Infoblog

Sorry to hear about Anne. She will be missed.

Anne was so many things to so many of us--friend, mentor, champion, cheerleader. She was a model publisher and a great innovator. When I moved to California she took me under her wing and made sure I was never too alone. I will miss her greatly.

The moment I met Anne, I felt as though we'd been friends for years. She was that warm and just a lovely spirit. Thank you, Anne, for all your contributions to the field and for being such a great person.

This is Anne's daughter, Jenny. Much more later, but for now, the bare update: there will be a funeral service on monday, september 13 at 1:00 p.m. at Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland. All welcome. A bigger, more considered memorial service sometime in...the future. Sitting shiva here in berkeley following the funeral. feel free to email me or call me at home (I'm in the phone book, in Berkeley) for more info. Librarians are such a blessing to have in my life....viva Anne!

I will always remember Anne selling dreidels on Telegraph Avenue and offering thought-provoking commentary on the nature of reference service. May her memory be for a blessing.
Barbara Bibel

As others have said, Anne's warmth and welcoming spirit reached out even to those of us who were friends of friends. I admired her down-to-earth can-do attitude that seemed not to see obstacles. She was inspiring and will be missed by many. My condolences to her daughter Jenny, family and friends.

Dear Steve,

How fortunate we are to have had Anne among us. Her directness, her interest and involvement in her local community and, above all, her personal warmth, quietness and kindliness affected all of us. I am grateful for any moments I had with Anne, Steve, deeply grateful.
Rita

I feel blessed that I was able to spend several days with Anne and Steve at their lovely home sharing meals, walks and profound talks about life and why we had taken the paths that we had taken. Anne was discovering the joy of cooking meals and collecting recipes from her friends. Anne had a recipe for enjoying life and its mysteries that inspired me. Her spirit will always be there to inspire us to relish life. Bernadine

I was shocked to learn that Anne had died. I had missed seeing her at the last few ALA conferences.

Some years ago, I came to Berkeley for a workshop that was to have been held at the Clark Kerr campus. That was the year of an Oakland firestorm, and the workshop was transferred to Anne's home. We were all grateful for her hospitality at the spur of the moment.

The last time ALA met in New York, I had purchased a Library Services Institute book and chatted with Anne at her booth. We were so engrossed in our conversation that I forgot my credit card, which she found in her swipe machine. She made several attempts to catch me (I had checked out of my hotel and was headed home).

I will always remember Anne as a caring person and a great teacher. Our profession has suffered a profound loss.

Anne was my favorite aunt, who taught me some of my first words and continued teaching and spreading joy thoughout her life. She was a comfort; she was comfort. She will be missed.

Anne’s friends at Berkeley’s Library have stories of her restless energy and good deeds that go back decades. I knew her first as a Hall of Fame figure, making the great plays which always, in the retelling, went as follows: “Then. . . Anne set things right!” In my time as University Librarian I have appreciated her warmth and savvy. Anne was one step ahead of others in our final conversations. Sitting on the sunny deck at home, she introduced me to two Tiburon librarians, reflected on the memorial service for Reggie Zelnik, worried over the Kerry campaign, considered ingenious ways to link up with old colleagues, and raved about the grave site that she had just helped Steve to select. She had counted the bridges one might see from where she was to rest.

Carol and I send our love. Tom Leonard

I was planning on visiting with Anne on November 3 and sharing the excitement of a better government being elected. We will all miss her but remember all the good she brought to the world.

Anne was one of the best library trainers I have ever met. She was warm, welcoming, charming and funny. She not only knew a heck of a lot about reference and people, she knew how to bring the two together in productive, forward looking ways. I only met her a few times at trainings and conferences but she made me feel like a friend. I will miss her.

It was a real pleasure reconnecting with Anne after not seeing her for so many years. As a SLATE stalwart and gourmet cook she was an inspiration and hostess for our SLATE arcieves project fundraiser. I know that I shall miss her.

Following is the message I sent to Steve Silberstein, Anne's husband, Friday, September 10th.

---

Steve,

I was at a loss for words when you called this AM, and also didn't want to hold you up while you were making all of those phone calls.

But not now...

The physical plant that was Anne Grodzins Lipow may have died, but the strength, the energy, the enthusiasm, the love she had for her family and friends, her intellectual curiosity, her political and professional passions, her unstinting generosity and loyalty, are all things that did not and will not die.

Anne's example and these precious attributes--that only partly describe the extraordinary person she was--are alive and well in you, her family, and everyone else who had the privilege and joy to know and experience her love, caring, attention, enthusiasms, and all the rest of what made her unique, so very special, and so loved.

She also was an incredible role model for all of us--her commitment to principle, to serving the user, to helping and mentoring her colleagues,
and to the future of libraries and information, are great guides for continuing and new librarians; and when all of these became coupled
"after retirement" with her business acumen, her achievement was unprecedented.

