Library staffer turns model for a good cause

Fort Worth, TX

1/10/2007

By Sandra Record
Office of Communications

When Walter Betts hired on in August as systems librarian at Mary Couts Burnett Library, he brought along a little secret. A month earlier, he had posed as a calendar model.

A racy photo, in a sexy calendar? Hardly. This is The Men of Texas Libraries calendar, produced by the Texas Library Association as a fundraiser for the organization’s Disaster Relief Fund. It’s a colorful 18-month chronology, featuring some mighty game guys wearing everything from a tuxedo to a strategically placed LP album cover and a variety of outfits in between.

Walter, who says each man-of-the-month was asked “do what you’re most comfortable with” for the photo shoot, chose to wear a Hawaiian shirt and slacks while playing the saxophone. (That’s easy to explain since his college degree is in saxophone performance).

Each of the male participants is, or has been, an active member of TLA. The roster includes the dean of the UNT library, the directors of the San Antonio, Victoria, Boerne and North Richland Hills Public Libraries, a doctoral student in the UT School of Information and a professor at Texas Woman’s University. Besides their chosen attire, each photo page reflects the individual’s hobbies in the props they’re pictured with, along with some “footnotes” which reveal a lot about their personalities.

Walter explains how the sale of the $20 calendars will benefit the TLA charitable fund. He notes that most libraries are self-insured, which means that when small disasters strike, the losses are recovered. TLA’s Disaster Relief Fund, established in the 1988, has been able to contribute when the loss is greater, such as a fire, flood or other major damage to a library facility.

Then came Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, causing widespread damage to the Gulf Coast and impacting nine libraries in the Beaumont-Port Arthur area. “We sent money and replacement books, but we knew there would be a greater need,” Walter notes. The library at Lamar University, seven public libraries and one at an elementary school were devastated by the storms. They all sent grant requests to TLA for funds to replace lost collections and damaged materials, extend service hours and repair facilities.

In the past, the Disaster Relief Fund was financed by proceeds from the auction of a piece of collectible art donated by a book illustrator which usually brought in $4,000-$5,000. This year, they needed a bigger idea. Steve Brown, TLA president-elect (and the face of April 2008), notes that librarianship has always been an overwhelmingly female profession. The estimate in Texas is that female librarians outnumber male librarians about 85 to 18. “That’s one reason this calendar represents shrewd marketing,” Brown says.

According to Walter, the initial printing of 1,000 calendars sold out in no time, prompting a second printing of equal size. The profit margin is very good since the publication was produced entirely in-house … the potential to bring in $40,000 for Disaster Relief, as a matter of fact.

Walter, wife, Kristi (a librarian for the Irving ISD), and their 10-year-old son live in Irving. He commutes to his TCU job via the TRE tain and the No. 7 city bus, which lets him out on S. University Drive just steps from the library. Prior to joining TCU, Walter was systems librarian for the Dallas ISD, which included 120 campuses and 240,000 students. Here, he manages and maintains the library automation system which circulates books and provides the online catalog.

“TCU provides a richer environment for the library,” he concludes.