"Kiki" McCanna: Steward of Sanborn

Charlotte "Kiki" McCanna cannot imagine why anyone would be interested in writing about her. She thinks of herself as an ordinary librarian who has done "nothing important." She feels her achievements are slight compared to the accomplishments of Dartmouth students many of whom, she points out, have gone on to become national and international leaders in a multitude of fields.

But McCanna's modesty though not in the least false belies the fact that in 20 years working at the College she has become a very special part of Dartmouth. She is the personification, for a couple decades' worth of students, of Sanborn Library and its comfortable, homelike atmosphere. Sanborn Library, which houses mostly English and American literature, occupies a major portion of Sanborn House, also headquarters for the Department of English. McCanna's desk is in a corner of the main, open area of the library. Her small frame is almost obscured behind a large lamp which underscores the impact she has had over her years at Sanborn. The shade of the lamp is covered with messages from former students there's a Valentine from Africa, postcards from England, Washington, San Francisco, notes from all over the wide, wide world. She receives birthday greetings, wedding announcements, and notices of births and adoptions from alumni keeping in touch.

Some of her far-flung correspondents worked for her as student assistants and some came regularly to study in Sanborn's cozy alcoves. McCanna took an interest in all of them. Therein is the key to her appeal she was a person who believed in them, in each one's specialness. To some, she was as important an element in their future success as was their coursework.

McCanna presides over the books and readers with what her supervisor and friend John Crane '69 calls "common sense." And interestingly enough, Sanborn House's eponym-Edwin David Sanborn, Class of 1832 and an English professor at the College -was described in a 1944 Alumni Magazine article as a man "possessed of a large measure of practical common sense."

But unlike Professor Sanborn, who was nicknamed "Bully" because of his "vigorous" style of teaching, "Kiki" speaks barely above a whisper while in the library. "They ask if I have a cold," she says good-naturedly. McCanna claims to be shy, but she exudes vivacity and openness as she talks of Dartmouth and her life here.

"I grew up under a Dartmouth banner," she says, speaking literally as well as figuratively. "There was a Dartmouth banner hanging over my crib. My father was a graduate of the class of 1903. He loved Dartmouth. He was in the Glee Club and I remember the singing of Dartmouth songs. He worked for the Dartmouth Christian Union [now the Tucker Foundation] for several years after graduation." She also recalls vacations spent in Hanover, in the early days before her father died. "It was a very quiet town then," she says.

McCanna was graduated from Mount Holyoke with a degree in English, got married, and over the ensuing years worked in several college libraries, including those of Brown University and Radcliffe College, and in the public library in Oklahoma City. Eventually moving to Vermont, she then spent 20 years at home before coming to work at Baker Library in 1966. She started at the circulation desk, succeeding Irene Donahue, who, McCanna says, taught her "pride in work well done" and a philosophy of public service.

The library was quite different then smaller and less busy and not even open on weekends. "The circulation desk was in the middle of the main corridor when I first came here," she remembers. "It was open -no machines, no computers. Almost anyone could get a library card. It was a smaller population then."

In 1970, McCanna moved to overseeing Sanborn Library. Only the third librarian since 1939 to hold the post, she succeeded Dorothy Strong, who had been in charge of Sanborn since 1956. McCanna brought a distinctive touch to Sanborn. Picking the right person to coordinate this uniquely personal library, which has no computers and only an old manual typewriter, is essential. Crane explains that each librarian has a different approach, and at Sanborn, "Kiki set the tone respect for individuals and this library as a special place."

McCanna herself, when asked how things are going in her domain, often answers, "Nothing's happening in Sanborn." But Crane counters that "it takes a lot to make nothing happen." He admires her positive attitude and her ability to negotiate difficult situations. "She has a natural ability to have things spiraling upward."

Crane has a special insight into McCanna, for he was one of her student assistants for three years before graduating in 1969. He credits her with teaching him some valuable lessons. "She taught me a lot about supervision at that time. The kinds of experiences I had under Kiki as an undergraduate had a bigger impact on me than some courses."

For her part, McCanna has boundless faith in the students. She speaks in nothing but superlatives of her student assistants, whom she grooms to take over the library on evenings and weekends. "The students are very special," she says. "They're the cream of the crop. I've been very lucky."

