December, 1999
What's New:
Frederick J. Kuellmer Reading Room
N.M. TECH LIBRARY TO DEDICATE ROOM IN MEMORY OF DR. FREDERICK J. KUELLMER
SOCORRO—A quiet, and yet cheery, reading room upstairs in the New Mexico Tech Library will be dedicated on Saturday, Dec. 4, at 11:00 am, in the name of a man whose spirit still lives throughout the campus. The room will be named the Frederick J. Kuellmer Reading Room in honor of Kuellmer, who died on March 13, 1992. During his long career with Tech, Kuellmer at one time or another (and sometimes at the same time) was a Professor of Geology, Academic Dean, Graduate Dean, Vice President of Research and Economic Development, Vice President of Academic Affairs; and, between the administrations of Tech Presidents’ Stirling Colgate and Ken Ford, Acting President.
"Fred had a lot of faith in New Mexico Tech," said Kuellmer’s widow, Jane.
"He believed in it, and he worked hard to further that faith."
Kuellmer came to Socorro as an economic geologist with the New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources in 1952 while completing his doctorate at the University of Chicago. Those were the years referred to as the Workman years, named for the late Tech President E.J. Workman. Jane recalls her husband leaving the house in a robe and bedroom slippers in the wee hours of the morning to tend to work in the lab. Very often, she said, Kuellmer would run into Workman, who lived in a second-floor apartment of the campus building, which later was named "Workman Center" after him. (The building was the predecessor of the current Workman Center.) "Workman would be in a robe and slippers, too; he and Fred ended up having some interesting talks at two in the morning," said Jane.
The family left Socorro in 1964 "forever," she said; but by 1966 they were back, when Kuellmer returned to Tech as a Professor of Geology and Academic Dean.
The role of dean of students isn’t won by virtue of a popularity contest; nonetheless, Kuellmer enjoyed a rapport with students. The students called him "Freddy Feldspar" after a mineral the geologist studied in his early years. The Kuellmers opened their home to students for holiday dinners, and many a Tech graduate recalls verbally sparring with the keen-witted college dean.
Professionally, Kuellmer accrued many awards, including a postdoctoral fellowship for a year of study in Zurich, Switzerland. He also published a number of papers and reviews on coals, which he began to study in the 1970s.
What he took greatest pride in, however, was his family. "He was extremely proud of his kids," said daughter Ellen Hefner. "He was concerned about his family, about Tech, and his church. Everything else followed." Three children survive Kuellmer: daughters Ellen Hefner and Louise Springer, and son Lawrence. Eldest daughter Marcia Kuellmer Dehnert preceded him in death.
Kuellmer also loved New Mexico. "This was the first place he had spent any time where he could actually see the rocks," said Jane. His children recall family trips with Dad never failing to point out any geologic features he found interesting. He was also an avid hunter and fisherman, who rarely missed an opportunity to escape to the mountains and lakes.
Kuellmer read the morning newspaper from cover to cover, and spent a lot of time reading professional journals. It wouldn’t be difficult to imagine him sitting in a sturdy chair with a book in his hands and a light over his shoulder.
It seems a fitting tribute to Kuellmer’s intelligence and devotion to Tech to have a quiet library reading room dedicated to his memory.
Valerie Kimble-Advancement Office
| The dedication of the reading room will be held on Saturday, December 4, 1999 at 11 am. Refreshments will be provided. |
Favorite Web sites of the New Mexico Tech Library Staff:
http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/duckdata/duckdata.html - Govt. Duck Information.Louise Dano, Government Documents
http://vlib.org/Overview.html - A Virtual Library.
http://www.fodors.com/ - Travel Anywhere.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/WH/Welcome.html - The White House.
http://www.dchieftain.com/ - Our Local Socorro Newspaper.
http://www.nmt.edu/~nmtlib/subject/medical.html - Medical and Veterinary information from a Tech Library URL.
http://ajr.newslink.org/ - American Journalism Review.
Tony Telles, Periodicals
Helen Zerling, Weekend Reference
|
New Government Documents of Interest Include:
| What's New in the Reference Collection: |
101 Toughest Interview Questions by Daniel Porot.
(HF 5549.5.I6 P67 1999)
American Place-names by George R. Stewart.
(E 155. S79)
Dictionary of Communications Technology by Gilbert Held.
(TK 5102 .H453 1998)
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Chemistry Dictionary by Steven M. Kaplan.
