Mary Claire Amann was born in Wausau, Wisconsin. She works in the Catalog Department and has worked at MU for about 8 years (2 years at the University of Missouri–St. Louis). She has a B.A. in English in 1996 and is taking classes as time permits.

Mary has 2 cats. In her leisure time, she is trying to finish the stitching for her niece’s wedding present. Her hobbies and interests include planting/gardening, cooking, baking, some needlework, decluttering, reading.

She named 2, not just 1, coolest places she ever visited. The first was the beach at North Carolina and the other was a little cantina in Austin Texas which had the best food and wonderful atmosphere.

In a movie of her life, she said in regard to the actor/actress (living or dead) which she would like to be portrayed as: “I’ve been different sizes and appearances, so probably best left to CGI.”

Karla Lynn (Bobby) Kespohl Geerlings

We ask people for their full name and let them decide how to define “full;” well, for me, I guess it depends on the day, the occasion, and the individuals included.  I included the parenthetical Bobby because, although it began as a camp name, it followed me into college and beyond.  Most of my personal circle of friends call me Bobby in private, unless they met me originally through work or church.  My kids call me Mom.

I was born in Columbia, Missouri.  I’ve lived in several other places, but my family always returned to Columbia, which is my dad’s hometown, as well.  I attended 3 different elementary schools in Columbia ( and 3 in other cities/states) and Oakland Junior High, and graduated from David H. Hickman High School.  I attended MU for 6 years, under 3 different declared majors (computer science, music education, therapeutic education for special populations) and have found most of the skills and knowledge I gained to be useful in my work life, my private life, or both—though I can’t say that the proper tuba embouchure (mouth position and pressure on the mouthpiece) is something I’ve been called on to use lately,

I began working at MU Libraries in 1982, my first year in college, as a student assistant at HSL (before the current library facility was built). I went on to work at VET and here at Ellis, ending my student tenure in the Serials Retrospective Conversion Project.  In 1988 I began working full-time for MU Libraries, typing book cards on an IBM keypunch machine.  I have worked variously in Serials Cataloging, Book Repair, Bindery, Preservation and now head the Serials & Authorities Unit in the Catalog Department.

I live with my adorable postman husband Mike, 17-year-old son Sean (“leave me alone!”), 16-year-old daughter Krissy (“You don’t understand …”), and our silver tabby Ellie (“Meee-out!”).

In my leisure time I work with the local Girl Scout organization, my church (Wilkes Blvd. United Methodist) where I direct the coir and head the education team, and am involved with the Camp Hickory Hill camper/staff alumni organization (remember the camp name?)  I also love to play social games of all kinds—board games, card games, dice, trivia, whatever—and host a game night regularly for friends and friends-of-friends.

The coolest place I have ever been is the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China.  My husband, my mother and I travelled with a tour group to China in October of 2009 and we saw many, many wonderful things there and met some really great people.  What makes the Temple of Heaven special is that there are dozens of steps going straight up the hill to the actual temple, and I was using a wheelchair because I was recovering from abdominal hernia surgery.  The men in our tour group, determined that I should not be left out of the experience, placed my wheelchair in the car rails on the steps and hefted me all the way to the top!!!  It was a very special experience for me.

In a movie of my life, which will, of course, be coming out any year now, I’d like to be portrayed by Kathy Bates.

Matthew Thomas Miller was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He currently works in Serials Acquisitions, where he has worked for nearly 8 years.

Mat was born in St. Louis. He has a bachelor’s from MU in English. He has two five year old cats who are littermates: Molaise (male yellow tabby/stub-tailed manx) and Shalimar (a female black cat).

In his leisure times, he enjoys reading, listening and playing music (guitar and bass guitar). He is a sports fan and watches MU football and basketball, Cardinals, Blues, and even the Rams.

Asked what actor he would like to portray him, he said “Right now, Joaquin Phoenix could play me without having to shave, and as an added bonus my life would be believed to be a hoax.”

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Laura Christine (Ivy) Buck currently works in the Zalk Veterinary Medical Library. She has worked at MU Libraries  since September 1989 in various places, including circ at HSL, ILL in HSL, UMLD, and the Vet Library.

Laura was born in Boonville, Missouri. She went to school in Glasgow, Missouri and graduated from Central Methodist College in Feyette with a Bachelors in elementary education & a minor in psychology.

At the present, she has 2 very spoiled cats: Stitch, a 7 year old female calico and Reg (short for Regulus) a beautiful 2yr old male who loves to play fetch. She acquired Stitch when her son Aaron told a friend that was moving & couldn’t take the cat “Don’t take her to the Animal Shelter my Mom will take her.”  Laura came home on Thanksgiving & was greeted at the door by Stitch.  Reg was adopted from the Veterinary Ophthalmology Dept. after staring at his picture for about a month.  She just couldn’t stand the thought of someone not taking him.  It took awhile before Stitch accepted Reg, but they get along fine now.

In her leisure time, she loves to read, mostly fiction/fantasy & some sci-fi but will read other things if it catches her interest. She also enjoys watching cartoons anything from the classic Scooby Doo to Japanese anime.  Cooking and trying out new recipes is also something she likes to do, but she limits it to the weekends when there’s more time.  She also likes listening to the music on her iPod when cleaning house, rearranging the furniture or taking a walk around Glasgow.

Her hobbies include embroidery and sewing, although there’s little time to work on sewing projects.  She speculates that maybe after she retires she’ll make that quilt that she’s always wanted to make.

The coolest place she’s ever visited was sitting in a Blackhawk helicopter while visiting Fort Bragg was cool.  She even got to put on the helmet but, her brother-in-law at the time kept reminding her not to push any buttons!

When asked about what actress she’d like to portray her in a move of her life, she responded: “I would make it an animated film by Hayao Miyazaki.    If not animated I would have Dakota Fanning as the younger me & Sally Field or Jamie Lee Curtis as the older me.”

Other facts include that she grew up in Howard County on a farm close to what is now the Boonslick state park.  Of course, back then she said it was just a smelly salt lick & a place to ride bikes to.  She has 1 older brother & 3 younger brothers and 1 younger sister.  She said “you could say I’m the runt of the litter because everyone else in my family is tall.  There was never a dull moment growing up or a quiet one.”  She also had a penchant for taking things apart when she was younger just to see how they worked, which sometimes got her in trouble.

After graduating college, she taught Learning Disabilities and EMR for 2 years.  She also substituted in the local schools, taught preschool, worked as a clerk in a drug store, and held a few temp secretarial positions.   She has 2 children:  Aaron, an embryologist, currently lives & works in St. Charles, MO and Lydia is a freshman at Truman State University.