Meet Our Librarian

Amid flowers and bird books, Jacalyn Spoon welcomes visitors to the new library

By Laura Gildner

Photo by Diane L. Tessaglia-Hymes

Every day, a bouquet of fresh flowers greets visitors in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology?s Adelson Library. They come from the garden of Jacalyn Spoon, a librarian with a knack for making visitors feel welcome.

Before coming to the Lab of Ornithology, Jacie (pronounced jak-ee) worked for 17 years as a library assistant in the Ithaca College library just across town. She has a bachelor?s degree in anthropology and recently earned a master?s degree in library science from the University at Buffalo.

Now Jacie manages Adelson Library, from the circulation desk and the budget to figuring out what new books to add to the collection and designing a system that will keep everything organized in the years to come. Meanwhile she enjoys the library?s beautiful setting overlooking Sapsucker Woods Pond and feels lucky to work in a place that indulges her longtime interest in birds.

?I?ve always had bird feeders and a birdbath, and I?ve always liked watching the birds, but I?ve never really had the chance to do anything with that,? Jacie says. Now she has a whole library full of information about birds at her disposal, one of the world?s most famous bird-feeding gardens outside the window, and a bunch of ornithologists just down the hall.

Jacie also enjoys meeting the many bird enthusiasts who have been flocking to the the Adelson Library since it opened in May 2004. Every day she greets retirees, parents with children, high-school students, and world-renowned scientists. She says that it makes her happy to see people taking advantage of the library?s resources. Flowers and all, perhaps that?s why the Adelson Library feels like such a welcoming place.

For permission to reprint all or part of this article, please contact Laura Erickson, editor, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY, 14850. Phone: (607) 254-1114. email: lle24@cornell.edu