Pine Plains: A librarian’s career holds Texas roots

Dee Ann Campbell, the Pine Plains Free Library director, appointed on March 18, stands in front of some of her much loved books at the library at 7775 S. Main Street.

Annie Mazzolli

Pine Plains: A librarian’s career holds Texas roots

PINE PLAINS — For Dee Ann Campbell, the new Director of the Pine Plains Free Library, an early love of books was cemented when her mother drove 35 miles every other week from their Texas home in order to reach the nearest library.

That converted Carnegie building had once been a dark, mahogany-clad bank, smelled of books with plenty of nooks and corners hiding the treasures she would find there, including her favorite, “The Yearling,” which she read at least five times.

As time went by, she continued her love by helping in each of her school libraries from elementary through high school. Her taste matured, encompassing a number of phases from horse books to science fiction to the classics, culminating in a degree in English from the University of Texas at Austin.

When she and her family were considering a move here, she researched the area and knew she had found a home when she learned that most of the small towns had their own libraries.

Not knowing anyone, she reverted to form and began volunteering in 2021 at the library as a way of getting to know people and connect to the community.

She did so believing that the situation would be very different from Texas where, she said, patrons loved their libraries, but politicians were stingy in their control of the purse strings.

Her faith was justified when Pine Plains recently passed a 70 percent increase in the funds allocated to the library that “confirmed how much Pine Plains loves this library” with residents supportive of adding more programs and resources.

Because the children and senior programs are already strong, she feels the expansions will focus on needs “in the middle” encompassing suggestions from patrons including those from teens who attended a recent job fair. One is a newly implemented “exchange” with English speakers including students teaching and learning from speakers of other languages.

When the budget passed, Campbell was an active library volunteer, working mainly with children, and the library was being run semi-remotely as the previous director Alexis Tackett, also a “Texas girl” was back home helping with a family emergency.

Campbell credits the excellent staff with managing the transition and being so helpful to her as she works to fill Tackett’s “big shoes.” She now “stands on her shoulders” with the support of all, including board members who originally suggested she apply for the job.

She spends much of her time now reading spreadsheets instead of books, but she is fine with that as keeping the library running is something of an extension of of the business she ran where she helped customers to prepare written material from inception to publication.

Although she enjoys all aspects of her new job, her favorite parts are caring for patrons and finding and providing new books. The most complex part involves managing digital books whose circulation has gone up some 30 per cent.

In short, Campbell is a woman who loves her library and is “thrilled with the job!”

Latest News

Crescendo’s upcoming tribute to Wanda Landowska

Kenneth Weiss (above) will play a solo recital performance in honor of Wanda Landowska, a harpischord virtuoso, who lived in Lakeville for many years.

Provided

On Sept. 14, Crescendo, the award-winning music program based in Lakeville, will present a harpsichord solo recital by Kenneth Weiss in honor of world-renowned harpsichordist Wanda Landowska. Landowska lived in Lakeville from 1941 to 1959. Weiss is a professor at the Paris Conservatoire and has taught at Julliard. Born in New York, he now resides in Europe.

Weiss will play selections from “A Treasury of Harpsichord Music.” It includes works by Baroque composers such as Bach, Mozart, and Handel. It was recorded by Landowska at her Lakeville home, at 63 Millerton Road, which overlooks Lakeville Lake. Weiss said, “I am honored and excited to play in Lakeville, where Wanda Landowska lived.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Silent cinema, live magic

The live audience at Music Mountain takes in a silent film Sept. 7.

Natalia Zukerman

On Saturday, Sept. 7, Gordon Hall at Music Mountain was transformed into a time machine, transporting the audience for a 1920’s spectacular of silent films and live music. Featuring internationally acclaimed silent film musicians Donald Sosin and Joanna Seaton, the evening began with a singalong of songs by Gershwin, Irving Berlin and more. Lyrics for favorites like “Ain’t We Got Fun,” “Yes Sir That’s My Baby,” and “Ain’t Misbehavin’” were projected on the screen and Sosin and Seaton lead the crowd with an easeful joy. The couple then retreated to the side of the stage where they provided the live and improvised score for Buster Keaton’s 1922 short, “Cops,” and his 1924 comedy, “Sherlock Jr.”

Joanna Seaton and Donald Sosin, a husband-and-wife duo, have crafted a singular career, captivating audiences at some of the world’s most prestigious film festivals—New York, TriBeCa, San Francisco, Seattle, Denver, Telluride, and Yorkshire among them. Their performances have graced venerable institutions like MoMA, Film at Lincoln Center, the AFI Silver Theatre, and Moscow’s celebrated Lumière Gallery. Their melodic journey has taken them to far-flung locales such as the Thailand Silent Film Festival and the Jecheon International Music and Film Festival in South Korea. Notably, Seaton and Sosin have become a fixture at Italy’s renowned silent film festivals in Bologna and Pordenone, where they perform annually.

Keep ReadingShow less
Desperately seeking Susan Seidelman

The cover art for Seidelman's memoir "Desperately Seeking Something."

Photo Provided

On Thursday, Sept. 19 at 6 p.m., Haystack Book Talks will present a special evening with director Susan Seidelman, author of “Desperately Seeking Something: A Memoir About Movies, Mothers, and Material Girls.” Part of the Haystack Book Festival run by Michael Selleck, the event will take place at the Norfolk Library, featuring a conversation with Mark Erder after a screening of the 1984 classic, “Desperately Seeking Susan.”

Susan Seidelman’s fearless debut film, “Smithereens,” premiered in 1982 and was the first American indie film to ever compete at Cannes. Then came “Desperately Seeking Susan,” a smash hit that not only solidified her place in Hollywood but helped launch Madonna’s career. Her films, blending classic Hollywood storytelling with New York’s downtown energy, feature unconventional women navigating unique lives. Seidelman continued to shape pop culture into the ’90s, directing the pilot for “Sex and the City.” Four decades later, Seidelman’s stories are still as sharp, funny, and insightful as ever.

Keep ReadingShow less