Theresa Shaffer
By Mike Specht
Staff Writer
As the Friedsam Memorial Library has grown and changed over the years, Theresa Shaffer has been a constant presence in the institution.
Born and raised in Olean, Shaffer graduated from Archbishop Walsh High School. She then enrolled at St. Bonaventure and immediately began working at the university library as a student worker.
“When I was a senior, my guidance counselor from Walsh called Father Irenaeus Herscher (former Bonaventure librarian and archivist) and asked if he would hire me as a student worker,” Shaffer said.
After graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish from St. Bonaventure, Shaffer received her Master’s degree in library science from SUNY Geneseo. Shaffer was hired as a reference librarian in 1974 and currently is Bonaventure’s reference and interlibrary loan librarian.
“I applied for the job and thought that I would probably only be here for a couple years,” Shaffer said.
Her love of helping students has kept her here ever since. Shaffer said interacting with students is her favorite part of the job.
“Working directly with the students is great, especially helping them look for research materials for projects and capstones,” Shaffer said. “Person-to-person is the best.”
Besides aiding in research, Shaffer also orders books requested by staff members and coordinates collection development and database selection with other libraries.
After working in the library for nearly four decades, Shaffer has seen many changes within the building, including the introduction of “barcoding sessions,” which categorized the books and input them into the computer systems.
For Shaffer, the library can be described by an inscription on the main door which reads “the old and the new.” Shaffer said the staff remembers the past by means of the rare books section and Franciscan Institute, completed in 2008, as well as new efforts to always update and improve the student experience.
When Shaffer looks back on her time as a student, she said Father Irenaeus was a strong influence in her decision to pursue a job as a librarian.
“As a student, he (Father Irenaeus) would often tell me how important attention to detail was and that there was only one right place and millions of wrong places for a book I was to shelve,” Shaffer said. “His words still follow me today and are an important framework of the work ethic he exemplified every day.”
Father Irenaeus also taught her important lessons about being welcoming that also resonate within Shaffer today.
“I observed how he dealt with people, how he greeted them with a most gentle, welcoming smile,” Shaffer said. “He did this with individuals and groups of people. When a group of school children visited, he would share his knowledge of our rare book collection, showing almost a child-like delight while spending that time with them. That was an amazing experience.”
Being involved with the library since her days as a college student, Theresa’s experiences at Friedsam Memorial Library can be summed up candidly.
“This is home, and this is what I love to be.”
“Unsung Heores of Bonaventure” will profile extraordinary faculty, staff and administrators throughout the semester.
