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~.h186 0018 ACTION.FOR LIBRARIES
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BCR NETWORK NEWS
Bibliographical Center for Research. 'V~lume XXIII,No3,March 1997 . •. ISSN: 0363·0250
. .
Denver Botanic Gardens library
Houses Unique, Popular Collection
BySharo'l Ho/lhines .
. Volunteer Librarian Helen K·. Fm"ler prepared the
'ground in 1947 forthefounding of a -library for the
Colorado Forestry and Horticulture Association
(CFHA). Not only did she do volunteer duty, but sh.
donated the. core of her own large botanical and horti·
cultural collection: 'I'he association'sboard recognized
her generosity by naming the library in her honor and
designating her honorary librarian.
Today the Helen K. Fowler Lib:ary has blossomed
into a 25,OOO.volume collection - allin open stacks ~
· at the Denver Botanic Gardens, which later merged
with CFHA. In addition, the library subscri!:>.es to'
about 500 journals, haS a .rare book room (temperature
controlled) of approximately 1,000 vQlumes, a chilo
dren:ssection highly popular with area teathers, refer·
· ~nce works housed 'separately, a fully cataloged file ()f
5,000 pamphlets and more than 800 current seed' cata·
logs from retail.nd wholesale nurseries. Its .sOO·video
colle~tion is the most popular of the library's holdings.
TheHelen K.' Fowler Library c~rrently has a paid staff ..
ofthree:SenioiLibrarianSuSanC. Eubank, Associate'
'. Librarian Gayle E. Bradbeer (both full·time staff) ~d
" Gene StortZ, with whom the library contracts on a '
part.timebasis to do specific projects when needed.
The Fowler Library also depends on 53 volunteers - .
28 help o';t in the library itself, while the remaining
25 tak~ on the responsibility for the Botanic Gardens
· annual May';sed book s~e ...
"6u~ primary interests are botany a'nd h~rticult¥re,'~
~xp\;iinedEubank, who has beenat the Fowler
Library a little more than three years. The library,
which focuses on the Rocky Mountain region, has
, compiled a comprehensive collection.about this reo ,
gion's plandife, as wellas materials about geographic
areas with "similar climate, including Iran, Iraq and
,Afghanistan. "We probably ha~e the widest ranging
botarty collection in the RockyMountain area." . '
.Because its primary users are Denver Botanic Gaidens'
members, the 'only ones allowed to checkout materi'
· als, the library'S primary focus in horticulture is;'
· hobby gardening, as opposed to agriculture or schol· .
'arli research. Still, the HelenK. Fowler Library has a
number of art-ists, ~andscape ax:chitects, nursery work­ers
and scholars whouseits materialsin·house.
· Conti~ued o~ pags 2
,Oenve~-BDtilllic Ga~dens libnlry, " . , In Reference •.. 5
Passport for DOS Retiring" " 2 Kansas Ubrary Tri·ConferencB . 6
OClC and Fixed Fee Pricing 3 TRAOEMARKSCAN Seminars 6
OClC Update 3 BCR CD·ROM Discounts 6
BCR Now GAC"Referral Agent .5 Workshop Calendar 7
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