On behalf of Paula and me, I extend my most sincere and loving condolences to you and to Anne's children and grandchild.

Please let me know if there's anything I can do that will be of help.

Also, please let me know where I can make a donation to any cause(s) she or you may have chosen.

Your friend,

mitch

Thanks to Anne for her lifetime of good work, including the wonderful brunch that she cooked for us old SLATEniks to benefit the archives and to give us a good opportunity to get together and schmooze with Jo Freeman. It was a wonderful day.

I had known Anne since 1972 when she and Dick Dougherty invented BAKER, and I had the greatest respect for her skills and knowledge. I had heard only scraps about her illness and had no idea it was terminal. A shame. The word to best describe her is "astute," in the fullest and most admiring sense of that term. She will never never be replaced, and the library world has lost one of its truly top guns, especially in the aspect of fighting for the oft-ignored perspective of user needs.

Re-posted from Roy's Web4Lib discussion group at http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Web4Lib/archive/0409/0101.html

[WEB4LIB] For Anne
Roy Tennant (roy.tennant@ucop.edu)
Sat, 11 Sep 2004 17:17:02 -0700 (PDT)

Anne Grodzins Lipow -- a true treasure of librarianship -- died at her home in Belvedere, CA on Thursday, September 9 of cancer. There is so much to say about Anne, that I despair of describing how she has affected us -- not just those blessed with knowing her personally, but also the library profession as a whole.

I do not know Anne's life history, nor her many contributions outside of librarianship, so from me you will get a very personal story, and perhaps through this one small window get to know something about this remarkable person, and why I am posting such a personal message to this list.

As a newly-minted librarian at UC Berkeley in the second half of the 1980s, I knew Anne as the person who led the outreach and instructional efforts of the library. Before long, she saw in me the potential to be a good teacher, despite my fear of public speaking, so she pulled me into her program and began teaching me everything she knew about speaking, putting on workshops, making handouts, etc. Under her tutelage, I taught such classes as dialup access to the library catalog, when 300bps modems were still common.

As the Internet began making inroads into universities, Anne was there with newly-developed workshops on how to use it. She was convinced very early on, as was I, that the Internet would be an essential technology for libraries. This led to her approaching me and my colleague John Ober (then on faculty at the library school at Berkeley) about doing a full-day Internet workshop scheduled to coincide with the 1992 ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco. Using a metaphor of John's, we called it "Crossing the Internet Threshold".

In preparing for the workshop, we created so many handouts that we needed to put them into a binder that began to look increasingly like a book in the making. With typical Anne flair, she arranged for the gifted librarian cartoonist Gary Handman (also our colleague at Berkeley) to create a snazzy cover for the binder, that she also used to create T-shirts (which many of us have to this day).

Anne knew enough about workshops to do a "trial run" before the big day, so we used UCB library staff as guinea pigs a couple weeks before, which gave us feedback essential to making an excellent workshop. In the end, the workshop was such a hit that Anne ran with it. She took the binder of handouts we had created and made a book out of it -- the first book of her newly-created business called Library Solutions Institute and Press. Her decision to publish the book herself rather than seek out a publisher was also typical of Anne. And _how_ she did it will tell you a lot about her.

Despite the higher cost, Anne insisted on using domestic union printing shops for printing. While other publishers were publishing books overseas for a fraction of the cost, to Anne publishing was a political and social activity, through which she could do good for those around her. It was very important to her to treat people with respect and kindness, and she did it so well. That was the kind of person Anne was.

While every publisher I have so far worked with other than Anne has insisted they are incapable of paying royalties any more frequently than twice a year, Anne paid her authors _monthly_. And whereas other publishers wait _months_ to pay you for royalties earned long before, Anne would pay immediately. This meant that when books were returned, as they sometimes were, she took the loss for having paid the author royalties on books that had not been sold. That was the kind of person Anne was.

Anne continued to blaze new trails after libraries began climbing on the Internet bandwagon, due in no small measure to her books and workshops on the topic. Anne became a well-known and coveted consultant on a number of topics, but in particular on reference services. Her "Rethinking Reference" institutes and book were widely acclaimed, and her book "The Virtual Reference Librarian's Handbook" (just published in 2003) demonstrated that Anne was always at the cutting edge of librarianship. That was the kind of person Anne was.

I visited her after her cancer was diagnosed and after her treatment had failed. We all knew there was no hope, that she had only a matter of weeks to live. Despite the obvious ravages of the illness, Anne's outlook remained bright and welcoming. She was happy to have her friends and family around her, and we talked of many things except that which hung over us all. Even then, she was happy to see whoever came by, and to talk with them with a smile and good wishes. That was the kind of person Anne was.

