The Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
At the time I was an undergraduate student at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
One of the librarians there was Sue Sugimura.
I remember my first meeting with her when I just got hired. We were going over the rules and consequences, a time when the senior staff members have to lay down the law and sound strict and stern.
But really, she was a very nice person once you get to know her. As long as you did you job with honor, you can easily get along with her.
We also had some common interests, as we were both fans of the UH sports teams. She mentioned about attending UH athletics fundraisers too! One time, I did ask about the then-mascot Vili the Warrior, a rowdy character who had some controversy over his crazy persona. One of the library volunteers just couldn't stand his public persona. I asked Sue "what do you think about 'Vili the Warrior?' " She said, "I understand why some people don't like his public image, but I've met him in person and he is a really nice guy." She then mentioned about meeting his family as well. This gave me a bigger respect for who was my favorite mascot!
[more on the mascot at https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/08/vili-warrior-retired.html]
I loved my time at LBPH not only because of the very friendly staff members, but I also loved my duties of organizing the library items (braille books, audiobooks, large-print books) on the shelves as well as the mailroom duties. It was one of my favorite jobs ever!
However, the LBPH was at the time legally exempt from the minimum wage. It was good for a beginner, but I obviously wanted more. In the summer of 2004, I was offered a Federal Work Study (FWS) position at the University of Hawaii which paid more. Much more. So I decided to say my sad goodbye to LBPH on August 2004.
Fast-forward to 2014. A lot of happened in between. I got my bachelor's (in sociology), then worked as a substitute teacher, then I went back to UH in 2013 to start my master's in Library & Information Science (LIS). Then came the summer of 2014.
For the summer of 2014, I was planning to take a Moving Images course basically to get the technology course requirement over with. However, that class got canceled only a few weeks before it was to start. The academic advisor went over the options, one of them being an independent research project on the topic of my choice (as long as it related to libraries, and as long as it wasn't something extensively covered in previous courses). I thought for a few hours and decided "since I did work at LBPH, I might as well do research on library services for the visually impaired". So that was my independent research project for the summer.
[check some of my papers I wrote for that independent research project at http://pwegesen.wixsite.com/pablowegesendlis/lis-699-projects]
Part of the research project included visiting LBPH and getting updates on how LBPH operates.
By then, Sue Sugimura was already promoted to the acting branch manager of LBPH. I would have to get her approval not only on any interviews and observations but also on what I write about those interviews and observations. It wasn't so much to censor opinions but to ensure that I didn't reveal private information and that all the facts were correct.
I definitely thanked her for giving me access to very valuable information for my independent research project.
Fast forward a few months. The Hawaii Library Association (HLA) had their conference in December 2014, and they invited LIS students to make presentations related to library-related advocacy.
My presentation was titled "Expanding Access to Audiobooks"
see power point at
http://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/c8d67a_8cad5524cfc94af88bdc88cd11f6e2ad.pptx?dn=Expanding%20Access%20to%20Audiobooks.pptx
I presented on that topic because I remember Sue Sugimura mentioning that the audiobooks provided by LBPH are only allowed by federal law to be provided to those with certain disabilities (ie. blindness, visual impairments, physical disabilities that make it difficult to hold a print book) due to federal regulations. However, those with other reading disabilities (due to developmental and intellectual limitations, as well as those who are illiterate due to a lack of adequate education) are not eligible.
I found some limitations problematic because, as I mentioned in one paper that I wrote for the project
"LBPH Eligibility and Services"
This is a very tricky issue since it is heavily emphasized in library school and by organizations like the American Library Association (ALA) and the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) that it is important for everyone to have equal access to information. However, those with reading disabilities caused by non-physical factors are unable to receive the same type of non-print library resources that are available to the blind, visually impaired, physically disabled and those who have reading disabilities caused by physical factors. However, being that these policies are based on federal law, it will take lobbying of federal elected officials to change this.So I decided to do a power-point presentation at the HLA conference about how I believe that the federal laws should be changed so that those with intellectual & developmental disabilities as well as the illiterate should be allowed access to the same audio materials already available to people with visually & physical disabilities.
I didn't even think about contacting the LBPH staff to view my presentation until about 2 days before, but by then I thought "nobody wants to make last-minute changes to their schedule to attend a conference they have to pay to enter" so I didn't do an invitation. One of my regrets.
But Sue Sugimura showed up! She saw my name & the presentation title in the conference schedule. Before I started the presentation, she said "be sure you mentioned those limitations are due to federal law", I said, "that will be on the power-point".
I finished the power-point presentation way before time was up, so we had plenty of time for questions & discussions. Sue Sugimura said that if the laws were changed LBPH services to be opened up to the intellectually/developmentally disabled and the illiterate, that LBPH would need more staff & resources to provide to additional amounts of people who would become eligible for those services.
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Fast-forward to 2018. I was at the Hawaii Book & Music Festival last month. One of the tents was for the Hawaii State Public Library System (HSPLS) and one of the tables was for the LBPH. The person sitting there was an LBPH staff member that wasn't yet there when I did the independent research project. I did ask her if certain staff members were still there, and when I asked about Sue Sugimura, that was when I found out that she recently passed away. I didn't want to ask about the cause of her death.
Being that I had so many other issues on my mind, it was weeks later that I decided to see if there were anything written online about Sue Sugimura's death.
No details but I did find this Facebook post from Ho'opono Services for the Blind.
https://www.facebook.com/hooponoservicesfortheblind/posts/922618367942301
We are so sad that a great friend and colleague, Sue Sugimura, has passed away. Today the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped had a beautiful memorial service to honor her life. Those who spoke had so many great things to say about her. Two words that stood out were integrity and humility. For those who knew Sue, that is so true.You will be missed!!!
This post was dated May 2, which memorial service earlier, I would've went.
However, regardless of how late I found out, I am still blessed to have worked with and learn from Sue Sugimura!
