Marsha Quarles Interview

Marsha Quarles Interview

PGCMLS Oral History

Interview with Marsha Quarles about her experience in the library system working in youth services and public relations.

PGCMLS

Special Collection Staff

Nov 22, 2023

.Mp3

English

Digital audio

200001

.wav

38.18 min

Project:  PGCMLS Oral History Project
Chapter: Marsha Quarles Interview
Date: Nov 22, 2023
Participants: 
Interviewer: Hannah Erickson, Paul Moreno. 
Interviewee: Marsha Quarles  

• 0:02 Hannah: Today is Nov 22, 2023 at the Hyattsville Branch Library of the Prince George’s County Memorial Library. My name is Hannah Erickson, Librarian II and I’m here with Paul Moreno, Librarian I and Marsha Quarles, Public Service Specialist I. We are recording an interview with Marsha as part of the PGCMLS Oral History Project.
• 0:30 Paul: OK, so hey Marsha, can you pull in to introduce yourself?
• 0:36 Marsha: Sure. My name is Marsha Quarles, and I am the Public Service Specialist I at the Surratts-Clinton Library.
• 0:46 Hannah: So tell us, how did you come to work at PGCMLS?
• 0:50 Marsha: This is kind of a funny story, because I am, I was a daddy's girl, I was in college at the time, and my father bought me a car, paid for school, and gave me $20 a day back in the 80s, which is like a lot of money. But my mom was like, no, she needs to get a job. So I just went over to Glenarden Library and filled out an application, and within a week, I was hired. I just smiled my way through the interview. And we were called back then, I was a Circulation Assistant. I literally worked 20 hours while I was still going to school at Bowie State University, and I was 19 years old.
• 1:32 Hannah: So you were a baby.
• 1:34 Marsha: I was a baby.
• 1:36 Hannah: So, Glenarden was your first library.
• 1:38 Marsha: Glenarden was my first library, and I just saw the first branch manager at the Largo Kettering 30th anniversary, Jacky, Jacqueline Woody and we were just laughing and talking about how, you know, she was our, she was the first branch manager at Glenarden and at the storefront in Largo, but she was my first boss.
• 2:01 Paul: OK, good. So tell us about your early experience working at the library system. So for example, what positions or positions have you held during your job experience?
• 2:12 Marsha: I have probably worked in every position except for maintenance, but I did maintenance too, a lot of times in the branches. But once I graduated college, I applied for a position at the Hillcrest Heights Library. And there was another interview. I smiled my way through, laughed and giggled my way through, but I got the job. But the job was Hillcrest Heights/Spauldings. So I was at Hillcrest Heights for two years waiting for the Spauldings Library to open. And at that time, Hillcrest Heights was circulating like 10,000 books. There was, like, a billion kids in there every day afternoon. There were six librarians there. There was a huge circulation staff. It was a very vibrant and very active branch. And so I stayed there for two years. And when the Spauldings Library opened, I transferred over to the Spauldings branch, and I worked there for eight years. I basically opened every S branch in the system.
• 3:18 Hannah: Every branch beginning with S?
• 3:19 Marsha: Every branch beginning with S, including South Bowie, Surratts, and Spauldings. So I've been at each of the new branches. I also worked at Upper Marlboro branch when the Oxon Hill Library was closed. The Oxon Hill Library was very interesting because back then you didn't have a choice. They call you up and they tell you they're going to move you to a branch. So I went kicking and screaming over to Oxon Hill because I loved Spauldings so much. And they wanted me to have a bigger branch experience. So they put me in the Children's department at the Oxon Hill branch. I loved it so much I stayed there for 13 years. But then they had a renovation for way longer than most of these branches are now, and they’re building now. And I ended up over at the Upper Marlboro branch waiting for Oxon Hill to reopen. So I went back to Oxon Hill, and Oxon Hill had changed a little bit. The community changed. But I kept getting, kept having, was it Public Services wanting me to come up there with them, to come to Marketing with them, come to Public Relations. So I finally relented. Again, I laughed and giggled my way through an interview. I got the job. And so I worked in Public Services at the old Hyattsville branch for seven years. So I've had Administrative, you know, worked in Administrative Offices. And I left there and then I went to South Bowie and I stayed there for 10 years. Left South Bowie and now I'm at Surratts. And I'll be there until I retire, which will be soon, by the way. So yeah, I've worked at quite a few branches. 
• 04:57 Paul:Yeah, 
• 04:58 Marsha: Quite a few of them.
• 5:01 Paul: So, most of the West and the Central and South, have you worked in the North?
• 5:05 Marsha: Yes. I have not worked in the North. I have not worked on the West. Well, I have on the West side, but I have not worked on the North side of the county. I kept thinking about going to Laurel, but then I kept thinking about the distance. I said, okay, I think I'll stay on this side. But yeah, I've only worked in the South, the Central, the East and the West, but not the Northern branches.
• 5:26 Hannah: So, correct me if I'm wrong, but you started out as a general - in circulation and then-
• 5:33 Marsha: Yeah, yes, exactly.