A piece of all my major professional accomplishments I owe to Anne, and her great and good influence on me. She would deny this, despite it's truth, wanting all the credit to accrue to me alone. That was the kind of person Anne was. That, and so much more. Goodbye, good friend. We are so much the poorer for your passing.
Roy

I am so glad that Anne came into my life and in the process helped me to be a much better librarian and library director. When she started working with Holly (Hinman professionally...my wife personally) when they were beginning to establish Infopeople as a training organization, I had many wonderful discussions with Anne that truly changed my professional and personal beliefs. Her positive attitude about looking at change in libraries and how librarians perform their craft led me and my staff to new realizations that were central to building the Cerritos Library. She began to work with my staff in 1996 to bring about understanding of what would be needed in the public library of the 21st century and to facilitate the change process necessary for developing a new library culture. She played a key role in shaping the new library by saying things like..."great idea, wrong approach," "what about this," "you're crazy," and of course..."let me help you with that idea." Anne came down for opening day of the new Library, March 16, 2002. I was extremely happy to see her and get her honest reactions to what we have done in creating a new type of library. Her eyes were sparking and she was truely moved by the experience...thank god, because she would have said so if we had not achieved our goals.

Anne's initial inspriration helped us to develop our approaches to many revolutionary service concepts and building ideas -- she gave us a great start that provided a foundation for Joan Frye Williams, our primary consultant, to build on. Her warm and engaging manner made all of us feel receptive to the adventure ahead.

On a personal note, I loved the colorful sixties clothing that she wore during the first training sessions sessions she did for Infopeople. The last time I saw her, in San Diego for ALA (when she wanted more copies of our DVD to share with people), we talked about having lunch, but we never got around to it... I wish that we could have had that lunch. I remember so well the early days when Anne, Roy and John were doing Internet workshops and introducing this interesting new tool, "Gopher." We had silly conversations about the move from Berkeley to the new house. We could talk for hours about living in Berkeley...I was there in 1965 ... I had a blast as a kid learning new ideas and having experiences. Anyway, Anne is a very special person who lives in my heart and soul...I will miss her and yet can sense her presence right now. My sympathy to Steve and family. Peace

Although we all knew that this sad news was supposed to come soon,it has struck me,like all of us,like a blow.We have not shared any professional interest,we were friends in the best sense of the word.I never had a sister but she felt like one.I will always treasure our friendship as very special and in my thoughts I am with her husband and family.
With love and peace for Anne,her husband and children

Anne lives in the hearts and minds of a generation of librarians around the world. We have many leaders in the profession, but no one has the heart, the humanity, the joy that was Anne's. I will forever cherish the gift she gave us of herself in her final months - and have learned well the lessons she taught us - ever the teacher - in her final days. I will also be ever grateful to Steve for sharing her with us so selflessly. She touched so many lives, and we won't ever forget her. To Steve and the family -I hope the pain is eased by the celebration of Anne's life in the memories of so many.

Patty Iannuzzi

9/12/04

Anne died 3 days ago. She's been on my mind a lot since April. I've considered Anne a mentor since my boss came back from a presentation at UC Berkeley on "Crossing the Internet Threshold" (co-written with Roy Tennant and John Ober). I devoured the book (in a binder of handouts at the time), was fascinated by the possibilities, and jumped across that threshold. That was in 1992.

I've had the privilege of having lunch with Anne on the first Tuesday of each month for the past several years. Those lunches were seminars. I learned from her, she learned from me -- and we ate good food. We both liked new things and almost always went to a new-to-us restaurant. Sometimes other people accompanied us, but usually it was just us.

Our last lunch was in April. I no longer remember where we ate but do remember part of the conversation being about health (we didn't just talk libraries ;) -- me telling her about beginning to plan for a hip replacement and she telling me about an upcoming doctor's appointment to check on digestion and bloating problems. The next week I got a call from Anne's daughter Jenny telling me that Anne had been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer that had metastasized to her liver and given three to six months to live. (She was told that chemotherapy might extend her life somewhat, but after trying it she discovered she was one of the one-third that chemotherapy didn't help.)

Many of us have thought about what we'd do if we had three to six months to live. I'd like to talk about what Anne did -- because Anne was still doing what she'd always been doing -- discussing ideas and putting people together.

Anne spent the first few weeks disengaging from her business, keeping what appointments she could, and visiting with family and friends. For the last two months she received friends from her hospital bed in the middle of her living room in Belvedere, with a view of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Memories of that time --

My first visit to her in bed at home was in June. In addition to Steve -- who was always there -- her sister, her son, and a couple of other people were there (helping pick a new couch for the room). There may have been more but that's what I remember. Anne wanted a new couch as she felt the old couch wasn't that easy for visitors to be comfortable on and she wanted her visitors to be comfortable. We all gave our opinions, a decision was made, and the couch ordered. We also discussed the upcoming Democratic Convention, the language of politics, a couple of books, my family's weddings (3 this year), her grandkids latest, who the next state librarian would be, etc. Everything but the lunch.

