One Last Word from Susan Davis...But Probably Not!

by SUSAN DAVIS

For those of us who have worked with Susan over the years, and even those who are newer to the Libraries, we can always appreciate her infectious smile, her kindness and her ability to be fully present in any conversation — whether it's about serials cataloging, the Bills' playoff chances, or asking a question at an All Staff meeting, most likely one we never thought to ask! When it came time to highlight Susan's many memorable years at UB, we decided that only Susan could best tell her story.

Dear Colleagues,

As I prepare to retire after 40 years at UB, I wanted to share a bit about my journey—from corner stores to serials chaos—and thank you all for making this such a wonderful, weird and unforgettable place to work.

I was born in Salamanca, the oldest of three children. My maternal grandfather owned Smith's IGA, a mom-and-pop corner store, and worked as the city and sports editor of the local newspaper. Since my mother did not drive, Grampa Smith was our chauffeur to adventures as we often accompanied him to high school sporting and other newsworthy events. My father, an electric lineman for IBEW Local 1249, had jobs across the state and was usually home only on weekends. He loved sports and played baseball, fast-pitch softball and golf—helping drive my interest in sports, along with my two brothers who were excellent athletes.

Growing up in this sports-loving family, I became part of the Title IX revolution, participating on the first girls' varsity teams for basketball, volleyball and soccer at Sodus Central School, where I was valedictorian. Later, I joined the golf team when another girl in my class wanted a female buddy. I played better from the men's tees with her as my partner than I ever did with my super-competitive brothers and father!

I studied French at SUNY Geneseo and spent a semester in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. We had a great time, especially during their Fête des Vendanges (grape harvest festival). Another major highlight was spending the better part of a week in Paris where we saw EVERYTHING!

After returning from Switzerland for my final semester, I needed to figure out what to do with the rest of my life. I had no interest in teaching, did not yet realize the potential of computer science, and translation work did not seem promising. My Geneseo classmate was considering librarianship, and I had worked as a page at the Sodus Free Library during high school, so I decided to give it a shot. I earned my graduate degree at Geneseo, where a fellowship allowed me to work in the library school's periodicals collection—which kick-started my future career as a serials librarian. After positions at Rochester Institute of Technology and Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, where I learned important skills such as using chopsticks, hiring staff and OCLC cataloging, I returned to Western New York to build a future with my soon-to-be husband.

I joined UB on Sept. 6, 1984, as head of Serial Records in Central Technical Services. For four decades, I managed check-in, claims, orders and cancellations for thousands of serials and periodicals. Time flew by, CTS reorganized, my in-house title changed several times, yet no place was more fun to work—even as the throughput rivaled most other ARL libraries. I visited other libraries and saw firsthand backlogs bigger than the piles on my desk! How could you not want to show up every day to partake in camaraderie, comedy, chaos, and contribute to work forming the backbone of library services to the university?

Serials work is challenging because serials are a lot like human beings. They are born, marry, divorce, have children and sometimes die. A few try to outfox you by changing names or publishers or dare to use Roman numerals to indicate volume and issue numbers. No day was like any other. Exciting, challenging, confounding and immensely satisfying is how I would describe my career at UB.

Beyond professional work, I have fond memories of CTS's legendary hot dog cookout potlucks, which ran more efficiently than any manufacturing production line. I also kept the CTS football pool running for years after taking it over from Karen Ridler. We had a lot of fun, especially since it was all luck! No football knowledge required. There was some showmanship, and more than one photo was x'ed out after too many consecutive wins! No one ever returned their winnings!

In retirement, I plan to return to swimming and continue my quest to visit all MLB ballparks with my husband. Like all good librarians, I love to read—if only I had more time!—and I'm looking forward to diving into more mysteries. I also plan to keep exploring new culinary adventures. My conference and vacation memories often center around food experiences: A post-conference trip in New Mexico was planned around where we would eat each day! What could be better? I had blue corn chicken enchiladas every day because that was a dish I loved and could not easily find back in Buffalo.

Thank you for 40 wonderful years. If someone asks how to describe me, tell them: smiling, kind, present.

With gratitude,

Susan