Hannah: Generalist. Information, you went to youth service children's services at Oxon Hill.

Marsha: And actually I was hired as a teen librarian. I was hired for Hillcrest Heights as a Teen Services Librarian. So I've literally worked in Circulation as a Teen Librarian, as a Children's Librarian, as the Public Services Specialist, as a Public, what was I, as a Public-

• 5:59 Paul: Public Services specialist.
• 6:00 Marsha: I forget, I'm trying to remember what I was, what I was, AO. I forget the position now. Public services, what did I do? I did Program, Program Specialist. I was a Program Specialist for seven years in AO. So what I did with that is I developed programs for the library system, outside of the system. And I assisted with developing programs within the system. At that time, it was only three people in the department. And I did all of the graphics, all of the print, all of the programming, all the outreach. I did it all, yes. And I did work 24/7. I was a workaholic with my phone, two phones and computers over here and just nonstop work. But I gained so many skill sets from working in AO for seven years.
• 6:53 Paul: And what is the position that you most enjoy?
• 6:57 Marsha: Children's services is my heart. That's why I'm back at Surratts because working as a generalist is great because you do get to work in all the areas. You work for everyone. Being in the children's department, like at Oxon Hill, I was there for 13 years. You really do hone your skills and you do work with children. And it's a little different from working in a generalist branch when you're in a department. I remember working at Oxon Hill and I would peep into on the adult side and lilke, cringe because I didn't want to work with big people and run back to the children's side because it was safe because I love working better with children. I can work with any group, but my heart is with the babies. I really like the children's.
• 7:39 Hannah: I think my first memory of you, maybe not the first time I met you, but my first vivid memory of you was when I was a new Library Lssociate. And I think I was sent to Oxon Hill to observe a story time of yours. So I remember very vividy because it was a very, very energetic, joyful story time.
• 7:56 Marsha: We used to have a lot of fun. Oxon Hill had a really tiny program room. And this is a true story. I used to cram because back in those days, we didn't know. We put the daycare providers out of the room, parents out of the room, and we just wanted the kids. So we would have these kids and I would  have like 100 kids crammed because they were so tiny. And I would have them sit 10 in a row. And I would have, I'm not exaggerating, I would have 100 kids in that little thing. You have to see the room. If you look at the room now, you would never think that 100 kids could fit in there. But they were like very miniature people. 
• 08:37 Hannah:I remember that room
• 08:38 Marsha: So I would do three story times back to back to back because there were so many kids coming in. One day, Evelyn Tchiyuka came in and she's like, wait a minute, there's 100 kids in here. You can't have 100 kids in the room. So there was so many people coming because we weren't competing with as many, with television and all the other things that we have now. People were really interested in libraries and they really used us. And there was 100 kids every week in that little tiny space. And finally I had to stop doing that because of fire regulations and do three story times back to back. Because I didn't want to turn anybody away. I figured if these parents are making an effort to bring their children, I wanted to make sure that they got the stories or got the performance that they came for.
• 9:24 Hannah: I can't believe you fit 100 kids in that room, it's like a clown car.
• 9:28 Marsha: And the room is tiny. I look at this room now, and I was like, how did I do that? But I did do it. I just scooted them up. And as long as you're organized and we had control and it was fun. I love working with the children. So those are some great memories by then. But yeah, that was funny. I didget caught.
• 9:51 Paul: Yes, the energy of the kids is contagious. So when you start and they are singing and pay attention, I change my mood when I did story times because it's me and my audience. So I try to be another person. I try to, it's like a performance, something like that.
• 10:12 Marsha: It is.
• 10:12 Paul: The kids are expecting that, enjoy the lecture. It's not an academic setting. It's just for fun.
• 10:22 Marsha: I am 100%, those who know me know that I am literally, every time I get tested, I'm 100% extrovert. So I feed off of the audience. And so children just give me so much energy that when I'm with them, I just, I feed off of their energy. So they give me the energy to move and to perform no matter how I'm feeling that day. They just bring so much joy. And I just wanna make sure that I give them a great, you know, experience. I just feel like the experience that the children get at that very young age is gonna be impactful of their library experience for the rest of their lives. And I can attest to that because I've had quite a few people come back. And very recently there was a young lady who came back who had been in my story time with her baby. And that's when you know that what you are doing makes a difference when they are bringing their, because you kind of lose them sometimes when that teen years and that those immersion adult years, you kind of lose them a little bit. But those who have been coming, like they will stay bring those mothers, bring those babies. They eventually, when they have families, they're gonna bring their children back if they have positive experiences in the libraries. And I've always, always believed that you have to give these children, especially the youngest one, the best experience that you can because you are literally building lifelong library lovers and lifelong learners. And that's just not like a slogan. It's a real thing because I get that a lot. It makes me feel old when they come back and I see these 30 year olds with babies. But it still makes me, gives me a lot of joy to know that, okay, I did touch one person. At least I got to somebody.
