Nancy Pearl is a bookard, a bibliomaniac -- happy to be so, desirous that others become so. And in that spirit, she and her husband, Joseph Pearl, have endowed a UW scholarship for Information School students who intend to become public librarians.
"The library profession has been incredibly generous to me. I've gotten to meet people and do things I never imagined I would," Pearl said in a recent interview. She's the author of seven volumes about good reads, including Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason, published in 2003.
"I couldn't have gone to graduate school in library science at the University of Michigan without a scholarship," said 66-year-old Pearl, who was named librarian of the year by Library Journal this past January. She retired in 2004 as executive director of Seattle Public Library's Washington Center for the Book. In 1998, Pearl founded "If All Seattle Read the Same Book," a program which has been adopted by other cities around the country. She also discusses books on "Morning Edition" on National Public Radio.
At the UW, Pearl teaches two courses in adult reader services -- or as she describes it, "how to put people together with good books." Seeing student excitement about helping library patrons connect with good books helped trigger the scholarship, Pearl said.
Awareness of tuition and student debt also played a part in Pearl's decision. Because of budget constraints, the UW master of library and information science program is now fee-based and self-sustaining. Full-time tuition is $19,500, a $6,000 increase for Washington residents and a $9,500 decrease for non-residents. The $25,000 Pearl endowment will result in a $1,000 scholarship to be awarded annually. "I hope the endowment grows over time so that eventually it will cover a year's worth of tuition," Pearl said. Those wishing to contribute to the Nancy Pearl Endowment for Public Librarianship can make a gift online. All gifts are tax-deductible and will benefit future public librarians.
So what's Pearl doing now that she's retired? Well, she just continues reading, as she says, "for the sheer wonderment of it all." For more on Pearl, go to her website.