My last visit was near the end of August. Cheryl Gould (Anne introduced Cheryl to Infopeople), Anne's best friend from grade school, and Suzanne Calpestri and Cathy Dinnean, friends from her time at UC Berkeley were there also. Cathy had been practicing a speech from "Taming of the Shrew" and wanted to perform it for Anne and the rest of us. She did and it was great! Then Anne and her grade school friend put their heads together and recited the whole of "Jabberwocky" without an error!

Goodbye Anne,

Carole

Anne was a sparkle of light for so many of us. I first met Anne when she came to help us while I was running the Apple Library. We wanted to create a series of workshops in the early 90's on using the Internet. We proudly showed her our course outlines and marketing materials and in her wonderful, kind way told us to toss away what we'd done and start over. And of course, she was absolutely right! I asked her to lead a small discussion group one year at IFLA in Beijing on reference services using the worldwide web and her 'small' group quickly grew to almost 50 people as her enthusiasm and practical ideas enticed the international crowd. When I moved to Marin, she warmly welcomed me and included me on hikes with her and Steve on Mt. Tam and invited me to several memorable dinners at their breathtaking home. Anne's generousity of spirit and love for life will never be forgotten. We are all incredibly lucky to have had her in our lives.

It is noteworthy how often the themes of Anne's life are repeated here and will continue to be with subsequent postings: kindness, generosity, comfort, warmth, energy, enthusiasm, helpfulness. She exhibited the very best in a friend, a mentor, a coworker, and she did it all with effortless grace.

One story I can share demonstrates all of these qualities in one neat package. I ran into Anne at work one day some 15 years ago and, while "trading news," I mentioned to her that I was in the throes of buying my very first home and how overwhelmed and worried I was that I might not be making the right choice. I was cowed not only by the decision itself but the process and the paperwork that I needed to master in very short order.

The next thing I knew, Anne had me covered .... "Oh, Steve knows ALL about real estate! ... we'll be over to the house on Saturday. He'll look the place over and explain all of the paperwork to you. How do we get there?"

On very short order, my house woes were taken care of, I knew what to do, and I received the reassurance that I had made the right decision. Not only that, AFTER I had moved in, over morning breakfast at my new home, Anne presented me with a houswarming gift, a favorite brand of cutlery she discovered in her travels to England. To this day, it is the ONLY knife I ever use. I use it every day and I never fail to remember the story behind my kitchen knife and the great, generous humanity of the giver.

Sincere condolences to all of Anne's family. What a remarkable woman she was!

Pat Maughan

It is for me an immense loss to receive the message that Anne is not anymore with us. I met Anne in 1990 when I studied in Berkeley and stayed as tennant in her beautiful home in Berkeley. Anne -and Steve- supported me very much during this time and they are 'responsible' that I found as German from the city of Aachen a home away from home in the Bay Area. Since 14 years I'm coming regularly each year to California for some weeks or months and I will miss Anne very much. It was a great gift that I could visit Anne during my last stay in August this year and experience her great optimism and courage like usual. I'm very sorry that I can't come to her funeral on Monday because I'm staying in Germany right now but my thoughts and prayers are with her, Steve and the whole family.
Hermann-Victor Johnen

If there were more Annes in the world it would be a truly wonder-full place. There certainly wouldn't be any war. There wouldn't even be a word for it. People would share...everything. People would be seen for who they are on the inside not what they look like on the outside. People would approach each day with bright eyes and an open mind. There would be an unlimited supply of energy available for people to really connect with one another.

I think of Anne as my mentor and friend. I think of Anne as a model human. Someone I'd like to be more like. May Anne's spirit motivate all of us to make the world a better place for others as she has done for so many of us during her life. She'll be missed but never forgotten.

Reposted from Lori Ayre's weblog, Mentat:

I learned this morning that Anne Lipow left us. What a loss for our side, I thought. When people like Anne die, you can't help but wonder where they are now. Are they reaping the rewards of a life well lived? Is Anne's heaven a beautiful space filled with good food and curious, intelligent, and generous souls all passionately debating important issues of the ...day...er eternity maybe!?

Anne was once my neighbor. She lived across the street from us in Berkeley. She was one of the first librarians I ever really knew. And what a great example she was! Smart, sharp, energetic, hard-working, meticulous, excited about everything she was doing. How could you NOT want to be a librarian if that's how you turn out?

Years later, I did enter the library world. I am now becoming a librarian. Anne has been a mentor for me. Anne edited my first published work. Just because. I didn't hire her. I asked her if she'd read my draft. She took it and went after it with her red pen like a school teacher. I loved it. She made ridiculous meanderings into succinct, clear sentences. She cut out extraneous thoughts that had landed on the page just because I couldn't stop them. And she guessed that I was left-handed, as is she, by my frequent use of the word "thing." Look up that phenomenon, Carole!