"She convinces them to be special," says Crane, "to be very good at what they do." In his opinion, the students who work with McCanna are not necessarily endowed with any special qualities, but McCanna stimulates them to be at their best. "She lets them be themselves," he says. "She has a spirit of helping other people, both inside work and out."

"It's the human element that makes my job most interesting," says McCanna. "It's a very rewarding job because of the friendships I've made over the years." During reunions and alumni weekends, she often receives visits from former habitues of Sanborn. "Vicariously, I've lived a lot of lives," she says. "If I had been a boy, I would have been here as a student."

McCanna's style fits right in with the mission of Sanborn. Her solicitous attitude, her interest and trust in students, and her quiet ways epitomize the original purpose of Sanborn House. It was built in 1929 to reestablish intimate contact between teachers and students, which had diminished since the mid-19th century because of the increasing enrollment in the College. With money donated by "Bully" Sanborn's son, Edwin Webster Sanborn, Class of 1878, the red brick Georgian structure at the southwest corner of Baker was constructed to house both the English department and the Sanborn Library. The younger Sanborn stipulated in his will that the library was to "serve as a homelike center for those especially interested in English literature." He also used the word "living room" in describing the kind of atmosphere he hoped his bequest would engender. Accordingly, Sanborn Library was furnished with elegant but comfortable Chippendale davenports, easy chairs, and tables. McCanna calls it "one of the showplaces on campus. Many of the dignitaries and alumni will come back and say, 'I sat over there.' "

In fact, some alumni have come back especially to hold rather special events in Sanborn. McCanna notes that last June, the library was the site an '81 chose for her wedding. "She had studied a lot here when she was a student," McCanna recalls. And several years ago, another couple renewed their wedding vows in Sanborn on Valentine's Day. "They had remembered the room as a special place," says the keeper of that special place.

Because Sanborn is one of the most popular places on campus to study, the library's furnishings had recently become somewhat shabby through heavy use. McCanna, in her low-key way, served as unofficial liaison between the Department of English and Baker Library, which jointly operate Sanbom Library, and successfully lobbied for some much-needed refurbishing which was recently completed.

Though initially only upperclass English majors were allowed in the library, in more recent years it has been open to everyone. Now, freshmen are among the most devoted of Sanborn-studiers. "It's a safe place, homelike," McCanna says. She recalls one student who gat in the same chair for four years, then "bequeathed" it to an incoming student upon her graduation.

Maintaining the friendly, easy atmosphere of Sanborn, to encourage that sense of belonging, is a high priority for Mc- Canna. One of its most enduring traditions, which she enjoys perpetuating, is serving afternoon tea. "It's not as fancy as it used to be," she says. "Once, tea was very formal, with silver and cards. It's Lipton tea bags and Fig Newtons now." But the heart of the tradition remains: Monday through Friday, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m., tea is served in an alcove of the library. It's one of the rare times when food and drink are allowed in one of the College's libraries. "We serve 50 to 60 at tea a day," McCanna notes. "You can feel the students start to get restless a little before four."

Every day, she makes a trip to the grocery store to stock up on the day's provisions. "I spend an hour to an hour and a half organizing tea every day. It's a nice tradition, a good tradition," she says, and one of the most enjoyable parts of her job.

Pondering her 20 years at the library, she smiles and says, "I'm a relic, I suppose. The students say they're going to put me under a catalog drawer and roll me out for reunions." Far from being offended by such affectionate ribbing, she has the attitude that "working with these students has kept me young. I can't be an old fuddy-duddy. I hear of their loves and disappointments, and I think I'm a surrogate mother to some of them. Graduation is always a sad time. But then there's always a new bunch. And the others come back."

Though she has started to think about retirement, she says, "I don't want to sever all my ties with Dartmouth." The enduring nature of McCanna's relationship with the College and with former students will certainly transcend that "sad time" too. "Nothing ever ends," she concludes. "It goes on and on."

The graciousness of Sanborn Library's decor is matched only by the graciousness of itslongtime steward,"Kiki" McCanna.A conserver of traditions in her the campus,she presides over afternoon tea and student assistans with warmthand care

Lee McDavid is the assistant editor of Vox of Dartmouth, the weekly campus neivsletter,and a free-lance writer for several area publica-tions.