
D ay P icnic, S e p te m b e r 4, 2000, attended by 
som e 5,000 people.

Planning for a Second-Day Issue 
celebration
T he m ost recen t event in p artn ersh ip  w ith 
the p o st office w as the LC C om m em orative 
Stam p Second-D ay Issue celebration. This

A b o u t the author

Karen L. Horny is dean o f library services at Southwest Missouri State University, e-mail: karenhorny@smsu.edu

mailto:karenhorny@smsu.edu


2 8 8 / C & R L  N e w s ■ M a rch  2001

celebration cam e to fruition with the help 
o f a w onderful planning kit furnished by 
Kathy W oodrell, LC’s p ro ject m anager for 
the Commemorative Stamp Second-D ay Is­
sue, B icen ten n ial Program O ffice. The kit 
was filled with detailed inform ation about 
planning such an event and em phasized 
the need  to get an early start in w orking 
with the local postal services.

T he LC First-Day Issue to ok  place on 
April 24, 2000, and was follow ed by a o n e ­
m onth period in w hich Second-D ay Issues 
cou ld  be scheduled . Several m onths’ lead 
tim e  w a s  r e ­
q u ire d , b e c a u s e  
both an envelo p e 
“c a c h e t ” p ictu re  
and a special can­
ce lla tio n  n eed ed  
to b e  d e s ig n e d , 
a p p r o v e d , a n d  
actually produced 
b efo re  the event 
took place.

The substantial 
tim e req u ired  to 
set up the celebra­
tion was undoubt­
edly a major factor 
in determining that 
SMSU was the only 
Missouri sponsor 
o f a Second-Day Issue for the LC stamp.

SMSU was particularly interested in orga­
nizing an LC bicentennial stamp event not 
only in support o f LC and our cam pus build­
ing p r o je c t , b u t a ls o  b e c a u s e  o f th e 
university’s statew ide m ission in public af­
fairs edu cation and the libraries’ partici­
p a tio n  in  tw o o f  LC’s L o ca l L e g a c ie s  
projects.

SMSU Music Cataloger Drew Beisswenger 
prepared a set o f audiovideo materials fea­
turing the Ozarks’ musical heritage repre­
sented by local fiddler Bob Holt. Allison Level, 
head  o f re fe re n ce, w orked  w ith Tamara 
Jahnke, head o f the chemistry department, 
to document the emphasis on science edu­
cation in Southwestern Missouri, with a par­
ticular focus on interesting young women in 
pursuing careers in science.

G u id elin es w ere p rovided  in the LC 
planning kit about the size and con ten t o f 
the “ca c h e t” cov er design and special can ­

cellation. The design d ev elop ed  by SMSU 
Libraries used a num ber 10 e n v elo p e in­
stead o f the freq u en tly  ch o se n , sm aller 
num ber 6 3/4. The picture is the architect’s 
rendering o f the M eyer Library com p lex 
with the addition now  under construction. 
Although the design fit m uch better on the 
num ber 10 envelope, it m eant that an even 
larger e n v elo p e had to be used to mail 
the covers to p ersons unable to attend the 
actual issue. The libraries’ Media Services 
Graphic Designer, Jean n e Stephens, did the 
layout for the cach et along with the s p e ­

c ia l c a n c e lla tio n  
design.

S p r i n g f i e l d  
Postmaster Robert 
R ob erts w as e n ­
th u s ia s tic  a b o u t 
th e S e c o n d -D a y  
Issue p ro ject and 
supported Wanda 
Sillyman, supervi­
s o r  o f  th e  
university’s postal 
s u b s t a t i o n , in 
m ak ing a rra n g e ­
m e n ts  an d  p r o ­
viding a philatelic 
c le r k  to d o th e 
cu stom  c a n c e lla ­
tions b etw een  10

a.m. and 1 p.m. on the day o f the ce le b ra ­
tion. A num ber o f envelo p es w ere actu­
ally stam ped and can celled  b efo re the cer­
em ony so that the ink would b e  dry.

T h e  s ta m p
The LC bicentennial stamp itself is a very strik­
ing view o f the golden interior o f the dome 
o f LC’s Main Reading Room. The unseen 
painting within the circle or “eye” o f the dome 
is the image o f a woman representing hu­
man understanding. As LC has announced, 
this logo and theme symbolize the bicenten­
nial goal o f stimulating creativity and ensur­
ing a free society through the greater use of 
libraries everywhere. Ethel Kessler, known 
for her design o f the breast cancer stamp, 
designed the stamp.

T h e  M is s o u r i c e le b r a t io n
SMSU ob tain ed  cop ies o f the poster rep ­
lica o f the stamp and had them  lam inated

Neal Moore (co-founder o f O zarks Labor Union Archives) 
and Karen Horny receiving latest contrib u tion  to  Postal 
W orkers Endow m ent from  APW U President Bob Olson.



C& R L N e w s ■ M a rch  2001 / 2 8 9

for display at the Meyer Library and the 
university postal substation. We also were 
able to acquire an LC first-day cover to 
fram e with our seco n d -d ay  cover. The 
university’s news service assisted in issu­
ing a press release, w hich generated co n ­
siderable media coverage, including both 
print and television. Invitations w ere sent 
to d ono rs w ho had co n trib u ted  to the 
Meyer Library Addition and Renovation 
Capital Campaign and to state and local 
library leaders.

After the event, covers w ere m ailed as 
tokens o f thanks to Missouri governm ent 
leaders, including all legislators from the 
university’s 24-county primary service area, 
in appreciation for their support in the 
s ta te ’s bu d get p ro cess that fund ed  the 
major portion o f the building project. Each 
o f the 20 prime building contractors was 
also given a cover in recognition o f his or 
her work on the project.

A cerem ony at 10 a.m. marking the o f­
ficial Second-D ay Issue was well attended 
and festive, with a cake frosted in the can ­
cellation design. Roberts offered remarks 
on the history o f the Library o f Congress

and the many reasons LC was being hon­
ored by the special stamp. He then indi­
cated that it was customary for the post­
master and the head o f the sponsoring or­
ganization (i.e., SMSU’s dean o f library ser­
vices) to autograph the envelopes for co l­
lectors at the official cerem ony. Our hands 
w ere cramped from all the signing by the 
end o f the m orning’s celebration! A local 
television station filmed the event and ran 
a very nice story the next day.

We learned from Roberts that collectors 
would be continuing to requ est covers af­
ter the event, so Meyer Library set aside 
som e 500 covers to make available for the 
nom inal sum o f $2 each (for the stamp 
itself, envelope “ca ch e t” with special can ­
cellation, and handling).

The exp erien ce o f working with our lo ­
cal postal personnel on cerem onial events, 
educational activities, and collection e n ­
deavors continues to be highly productive 
and exceptionally pleasant. The post o f­
fice, the APWU, the university, and SMSU 
Libraries all b enefit from m uch positive 
publicity and gain the satisfaction o f suc­
cessfully m eeting their shared goals. ■