I'm sad to be at the beginning of my career without having Anne Lipow to turn to for advice and help. She was one of the guideposts I've treasured along the way. I think she was that for many other people as well. Maybe its time for her to rest. Maybe it's time for her to do something new. I just hope she's having a great time exploring and learning new 'stuff' (see 'thing'). I hope she's having the time of her life.

Thanks for being here, Anne. We're going to miss you. A lot.

Anne’s wonderful habit of challenging us to be better librarians, that is one of her many contributions. And without our even knowing it, in many instances, she brought us together, not only through the intellectual rigor of her ideas and her work but also through the presence and the power and warmth of her personality. We are incredibly sad, and yet we are fortunate that our lives are forever enriched by her friendship.

And, I would like here also to write a very special thanks to you Steve, for opening your home and your life to all of us who especially over the last few months have come by to visit. We know that there were days when as many as 50 people came by to see Anne and you. Your quiet generosity at such a difficult time for you we will also always cherish and remember.

Having worked in libraries for years, I had heard of Anne Lipow, read her handbooks, followed her rules for presentations and workshops, so I was starstruck in 1990, on the first day of library school at Cal, when I met her daughter Stephanie. Wow...I was one degree of separation from one of the leaders of my profession!
As Stephanie's and my friendship blossomed, my friendship with Anne grew, too. Everytime I saw her, whether at a Lipow family event or with Steve at the terrific Innovative Interfaces parties, Anne was enthusiastic and encouraging about my family and my professional development. "But enough about me." I always thought to myself. I eagerly asked about her latest adventures: traveling to the southern hemisphere to see a total solar eclipse, bicycling in Europe, upcoming adventures in Asia. 14 years later, I find that I'm still starstruck! I'm fortunate to have experienced Anne's optimism, energy, and grace. I'll never forget her.

We will miss Anne - Anne was well known to many Australian librarians who marvelled at her optimism and energy for our rapidly changing profession and her solutions for reinventing ourselves and becoming better at what we do – she didn’t always say what we wanted to hear but she always said what needed to be said. Her last 2 visits to Australia, in late 2002 and in December 2003 were to deliver workshops for CAVAL. These attracted an enormous number of attendees from across Australia and a few who traveled from New Zealand to see and hear her.

Sue last met Anne at IFLA in Berlin to firm up plans for Anne's December 2003 visit to Australia – unfortunately Sue was away at the time of Anne’s visit and didn’t get to see her again. Jennifer Gawne and Cathie Jilovsky made sure that Anne got out and about between training commitments – shopping, eating out and exploring Melbourne - and firm friendships were formed. Cathie was privileged to meet up with Anne again for breakfast at ALA in San Diego in January - she was keen to return to Australia and was full of ideas and plans for a new set of workshops for 2004. We will miss Anne, the profession will miss Anne, and our thoughts go out to her family at this time of loss. Saying goodbye to a friend is so difficult.

From your friends at CAVAL - Steve O'Connor, Sue Henczel, Cathie Jilovsky, Nicole Sinclair and Eve Cornish

www.library-solutions.com has link to sfgate.com death notice/obit.

In response to many requests, personal email can be directed to Anne's husband Steve Silberstein at stevesilberstein@hotmail.com and daughter Stephanie Lipow at slipow@alamedanet.net.

We have planned a beautiful service for the funeral/burial today beginning at 1 at Chapel of the Chimes in Oakland; Rabbi Michael Lerner will be officiating.

There will be an open house from 5 to 8 p.m. following the service at Anne's longtime Berkeley house, 2135 Oregon Street between Shattuck and Fulton (1/2 block east of berkeley bowl)--and no, there is no thing as too much food nor are any ingredients verboten.;-)

Jenny Lipow

Dear Steve,
I was very sad to learn about Anne.She was so bright , warmhearted and modest. Her skill and wisdom were manifested so well in how she approached composing our library's newsletter and how helpful she was to those of us who were trying to contribute to it. My heart and thoughts are with you.
Lois Epstein

Our world, our profession has lost one of the best. Anne's warmth and kindness were something you simply had to experience to believe. Having the chance to spend time with her and Steve at their home are fond memories for me and my wife. I'll always remember taking a walk around the area in which they lived, with both Anne and Steve providing insight and understanding of the place and people in a way that was uniquely their own. When you were with Anne you felt embraced. I hope in some small way, through these postings, we can provide the same to Steve and each other as we share this loss.

With Anne's passing, the library community has lost one of its visionaries. Having attended many of Anne's workshops and presentations, and having had the pleasure of speaking with her in programs at ALA and other conferences, I learned a lot about reference service from her. Our friendly debates about the future of reference service helped me focus my own thoughts on that topic. I will always remember her warm smile and engaging personality, even as we disagreed on what reference would become. Thank you Anne for the inspiration and encouragement that you gave me over the years.

