Last month, four William & Mary staff members were honored for 40 years of service to the College, including Swem Library's own Glendora James. She was honored along with Marion Dover, Daniel Ewart and James "Mike" Marrs.
James is a library specialist responsible for cataloging and processing books. Since 1973, she has worked for Swem Library.
“Anything that goes out of the library for one reason or another, I’ve touched it,” she said.
Her 40 years at William & Mary have been good ones, James said, but she does see retirement on the horizon.
“Life lasts; time passes.” she said. “It’s time to spend time with my babies.” And, maybe play some cards.
James’ babies are her three grandchildren and one great-grandchild, two here locally and two in Georgia. The cards? Pitty-Pat, a rummy-like card game she learned in childhood. James gets together weekly with “the girls” to play.
Still, she said she knows she’ll miss getting up and coming to work every day.
James started out as a clerk typist when the library still used a card catalog system and has served in various cataloging roles with the library since.
A favorite memory, she noted, was the ceremony Swem held in the '80s to retire the public card catalog.
“I’ve seen a lot of changes,” she said.
Those changes include the students, James added.
“This generation questions more,” she said. Still, she enjoys working with the students. “I’ve learned a lot from them.”
James, a mother and grandmother, said at her 35th anniversary that part of what has kept her at William & Mary has been the ability to have a flexible schedule and her coworkers.
Recently she noted with a smile, “I keep thinking, everybody that came with me is gone and I’m still [at William & Mary] – what’s wrong with this picture?”
On that retirement horizon are also plans to travel.
“Yeah, I love to cruise.”
First stop? She hopes Hawaii.
James said she also plans to spend some time with the “Gennies” -- as in genealogists. A former colleague first got James interested in genealogy some 30 years ago, she said, with a workshop at the office. Now, James does volunteer research for her church. She’s currently helping to catalog the church’s entire cemetery, a project she wants to complete in the next couple of years.
James also hopes to continue her other community volunteer work and support of her beloved sports teams. She is a regular at local high school football and basketball games and volunteers with her grandchildren’s daycare center and works local elections.
First things firsts, though. James noted there are some new monographs that need cataloging.
Read about the other honorees here.