• 12:09 Paul: Yeah, and that makes you part of the community. People go to the library and say that, hey, I have a memory about a great time that I spent in the library with the librarian. I know her. And when the children come to the library, hi, how are you?
• 12:25 Marsha: You have no idea how many times in the community I'm out at the store or somewhere. And South Bowie, South Bowie has a lot of nannies and or the kids come with, more nannies and their grandparents and things like that. And sometimes the parents have not, the parents hear about the storytimes, but they're not there because they're working. And I have been out when I've seen little kids like stop and stare and I'm like, hi. And they run over and give me big hugs and the parents are looking like, why are you, they're like, that's stranger danger. Where do you know this lady from? And I have to go, I'm Miss Marsha. And they go, oh, so *you're* Miss Marsha. So yeah, that's when you know that you're doing something right when the community, especially when you see them outside and they recognize you, you come like a local celebrity. Yeah, yeah, we're rock stars. We're local celebrities.
• 13:18 Hannah: I've seen kids like wait after story time and like refuse to leave until they can like stop and say, I think one person, one child was like, I need to say goodbye to the teacher. I don't think she knew your name, but she-
• 13:32 Marsha: They do. If you give them your attention, if you're reading to them and you make them have fun, that's what they're gonna remember the most. They're so simple and easy to please. And that's what I do. I just try to bring joy and a lot of fun and not just in storytime, but I acknowledge them when they come into the room. I talk to them while they're looking for books. I have conversations with them and I engage with them. So it's not always just storytime. I just try to make their library experience memorable.
• 14:06 Hannah: So, moving on to another question. Can you tell us what it means for you to work in a public library at PGCMLS? 
• 14:16 Marsha: PGCMLS has been really good to me, You know, there's been some years where things have been, where there's been a lot of changes, but overall, cause I've been here 40 years, I can claim, I have to claim 38, but I've literally been here 40 years. And it's like a family. Like everybody says, oh, I'm don’t want be here in like five years, cause I said that. I'm not gonna be here in five years. I'm gonna do something else. But then you never do because your job changes every day. I've had so many people try to bring me to the school system cause they think I, you know, you should be a teacher. It's like, no, cause you're a teacher, you see the same kids every day the whole year. In the library system, you're always meeting new people every single day. And so you're constantly learning something new and you are experiencing something new every single day. This is why I love libraries ‘cause you come to work and you don't know what's going to happen. And some of them are great. Most of the time they're great. You remember some of the few things that happened, bad things that happened throughout the day. ‘Cause we do have, you know, we're a public library and everything that happens outside the library will happen inside the library. But 99% of the time I'm enjoying my day in the library and I am having new experiences. It's not as routine as people probably think that it is. All the people used to ask me, is this just a volunteer job? It's like, no. This is not volunteer work. I get paid for my skills, you know, what I do. And you meet so many different people every single day. That's one of the things where I love working in libraries. And then it's the staff. You know, we are basically a family. I can go into any one of these 19 or 20 branches and see somebody I know, see somebody that I've worked with. And you just feel like a family So it's, like, great seeing you guys today cause I haven't seen Hannah in a while. And it's like, you just catch up and you, you know, you've built, I've been around so long that I've built relationships with a lot of people. And so it's like a family to me. That's why I love working in the libraries. Plus access to books, of course, but.
• 16:24 Paul: Yeah, based on that. So, I mean, you personally, what makes the PGC MLS libraries different from other libraries?
• 16:32 Marsha: It makes it different because people have, I don't know what other, outside the county, what perspective people have about Prince George's County. But the one thing about this county is that we have an amazing library system. We offer so many resources, so many programs I'll look at somebody else's, you know, program in another county. Like, oh, we did that. Oh yeah, we've done that. Oh yeah, we've done that before. Oh, that's old. Because we've done it before. We may not have shouted at the rooftop and people may not know that we've done it, but we've done it. I think we don't market yourself enough. I think we need to make sure that we're out there and we've seen and heard more. I don't know how that can be done, but our libraries are absolutely stunning. Even everything, I love every single library pretty much in this county. If you go to any one of these libraries, you're gonna get a different feeling because the communities are so different. And all these branches are tailored for the communities. And I really like that. That's one of the, we're like the best kept secret. Because there's still people who do not know about us. I don't know why, but there's still people out here to go, oh, that's right. I rode by the library and I forgot it was there. It's like, no, you can't forget that we're there because we're a library, you know, all walls. We have so many resources and programming to offer you. We just have to let the public know that we're here. So I love working in libraries.
• 18:05 Hannah: If someone, um, was interested in working as a librarian, or in another career path, in a public library, what would you say to encourage them to start that career? 