Among Anne's many accomplishments was her work in the early 1970s on improving the status of library workers in a traditionally women's
profession - note her "A report on the status of women employed in the library of the University of California, Berkeley, with recommendations for
affirmative action" , University of California, Berkeley. Library. Affirmative Action Program for Women Committee, MAIN: HD6096.B4 .C3

As the Berkeley campus bargaining representative during last year's Librarian contract negotiations, I was quite aware that our incremental progress in compensation and status was built on the hard work and spirit
of those before us. Anne was one of them, and will be missed.

Lincoln Cushing
Bancroft Library

What a Life! I choose to celebrate the spirit that was Anne Lipow, rather than to mourn our tremendous loss. For many years, I was Anne's banker. I watched her grow from a table top business on Oregon Street subsidized by Dreidel sales on Telegraph Avenue to a world traveler who was in demand for her time and her thoughts. Anne was truly successful and on many levels. Two things will always stick with me however. Anne did not pretend to be someone, she was herself - always. By this I mean, Anne didn't hesitate to offer her opinion of my thoughts and my abilities, she quickly put me in my place whenever I got out of line, such as questioning the financial feasibility of selling dreidels on Telegraph, but she always did so with a quip and a smile and she always made me feel happy and close to her. The second thing I will always remember is Family and how important it was to Anne. 99% of my time with Anne was without Steve, or Stephanie or Jenny present, but you would'nt know it from our conversations. Whenever we talked, the conversation would eventually turn to family, it was easy to see, a sparkle would enter Anne's eyes, her voice tones would change from business to adoration, and she became the happiest person on Earth while talking about her daughters and her husband. Steve, Stephanie and Jenny, you are truly blessed to have been so loved in your life.

I had the good fortune of co-editing a book with Anne for ALA. Throughout that project, which was dauntiing and tedious at times, she remained determined to do the very best and produce something with lasting value for the profession. That's the way she worked...throughout her career. From that point on, she remained a very dear friend. We have all lost someone special.

Anne's enthusiasm for librarianship and providing good customer service were infectious. After a few brief moments of conversation in the lobby of a conference hotel or in her booth at library conferences, I walked away feeling somehow better for each encounter. Our profession has lost one of the truly great ones.

Anne was always so positive and upbeat and provided us with many memorable moments over the years as she talked us through and tried to instill in us all the qualities that she thought we needed on the frontlines of public service. Primary Clientle was her baby and we have many memories and stories from the classes she taught, and we will miss her greatly.

I knew Anne through her involvement in the development of UC's digital library. Anne was a driving force on committees charged with giving the early MELVYL system a face and a personality. Even when she wasn't on a committee, we heard from her anyway! She was a most supportive and encouraging Mom when I had my twins and quickly became overwhelmed with the changed world around me. I will miss her!

Dear Family and Friends of Anne,
I was so sad to learn of Anne's passing, but in reading all the comments and tributes that have been written, I am once again reminded of the wonderful, giving person she was and is. I am certain that she is continuing on mentoring others and discussing important issues. Her influence to those of us still here will be felt for generations to come, both in her family and in her profession.

Thanks, Anne, for blessing us in so many ways.

Anne visited Helsinki City Library May 2003. We all were inspired of her charisma.

Our sincere condolences
Saara and Jouni

I hadn't talked to Anne for quite some time and knew her only briefly. However, she is the person that brought me into the InfoPeople fold. I remember first talking to her 6 years ago when I was intested in being a lab assistant. She was kind and friendly and very encouraging. I am thankful for her work and the opportunities she opend for me. My thoughts go out to her family.

Greg

I was saddened to hear of Anne's passing but like many others have mentioned, my preference is to take this moment to celebrate her life and spirit and to express my thanks to her through you that I was among those fortunate to have known her and to have been inspired by her most often from afar but sometimes face to face at conferences. She always took the time to say hi and ask how I was doing and loved to engage in conversations near and dear to us both - providing quality service to our users. Our profession has been enhanced by her many contributions and my own life has been made richer by them.

Early in my career as a librarian, I heard Anne speak at a professional meeting about the librarians strike at Berkeley. She was so passionate and inspiring, yet practical and down-to-earth. I never forgot her words, and have worked in library unions ever since.

Although I realize that Anne was a great colleague to many of those who have written, she was also a great boss and I will always feel honored and grateful to have shared an office with and to have worked for Anne as I figured out how I would spend my life. During the late 70’s, I ran her BAKER library delivery service as a non-professional library assistant. Although I knew nothing about libraries when I was given the job, with her trust and support behind me, and her infectious and unflinching commitment to public service to guide me, I was soon able to master the card catalogs in the pursuit of the many poorly cited treatises and articles requested by Berkeley faculty. (OK, maybe we weren't as good as professionals, but we were pretty good in those pre-computer days.) Our all-student staff would then drive to the various libraries on campus, pick up and/or copy the item, and deliver it to the faculty member, more or less overnight. Our tools were the card catalogs, a microfiche reader (and hand-me-down microfiche from the Circulation department), a selectric typewriter, a tape answering machine, Anne’s drive and commitment to public service and her trust and support of non-professional staff. She was the boss you wanted to emulate; she was the boss who taught you the meaning of public service by example alone. She was the boss who gave meaning to workplace concepts like mutual respect and tolerance. And most importantly, she taught you how to think outside the box, long before that phrase existed, and long before the concept was appreciated the way it is today.

