With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, I am more mindful than usual of the many gifts in my life for which I feel extremely fortunate. In my first blog post I related how I became a school librarian—a career choice I fell into but one which has instilled my life with purpose and meaning.
My career took many unexpected turns, and today I want to express my thanks to the people in my life who have helped me along my journey. First and foremost, I am thankful for the friendship and partnership I shared with Ruth Toor. We met at a post-Masters course at Rutgers University in what is now the School of Communication and Information. For the final project, we both wrote a volunteer manual which morphed into our first book, The Elementary School Librarian’s Almanac published in 1979.
Jay and Ruth Toor
The huge success of the book prompted our publisher, the Center for Applied Research in Education—a division of Prentice Hall—to ask us to create School Librarian’s Workshop. The first issue appeared September 1980. When Prentice Hall decided to sell it off, Jay Toor, Ruth’s husband bought it and subsequently published nine of our next books. In 2011, Ruth who was showing the effects of Alzheimer’s realized it was time to retire, and Jay gave me the publication, turning me into a business owner. I am so thankful to him for the gift as I love working on School Librarian’s Workshop and it would have been a huge emotional loss to me if we ceased publication.
As a new business owner, I turned the publication into an e-newsletter, but more importantly recognized I couldn’t do it alone. My daughter, Rona Gofstein, became my Operations Manager, handling the business end including this website and being my fantastic editor. I am so thankful she took this on in addition to all she is doing in her life including her own published writing and homeschooling her sons.
My son, Jeffrey Weisburg, also offered his talent and expertise and he is now my Sales and Customer Service Manager—in addition to being a college professor at two institutions and his amazing support of his sons. Again, I am thankful he made Weisburg Associates, LLC a truly family business.
Lastly, but in a real sense foremost, I am so thankful for Marvin, my husband of fifty-one years. Through every twist and turn of our lives he has been there, always encouraging me, believing I could do whatever I took on. I would not have been the person I am today without him.
I am thankful for many other friends and family who enrich my life, but I wanted to pay a special tribute to Ruth and Jay Toor, Rona and Jeff, and, of course, Marv. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you.
I wish all of you a very happy Thanksgiving Day and hope it is filled with family and friends. May you have the chance to thank those who have made a difference in your life.