• 18:18 Marsha: I would definitely tell them, I would warn them that libraries are not what you think that they are, but the libraries are very busy. It's a very busy occupation. We're not just sitting around reading books. And I would tell them all of the great things that they will experience. You know, the programming, the people, the family atmosphere, our library system is so dynamic that I would definitely let them know what to expect. And I would tell them about my experiences and tell them how much fun I've had in this system for the last 40 years, because I have been around a really long time and I make the fun. I don't come to work. I come to work knowing that I'm gonna have a great day. I don't come to work, oh, why do I have to come in here today? I come to work with an attitude that I'm gonna have a great day. I'm gonna meet new people. And so I will let them know, but I will let them know that it is a lot of work. It is not an easy job. Especially if you don't wanna be around a lot of people, you have to really be a people person, like want to help people and want to be around people. And you have to do some reading, you have to immerse yourself in a collection. There's so many different… I would just tell them how much I love it. I would tell them about my experiences, but I would definitely tell them that it is not a quiet place to work with some people that have said to me, I wanna retire and work in a library. And I'm like, no, you don't wanna retire and work in a library, because you're gonna be on your feet all day, you're gonna have to roam, you're gonna have to do this, you're gonna have to do that you're gonna have to do that. It's not like a simple job, like some people may think that it is.
• 20:03 Paul: Yeah, because the public face is, you are behind a desk, you have a computer. Some people think that the libraries are boring. So all their librarians are boring people because they are behind a desk and just working in a computer. But it's a lot of things around being public services.
• 20:24 Marsha:There's so many skill sets, so many skill sets.
• 20:27 Paul: It's different working in an office, in the office libraries or in programming, but public services is another thing. I say to the people that, yeah, you can spend just a few hours at the  desk, but it's a lot of work behind a new program, about to learn about our collections, about to spend a good time in the community.
• 20:52 Marsha: That is so true. And I don't think people realize,they don't know what we do behind the scenes. They see us, like you said, Paul, at the desk, and they see us at a program, but they have no idea what goes into planning that program. And all of those are skill sets that you have to learn once you become a librarian or whatever position you're gonna be in the system, because every position has its value and its worth, and is, you know, a job. So I would definitely tell them, first and foremost, we are not, this is, libraries are no longer the shush-shush quiet place that you think that it is. This is a, we're vibrant libraries. We are libraries without walls. We are here for the community. Our libraries are built for the community. Our children's rooms are built to explore, and they're noisy. And so, and you're gonna, if you wanna be a part of this kind of service, then fine, but just know that it's not, you're not gonna be sittin' around all day.
• 21:56 Hannah:It's not a zero-stress job.
• 21:57 Marsha: It is not. 
• 21:58 Hannah: There's no such thing as a zero-stress job.
• 22:01 Marsha: It is not, it is definitely not a zero-stress job.Definitely not.
• 22:07 Paul: Now, the reality is, if you like to work with the community, this is a great place to work/ If you are a part of the community, if you don't want to spend time with the people, probably this is not.
• 22:20 Marsha: Not the job for you. Because outreach is so important, and getting our messages out, and telling people about the library system, and being out in the community is the best way to show where we are, what we do, and what we have. And if you're not willing to go out and be amongst the people even on the floor with roving and being out there and talking to people and being part of this community that comes into your branches, because we see, what, way over a million people a year in our branches, we are very, very a part of the community. But you have to want to be, you have to be able to want to be amongst the people, I guess, and work in this kind of environment. But it's fun. I would tell them all about the fun stuff, too. So, just depends.
• 23:13 Paul: Okay, what is the most challenging task as a public librarian?
• 23:19 Marsha: I think the most challenging would be working with some of the customers that come in. Because like I said before, there are, we, whatever happens inside, outside, in the community, can happen in a library. Because we are a public library and we're open for everyone. And then just learning how to put out little fires and learning how to deal with some of the customers that come in to the branch. And that, for me, would be the challenging one. And we were constantly getting training for it. And you learn by trial and error sometimes. But that would be the only challenging thing is to deal with some customers who can be disruptive.
• 24:02 Paul: Yeah, is understand the needs of the community. Because probably, from your comfort zone, behind the desks, everything is good. But outside your desk is a community that needs your support. And when you are not part of the community and you don't start to understand what is happening around that, it's very challenging to be in the public services.
• 24:26 Marsha: Yeah, anything that happens out there can happen to all our libraries. I like to tell the parents all the time, they go, I'm just gonna leave my child here and I'll be right back. I'm like, okay, if you leave a child here, just know that anything can happen in the library. So you have to be aware of your surroundings here. And you just can't leave your child. You have to know that whatever happens out there can happen in here. And so I will tell parents that in a minute. So, that would be the most challenging thing is just difficult customers.