One measure of a person is the profound depth of loss felt, we who have not seen or talked to that person in many years, when we hear news that he or she is gone. I last saw Anne, with Steve, at the Brick Hut on Adeline, maybe fifteen years ago. A brief conversation, and on with the day, with life. Seeing her name in the Chronicle yesterday, I learned that somewhere inside me there had always been the secret hope and expectation that Anne would live to be at least ninety-five and that the world would be better off because she was somewhere among us, serving the greater public good. Now that burden shifts to those of us still walking the planet. Anne, may you rest in peace: my commitment to you, in thanks for the support and guidance you gave me many years ago, is to carry forward as much of your spirit as I can.

Dear Steve, dear kids,

I am so glad I got to see Anne near the end of her wonderful days. I am grateful to you all for taking such loving care of one of my dearest and oldest friends; truly, her memory will be for a blessing.

All eight of the remaining HAH Indians (we were ten little Indians, once) feel the loss deeply, and will learn not only life-lessons but end-of-life lessons from Anne's courage and great-heartedness.

How beautiful were her bones, even at the end. Bless you again for keeping in touch, and love to all.

Judith (Judy) Rulnick Klau

I will always remember Anne for all of her personal kindnesses she extended to my family and me in addition to her make on our profession.
Neal Kaske a colleague from the 1970’s and on.

I knew of Anne's work with reference well before I got to work with her closely in the IFLA Reference Work Section. Anne was there from the very beginnnings of the section when it was just a discussion group. Anne never accepted the status quo and always questioned if library services matched the needs of the users. She would always exclaim that librarians are one of the few professionals that have the name of a building as part of their name; and if that some how keeps us from moving out of the library to where our users are. Anne was totally dedicated and empassioned in her work and her enthusiasm was catching! I will sorely miss Anne and her vision. She was a real mensch!!!

Anne was on the board of 24/7 Reference, and we shared many a brainstorming session together, not to mention lots of travel talk. Who can forget her talking about "in your face reference", as she threw down the gautlet to reference librarians everywhere! We all enjoyed her wise and witty comments, good humor and visionary thinking, and were inspired by her personal courage and love of life. I will miss her!

I was fortunate to have met Anne when she enthusiastically (a redundant adverb to use to describe her efforts!) worked with Steve Coffman on presenting new live online reference software to San Francisco Bay Area libraries in the late 90's. How could our libraries fail to buy into this revolutionary product/service with Anne so actively promoting it?!

Since that time her presence at library workshops and conferences always added a special spark. One remark she made at a VRD Conference has been quoted several times and remains in the front of my mind. During a discussion about "remote" patrons (those not physically in the library building), she asked: "Who is remote, the patron or the librarian?" Yes, Anne had a wonderful way of challenging some of our traditional ways of thinking.

Thank all of you for providing and contributing to this wonderful tribute to the wonderful individual who was Anne. All of our lives - and the library profession - would clearly have been lesser without her vibrant presence.

For me IFLA 2004, last August, was not complete - it was my first World Library and Information Congress without Anne. How we all hoped she would be present next year.
Many Dutch librarians know Anne as that marvellous, energetic, beautiful and inspiring lady (was she really over sixty???) who told us about the importance of virtual reference.

She will be dearly missed, also in this part of the world,

I was saddened to hear the news about Anne. I wish the very best for her family. She was a great visionary for our field and we'll miss her contining to prod us to think about where we
should be going next.

I will also miss getting to visit with her at ALA, since we always used to meet there at the exhibits and exchange info on what we were doing.
Sharmon

In 1983 (if memory serves) I had the pleasure of having Anne as a houseguest during an Arizona Library Association meeting. She was a truly singular person -- a gifted teacher, a broad and deep thinker about library service and one of the most curious and interesting people I ever met. I was the proud recipient of one of her dreidels and cookbook stands (long since worn out!). She gave all of us so much and has an enduring legacy. She will be profoundly missed.

Another great thing about Anne was her sense of humor which could alternately be self-deprecatory, gentle, or just wickedly funny, but never mean. We worked together on AACR2 training, and given the rather dry subject matter her humor and warmth were particularly welcome. We once debated how many angels could dance on the pointy head of a rule interpretation. Even just thinking of her always brought a smile to my face,and I'm sure it always will. Does anyone know a good gender neutral term for "mensch?"

