About Nancy
Prior to my retirement
from Bloomsburg University in August, 2009, I established this website to replace the internet presence my University's website had provided me. This personal site actually has given me some options beyond that afforded me by the University's. It has given me a venue to independently share a greater range of information about my scholarly interests: the sculptures of three American women artists: Baska Paeff, Anna Hyatt Huntington and Nancy Cox-McCormack; the writings of two of my favorite authors: Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings; and a profile of and tribute to my great-great aunt, Ethel Fairmont Snyder Beebe, an author of children's literature, a playwright, an activist in the humane movement and a strong woman who, twenty-five years after her death, connected me to most of the creative women who have defined my scholarly life. It also gave me the ability to post a newsletter addressing a range of topics associated with all my scholarly interests. Most significantly, however, it has given me the ability to provide easy access to supplements updating my published bibliographic work on secondary, English language sources on the life and writings of Elizabeth Gaskell. Specifically, I have used this website to post a compehensive bibliography of sources on Gaskell published during the decade 2002-2011, updating it roughly every six months. Most recently, I have begun posting a second bibliographic listing - a bibliography of secondary sources published on Gaskell in 2012, a subset which will continue forward for the next decade.
People who have discovered
my site since it was first posted in 2007 have contacted me for clarification and details about the people upon whom I focus. We have been able to share information and ideas in what is a growing online community of scholars and enthusiasts. In short, the site has met both my needs and those of others interested in some of the same topics, issues and people as I. Additionally, by including links to sites that support my spheres of interest, my personal website also serves as a portal to information and information sources others might find interesting or useful (a worthy goal for a librarian). Lastly, because this website is mine and not just an extension of my University, for fun I have been able to post a small selection of photographs of people, places, events and animals of importance to me.
LIBRARIES
My entire working career has been associated with libraries. I had the good fortune to be born into an academic family and was early introduced to the wonderful world of books organized as libraries. I also had the good fortune to be mentored by librarians at those libraries and at libraries at which I subsequently worked, most notably Frances Duck (Stevens Institute of Technology), Louise Ruble (Wayne State University), F. Clifford McElroy (Boston College) and Patricia Rom (Bucknell University). I had the exceptional privilege to earn my M.S.L.S. at Wayne State University during the tenure of Dr. Patricia Knapp, an early proponent of course-related library instruction and strong advocate of close collaboration between librarian and classroom faculty. With the support of these exceptional individuals, I have followed a fulfilling professional path as a reference librarian. Accessible through this page are my CV and links to some of my most frequently-accessessed library websites.
IF YOU HAVE SUGGESTIONS
or questions to make this site useful to others researching the authors and artists profiled, do not hesitate to contact me.
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PHOTOS
Washstand Set Donated to Plymouth Grove Plymouth
from Nancy Weyant's Family
Grove Parlor
Frances Duck Library (Stevens Institute of Technology)
Charlotte Bronte's Description of Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell's Garden