• 24:54 Paul: Yeah, and we work hard to have a safe place for everyone. Not just for a part of the community, this  is for adults, for children, for anyone with a special needs. This is a place for everyone.
• 25:10 Marsha: We are, we're probably the one place that can handle every economic level. We see from the very kids who have not to the very people who have. And it's evident all around the county in different areas of the have nots and the haves. But we see them all. We see every single one of them in every economic group. And we do, I think we do a fantastic job in bridging everybody together and working with everyone in the community. But there are still elements of the community that come in and you have to learn how to deal with them. So that would be, it would probably be the most, I could say the most difficult. I don't think, because I've learned how to do my job. So I know how to program. I know how to, you know, to, you know, reader advisory. Like I know reference. I knew all, I know how to do all of those things. And I always have my colleagues and my coworkers around with me as backup if I need assistance.But there are other things that happen in the library that, you know, that sometimes it's unexpected. And so you just have to learn how to deal with them. And it's a public space.
• 26:22 Hannah:And it's a public space. 
• 26:24 Marsha: And it's a public space. Exactly.
• 26:28 Hannah: Can you tell us about a special memory or an anecdote? Plural if you have more than one?
• 26:36 Marsha: Okay, I have a lot, but I'll tell you one. I'll tell you, I'll tell you if I remember one. I remember when it pops up. So I get this call one day and I'm at the Spauldings Library and I'm told, so somebody's coming to this library and we want you to do storytime for them. Like, okay. I said, sure, I can do storytime. Well, the person is Barbara Bush. And she was the vice president's wife at the time -she was the president's wife at the time. I'm like, Barbara Bush? Like, you want me to do storytime for Barbara Bush? And they're like, well, yeah. Can you do storytime for Barbara Bush? I'm like, oh my gosh. Okay, okay, okay, okay. So we handpicked this little group because we had to handpick a really good, a group that was coming to the library who we knew, the babies were gonna be on their best behavior. And so we had this group come in and we did this story time and Barbara Bush came to the storytime. And she was very engaged and she was very excited because she loved children and she loved books and things like that. But then I stood up and I said, okay, everybody, we're gonna do Hi, My Name is Bill. And Hi, My Name is Bill is this activity where you're moving all your body parts. And Barbara Bush is doing all the body parts until I get to, now move your backside. And that's when she threw up her hands and she just cracked up laughing. And I just kept going and then we finished it. And at the end, she gave me a great big hug. So that is one of, that's just one of many memories that I have. There are times when I've done storytime back to back  then we had these big shoulder pads that we used to wear, you know, because we had to dress up. We didn't wear jeans, couldn't wear jeans, couldn't wear t-shirts. We had to wear, you know, shoes and like hard shoes and heels and dresses and things like that. So I had these, had these, these shoulder pads. So I would just be wiggling along and doing my thing and the shoulder pads would just fall out. I've lost a slip during story time, back when we used to wear a slip. And I would just do my storytime. All of a sudden my slip will fall and I have to pick it up and just keep going and all the kids would laugh. So I've had some very interesting, some interesting experiences. I used to, you know, kids, you know, talking the whole time through story time. And one little boy was, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me. Like I remember his voice to this day. And it was just, I just stopped doing storytime and just started cracking up because his little voice was just so, it was so cute and he just wouldn't stop. But there's, I have so many different experiences, but the Barbara Bush one does kind of stick out the most because that was, I was surprised that I had to do it. And I did it and I was really surprised at how engaging that she actually was. So that was fun.
• 29:26 Paul: Yeah, that's a good thing when you have very good experience and you have to work in the program a long time. Because based on that, you know, what kind of books are good with that community. You know what books you are most enjoy because I think that is, it's a feeling that is, you with the book and the people can touch that.
• 29:49 Marsha: Yeah, that was fun.
• 29:54 Paul: If you don't enjoy the book, it's gonna be a bad experience. But if you enjoy the book, people can touch that and experience it.
• 29:57 Marsha: I'm gonna give you one more. So back then Terry McMillan was really, really big, she first came to the Spauldings library and there was like a small group of people there. Like it wasn't a whole lot because she wasn't huge until Waiting to Exhale came out. So then Waiting to Exhale came out and she came back and we were at Oxon Hill at this time. I was at the Oxon Hill Library at this time. There were 800 people there at this branch.
• 30:22 Hannah: Oh my gosh
• 30:21 Marsha: And so we had to figure out how we were gonna do this because legally, it was only like 240 people could fit in that room. But somehow we managed to get enough people in the room, I'm not gonna tell you the number, but enough people in the room and then we had to set out speakers outside for the other people outside. And so then Terry McMillan came and did her thing. And so I played a part in that because I was like her bodyguard. I was like, make sure that she had her water and make sure she had her stuff, make sure that she was comfortable. We used to have a lot of big time authors that come to Prince George's County all the time. But at that time, she was like the biggest. And then she actually came back the third time and she went over to a school right here, right next to Hyattsville. What's the school up the street from here?

