When I first started doing work with the Women's Presses Library Project in 1994, I wanted to talk to supportive librarians who could give me tips and encouragement on forwarding the visibility of the books published by women-owned independent presses. One of the publishers in our group mentioned that I should contact Sandy Berman at Hennepin County Library. So I did.Our first meeting turned out to be one of those special moments that bring forth more opportunity than one would have expected. Sandy, with his many years of experience, offered names of all kinds of people to contact. He also offered -- in his own special Berman-esque way -- pounds of paper with all kinds of information - especially about cataloging and the ways our books could be more accurately found or described by his broadened system for cataloging in the most rare and unique (and totally obvious) subject areas.
Over the years, I periodically received envelopes stuffed with all kinds of materials, articles, cataloging lists, and always one special bookmark with his flaring signature on it. Sometimes it would take me weeks to work through them, but Sandy is an expert librarian quick to share events at and news of Hennepin Library as well as interesting tidbits of information that I almost always found useful. Even shortly after his heart surgery I was amazed to receive one of those envelopes so soon afterwards -- that, of course, is when I knew he was well on his way to recovery!! Sandy possesses a generosity of spirit rarely encountered. I've also found refreshing his ability to remain willing to use his typewriter with the well-worn letters and smudges in the midst of a profession swept up in the newest of technologies. It's clear that Sandy continues to be one of those unique people who so passionately cares about his own work and the health of his profession and the willingness to connect persons and ideas and tools.
Most importantly to me, though, Sandy has been an important ally for the Women's Presses Library Project. His continued support of our work, his willingness to pass along useful information to us, and his ability to keep us in touch with like-minded librarians has been a treasure to us - one that has helped us in invisible and uncountable ways. Thanks, Sandy, for all your continued resistance, persistence, insistence. You have my support and that of the other women's presses and we look forward to a time when you'll be back at your work in the library doing all the things you do so well.
- Mev Miller