(QD 5 .K294 1998)
Vital Statistics on the Presidency by Lyn Ragsdale.
(JK 518 .R334 1998)
What the Staff is Reading:
Laugh and Be Well? by Patricia Long
In an article from Psychology Today, October, 1987 written by
freelance writer Patricia Long writes about how laughter improves the immune system by allowing the brain to produce such chemicals as beta-endorphins. According to Vera Robinson, head of the nursing department at California State University, "When you laugh, you let go of anxiety, fear, embarrassment, hostility and anger." Cited in this writing is a book written by Steven Locke, psychoimmunologist at Harvard Medical School. The Healer Within. This was a very interesting article.
Jeannette Baca, Interlibrary Loan
Cujo
by Steven KingOK, I know you've seen the movie, but movies can't quite match your imagination when it comes to horror. Actually, I like the extra feeling you get about characters when you read about them, as opposed to watching them onscreen. Cujo really is a bonafide gooddog. It's not his fault that people are making his head throb. Who lives, who dies, who suffers unbearable pain and anguish? I couldn't wait to find out. That's why I stayed up till 3am finishing this thriller.
Anywhere but Here
by Mona SimpsonI found this charming book while browsing the library's bookshelves in the fiction section. Anywhere but Here is being made into a movie starring Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman. I can't wait for the movie, but the book is worth reading, even if you see the movie as well. Ann has a love-hate relationship with her dreamer mother who drags her from a small town to Beverly Hills. This is a story about a child who grows up too early and a mother who never quite does grow up. I recommend it highly.
Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball
Have you ever received a book for Christmas, a book so fascinating that its people and events dominate your mind even while you join traditional family holiday activities? Almost as soon as I unwrapped Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball, last December I began to read and became immersed in the author’s journey into family history. Edward Ball is descended from a South Carolina family, which owned slaves for six generations from 1698, when the first Elias Ball arrived in Charleston from England, until 1865. Through family records, documents from the South Carolina Historical Society, discussions with family members and oral tradition, Ball traced the history of his family and the people they enslaved. Ball’s book moves between historical data and his search for descendents of the family’s enslaved blacks; eventually among them he finds living relatives who share his genetic heritage because of the sexual exploitation of the family’s slaves. One of the book's strengths is that Ball has collected information on the lives and condition of individuals who were enslaved from the days of the first Ball plantation in South Carolina and their experiences during the American Revolution and the Civil War and into the 20th century. Slaves in the Family was the 1998 winner of the National Book Award for Non-Fiction.
Kay Krehbiel, Library Director
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
I've just started reading this one. One 16 year old girl on the WWW called it " . . . a wonderful, brilliant masterpiece." It is a classic and I can't wait to get further into it. I'd love to hear what other people who have read it think about it, but please, don't give away the ending!
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
OK, this is a "re-live the 60's" reading project. I missed the "tune-in, turn-on and fall-out" era, or whatever it was that they were doing, so I like reading about it now. So far, the book consists of a lot of people who worship Ken Kesey and LSD. They are all very intellectual authors, writers, and artists, but I can't help but think, "Were these people on drugs or what?" I did read Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and loved it! I will also read Sometimes a Great Notion, because people tell me I should. It is a fairly large novel though, 300,000. words in one unedited version. I'll be reading On the Road, by Jack Kerouac. All this retro interest caused me to look up Mr. Kesey and his "Merry Pranksters" on the Internet. Lots of LSD induced "art" work on sale at that site.
Joy Thompson, Acquisitions
Tech Library Hours for December:
With the addition of a new circulation staff member, we have extended our regular hours. We used to have extended hours for the last two weeks of the semester, but now we have extended hours all semester long! We will also be open on the weekends during break periods, so library patrons who work during the week will be able to make use of the library. Are our current hours meeting your needs? Let us know. Email nmtlib@nmt.edu or stop by and talk to us.
Marty Jonas, Circulation
Regular Hours
(Dec. 1 - 17)Mon. -Thurs. 8am - midnight
Fri. 8am - 8pm
Sat. 9am - 10pm
Sun. 9am - midnight
Break Hours
(Dec. 18 - Jan. 17)Mon. - Fri. 8am - 5pm
Sat. & Sun. 8am - 5pm
Closed Days
(Holidays)Dec 24 - Dec 27 Closed
Dec. 30-Jan. 2 Closed
The Library Staff Wishes Everyone a
Safe and Happy Holiday!