I may be one of the few non-library staff members at the Institute. I hope there are some others. I am a trustee. From local up, I am: V.P., booksale chair and membership chair of the Friends of the Dublin Library. Dublin is southeast of Oakland, across the bay from S.F. I have, throughout the years, however, been all positions in the Friends. I probably work harder and get in more trouble with them than I do with anything else!

I am a commissioner on the Alameda County Library Advisory Commission and have been for close to 8 years. (We have no term limits.) I enjoy this very much and I am fortunate enough to call the County Librarian my friend and mentor. I was chair for three years and still love being a commissioner.

I am currently immediate past-President of the California Association of Library Trustees and Commissioners (CALTAC). I've been on the board for about 5 years. I was President for a term and acting President when I was V.P. for 8 months due to the resignation of the president. I love it! I am the chair of the Board Effectiveness Training that the CALTAC board put together with help from the Ca State Library and an amazing consultant. We have trained trustees who go to library boards and give a workshop free on how to become a more effective board.

I am now a "public user" member of the Golden Gateway Library Network of the Library of California. I am new to this and have only attended the one meeting held since I was elected.

I've lived in Dublin 11 years and saw my twin sons through middle school and high school in Dublin. Therefore, I have been a soccer mom, a baseball mom, a PTA mom, etc. I loved the soccer years in particular! My boys are now 23. For the sake of brevity, I will not tell you about my five stepsons and five stepgrandchildren although three of my stepsons were with us through most of their growing up years.

I have been, naturally, a lifelong library lover and user. Some of my fondest memories of my mom are of us walking to the local library and coming home to take turns reading to each other.

For the past couple of years, I have been enamored with humorous mysteries, a "subgenre" I discovered when I found Joan Hess, and then Janet Evanovich, Keith Snyder, Carl Hiaasen, and many others. I don't read horror or terror or extremely tension-provoking books as I am perfectly able to create enough tension in my life without any help. I don't even read the biggies such as Cornwell, Paretsky, Grisham. If you want a very enjoyable mystery, read Jerrilyn Farmer's fourth in her Mad Bean series, Dim Sum Dead. And, while I can't state that Carl Hiassen's latest, Sick Puppy, is that great (the humor is a bit on the macabre side), I will agree with everyone that I absolutely love his books!

I've had the same full-time job for 32 years, since 1969, working for a now-retired attorney. I was a legal secretary but have become a bookkeeper and property manager over the years as his interests have changed. I am very fortunate as I have no bureaucracy to abide by; however, I am often alone in the office and the radio reception is lousy so I have to make my own kind of music!

I am delighted about my upcoming stay at Stanford and I know the Institute will provide a wonderful week. It's all about education. I am very curious. This gets me into lots of things and lots of work. Most of the time, this is good.

Karen Dyer

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