SLIS Alumni News

Janet Brennan Croft, Indiana University SLIS graduate (BA English 1982, MLS–Master of Library Science 1983), won the 2005 Mythopoeic Society Award for Scholarship in Inklings Studies for "War and the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien" (Praeger, 2004). Her most recent publication is "The Travelling Rug" by Dorothy L. Sayers, for which she provided annotations. She is Head of Access Services at the University of Oklahoma and can be reached at jbcroft@ou.edu. She recently participated in an email interview.

I don't think that there are many authors who inspire such fan devotion as well as being a subject of scholarly study. What do you think is special about Tolkien's work that inspires such devotion while at the same time providing meat for study?

One of the fascinating things about The Lord of the Rings is that it is accessible on so many levels – and as you live with it over the years and bring more experience to each reading, it reveals more and more depths. At the most basic level, Tolkien set out to tell a long adventure story that would hold the attention of his readers, and succeeded brilliantly. But because of the scholarly background, thoughtful intelligence, and life experiences he brought to the telling, it is never shallow or meaningless. As a life–long student of fairy stories and medieval literature, Tolkien recognized the difference between allegory and applicability—that allegory is an attempt by the author to dominate the reader's interpretation of the story, while applicability allows the reader the freedom to read and apply the story according to his own needs and desires – and purposely created a timeless story that speaks to the modern human condition without being tied to specific events of his own times.

How did you come to be a Tolkien scholar? Does it relate (or has it in the past) to your work as a librarian?

In a serendipitous way, it did stem from my work! At my previous position, a patron asked me to buy some more books on World War I. One of them—Paul Fussell's The Great War and Modern Memory—caught my eye, and as I read it I realized he was talking about the same experiences Tolkien had lived through, though he never mentioned Tolkien at all. I told a colleague how interesting this all was, and she gave me some very sound advice—stop talking and start writing! I haven't stopped writing since.

How did you come to work on the Dorothy Sayers project? What appealed to you about it?

Dorothy Sayers is sometimes considered a sort of honorary Inkling; though she wasn't part of the exclusively masculine meetings at the Eagle and Child pub or in C.S. Lewis's rooms, she did correspond with several of the Inklings and, like Lewis, wrote popular works of Christian apologetics. I joined the advisory board of The Mythopoeic Press when I was asked to edit Tolkien on Film for them, and when we found the manuscript for the short story at the Marion Wade Center at Wheaton College in Illinois, we knew it would be an ideal project for us. As I read the manuscript, I felt that many of the terms Sayers used might be unfamiliar to a modern American audience—and, as in her Wimsey novels, there were hidden meanings in some of the names she chose. I suggested we add annotations to the story, and it was a great deal of fun to research English servant life, movie stars of the silent era, post–WWI slang, saint's names, and other topics.

Was there anyone during your time at SLIS who acted as mentor for you?

One faculty member who influenced me was Josiah Q. Bennett, who taught History of the Book and Analytical Bibliography at the Lilly Library. He brooked no nonsense—the librarian–style spelling "catalog" was one of his particular shibboleths—and he seemed to know everything there was to know about rare books. His erudition and attention to detail are still an inspiration to me.

What advice would you give to current SLIS students?

First, don't expect your dream job right away. If you have the mobility, the best advice I can give is try to work in a variety of libraries and specialties in the first few years of your career, especially if you went into library school directly after your undergraduate degree. Understanding how different libraries and departments work and how to serve different kinds of patrons will be invaluable to you, no matter where you wind up. Second, if you do find yourself in an academic library where you must publish to get tenure, don't be nervous. I was worried about the research requirement when I moved to the University of Oklahoma, because I'd never been in a position that required publication before. But I soon realized that as a librarian, I already knew how to locate, evaluate, and organize information; from there to analyzing and communicating was not that big a step, and there were plenty of people willing to spark ideas or collaborate with me.

What book or books are in a place of honor on your bookshelf?

I particularly admire writers who know how to create quirky and sympathetic characters and tell rousing stories about them. I highly recommend Lois McMaster Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan science fiction novels, Lindsey Davis's Roman detective stories featuring Marcus Didius Falco, and Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody mysteries set in Victorian and Edwardian Egypt. I also enjoy humor, and Terry Pratchett and P.G. Wodehouse each have their own special shelf in my house.

What future projects are you working on or thinking of?

I'm currently editing a collection of essays on Shakespeare's influence on Tolkien and finishing up a series of entries for a Tolkien encyclopedia, both due out in 2006. I'm hosting the Mythopoeic Society's conference at OU next summer, which will be a lot of fun. In the long term, I have been gathering notes for my next book on Tolkien, and I'd like to do some theatrical costuming again.

What additional advice do you have for librarians on research and writing?

One particularly good venue for librarians with broad research interests is the Popular Culture Association and its affiliated regional associations. At their conferences you can hear papers on almost any topic imaginable and make connections that will help you with your own work. As an area co–chair for the Southwest/Texas PCA, I'm always interested in encouraging librarians to present their research or talk about their special collections at our annual conference.

Though my research focus is on Tolkien and related subjects, I also have worked on copyright issues in libraries, starting with an investigation into model license agreements and culminating in my book Legal Solutions in Electronic Reserves and the Electronic Delivery of Interlibrary Loan (Haworth, 2004). My purpose was to write the book I wanted to have on my own desk for reference, and I think this is a good way to go about finding a research topic in librarianship. What information and advice do you wish you could have at your fingertips at an instant's notice? Chances are someone else needs the same thing.

Posted Nov. 11, 2005