• 31:19 Hannah: Northwestern 
• 31:20 Marsha: She was at Northwestern. And the theater there was packed for the third time with Terry McMillan because we knew we were gonna need a bigger space, bigger than Oxon Hill. So we went over to that school, High Point, and Northwestern and went to there and there was well over 1,500 people came to that. 
• 31:41 Hannah: Oh wow. That’s like a concert. 
• 31:42 Marsha: So yeah, so those are, it was, these authors were coming like crazy and they were packed. Yeah, so those were fun days.

• 31:56 Paul: Well, this is hard, but can you in a word or a short sentence describe the PGCMLS libraries?
• 32:08 Marsha: Maybe I gotta think of one word because I talk a lot. So I think of one word.
• 32:14 Paul: Yeah, a sentence.
• 32:16 Marsha: I think we're unexpected. And I say this because, people, I hear it all the time when people come into the library like, wow, I didn't know libraries were like this. Wow, this building is beautiful, wow. And I think when you go around the county and you just see our branches, I think people who don't come regularly are very surprised at what we have and what we have to offer. And like you just, I mean, I said, we're family too. That's another word I could say of the staff. I think we're more of a family branch. A lot of us know each other. A lot of us know each other at different branches. You know, we're in each other's business. We do work as a team and if I need something from someone here, someone can give it to me. That's why I'm still here because we're like family.
• 33:09 Paul:  Good, nice words
• 33:14 Hannah: Can you tell us about a special program, an activity or an event that you consider especially important in your career?
• 33:22 Marsha: I can. I'm sitting here thinking. There was another event. It was a Fortune's Bones*. And this was an event that was put together by the University of Maryland and the Clarisse Center. And this is when I was a Program Specialist at Hyattsville at the time. And what they did with Fortune's Bones, Fortune was this slave who, in Massachusetts, if I'm correct, like you don't even think about having slaves in the North, but he was a Northern slave. And when he died, his owner kept his bones and used his bones for study because his owner was a doctor. But what the University of Maryland did with this program, with this book, and it's also a requiem, it's a book, Fortune's Bones, that's how you learn about him. But they took the book and took the theme and they brought together everybody in the community to celebrate Fortune because the goal was to get his bones, his bones were actually in a museum in Massachusetts still on display for years. And they wanted to, the goal was to get his bones out of that museum and get them buried. And so they did this huge community theme around Fortune's Bones. And so there was programs from the library system with authors and programs at the University of Maryland. I mean, there were so many different programs all around Prince George's County, all dealing with Fortune's Bones. And I was so happy to be a part of that program. I think we had the author come in at the Greenbelt Library. And yeah, we had, we actually brought, had, trying to think of the other book, Harr, what is her name? The woman with the cells, it'll come.
• 35:15 Hannah: Henrietta Lacks*
• 35:36 Marsha: yeah, we tied that book with it. And her children, her one surviving son, I think at the time, came and spoke about his mom and his experience with it. So it was so many themes associated with Fortune's Bones. And then it was just one of my, one of my greatest programs. So that's what comes to mind. 
• 35:39 Hannah: It does sound like an amazing program.

• 35:41 Paul: Is there anything that we didn't ask you about today that you want to share or some relevant experience we didn’t get to?
• 35:49 Marsha: I think I talked a whole lot.  I don't know if I haven't told anything. I just, you know, I just have to say that I have enjoyed my time here at the library. It has been, I've been, people have been trying to pull me away to do this and to do that. And I keep coming back. I'm like, no, I love, I love what I do so much. And mainly because of the staff and mainly because of the community. Because like I said earlier, it's unexpected. You just never know who you're going to encounter on any given day. I've run into neighbors. I've run into, you know, classmates. You know, you just, you just see people and meet people. And I am like a hundred percent extrovert. So I like to talk and like to engage with people. And the library system has afforded me that. So I've had a really great time working in the library system but I make sure that I have a great time, working every day in the system. So I think I've said a lot. So that might give you enough material.

• 36:49 Hannah: Thank you for all your stories.
• 36:50 Marsha: You're very welcome. You're very welcome.
• 36:56 Paul: And thank you for your time for sharing your experience with us and with the community because this is part of our history.
• 37:02 Marsha: Yeah. Yeah. I was, I was here back when half these branches weren't even done. I was here when the bookmobile was, was, was still out there. We didn't have Glenarden. We had Fairmount Heights, but we didn't have Surratts. We didn't have Largo. We didn't have, gosh, half. We didn't have half the libraries that we have now. So yeah, I was here.

• 37:24 Hannah:  And so much change over the past decade and a half.
• 37:28 Marsha: Yeah. There really has been so much changes. When I look around and they were getting, you know, a lot of Bladensburg is new and you've got this beautiful Hyattsville branch. And I was in here at the Hyattsville branch, you know, when it wasn't so new. So we have beautiful Laurel branch and South Bowie wasn't even built, you know, and I, so it's, I've been around for a long, long, long time and it's a lot of libraries that weren't even here. So yeah, it's been fun. 2025, I'm out.

• 38:01 Hannah: Yeah, we have you for a couple more years.
• 38:05 Marsha:  Yup, yup, yup, yup. That's my job now because to be somebody people's mentors at this point is to give back what I've learned. All right, guys, I hope you got enough material.

• 38:16 Hannah: I think we did. 

- Hannah Erickson
- Paul Moreno

Marsha Quarles

Hyattsville Library