We celebrate Anne for being a mentor, a visionary, and a passionate teacher. She will be sorely missed by her many friends and colleagues.
I still can't believe the news.

By the time I started my career here in the Berkeley Library, Anne had already moved on to other things. Many have written of her enduring impact on service, outreach and instruction and her efforts to improve the work life of librarians. One small piece of evidence of her lasting impact on the library is the fact that her handwriting in the Doe Library training room (which she established) remained on the white board for some ten years after her departure! I will miss running into Anne at conferences and at the Andronico's deli counter.

I am among the professional colleagues deeply affected and positively influenced by Anne. I often think of her when I need to be bold.

I just now returned from the beautiful service held for Anne on this warm sunny September day. I want to thank Anne's family and friends for giving us the opportunity to be together and to share our sorrow at the passing of, but also to rejoice in, her righteous and influential life. To those of you who missed the service I can report that many of your sentiments were echoed in a series of beautiful stories and tributes. I came away feeling more strongly than ever before that for Anne it will be true that she lives on through the people she touched and the love she engendered.

Anne made several visits to Australia, and I was one of the lucky ones who was befriended, inspired, swept up, provoked (when needed), encouraged and generally amazed by her.
It is hard to believe that Anne is no longer here with us somewhere – training, writing, cycling, walking, talking, eating, or fighting the good fight. She was so active, busy and insightful, and was also one of the most generous spirits I have ever encountered.
My sense of loss is very great, but then so is the sense of the great fortune and privilege of spending even the shortest time with such a wonderful person.
Farewell Anne. You are truly a legend (old joke between us)

When I was in Library School at Berkeley, I was lucky enough to hear Anne speak about the differences in how people use a card catalog and an online catalog. Now, 15 years later, I don't remember very much from Library School but I clearly remember her comments. They have informed every decision I've made since about the way people use libraries. She was a remarkable thinker, and her death is a great loss to our profession.

We were so sorry to hear about Anne's passing. Anne was warmly regarded and greatly admired by those of us here at the National Library of Australia, and our reference colleagues in all the Australian state and territory libraries, who had the privilege of working with her. Truly we can say that without Anne's inspirational vision and probing intelligence AskNow, our very successful collaborative national chat reference service would not have so easily got off the ground. We well remember the first workshop meeting of the -now- AskNow partners facilitated by Anne, in her inimitable and special way. The task seemed impossibly big at the outset, but guided and goaded by Anne we set about it. Her enthusiasm and passion for reference services, the many challenges she threw us, gave us the confidence to push ahead with our vision of establishing this national, now multinational - with our New Zealand colleagues - service.

Anne will be remembered for her huge contribution to the international library world, her generosity of spirit, her passion for the continued importance of librarianship and reference in particular, her warm and friendly personality, and her great sense of humour. There are not many with her giant reputation who would be willing to cross half the world to run a small workshop for a dozen or so librarians. On her last visit to Australia we will remember Anne enjoying an al fresco Sunday lunch by the lake in Canberra, with good food and wine, and wide ranging discussion on matters professional and personal. We join with colleagues from across the world in mourning her passing and offer our sincere sympathy to Anne's family and friends. She will be greatly missed, but her legacy lives on.

Margy Burn
Assistant Director-General
Australian Collections & Reader Services
National Library of Australia

Anne's death is a great loss. When I first came to know her she was more "my friend's mom" - a nice lady of my parents' generation, my husband's cousin whose daughters are my age. The longer I knew Anne the more extraordinary I found her. I admired her energy, and the texture of her life, full of art, books, food, travel, and most of all, people.

The last time I saw her, when she was in bed, unable to get up, I was amazed that she noticed my four year old son's progress in language skills. Despite her grave illness, she noticed how much he was talking and stopped everything to comment to me about it. I was touched that in the middle of all her troubles, she would keep track of the developmental progress of her ex-husband's third cousin.

Furthermore, as an Arab-American marrying into a Jewish family, I have felt so grateful through the years for Anne's open, tolerant, loving support. With Anne I never had to hide an opinion to keep the peace. I never had to defend myself or my culture to any of the Lipows. One year at Passover, Anne and Jenny organized a haggadah reading that was inclusive and meaningful. Words fail me - maybe later I can write more about what that means to me as an Arab-American married to a wonderful Jewish man.

Anne's funeral today was beautiful, poignant, and cathartic. Rabbi Lerner's remarks especially gave me comfort and hope. I am so grateful to share in the love of this family. Steve, Jenny, Stephanie, Nicolas and everyone - your loss is immeasurable. We love you and support you in this time of sorrow.

Leila Abu-Saba MacLeod

As I think now about Anne I realize how many ways our lives intersected - a wonderful reflection of Anne's generosity and wide interests. I first met Anne at one of her workshops in Australia, invited her to speak at more, visited and stayed with Anne and Steve in Belvedere and Berkeley, met my dear friends Debbie and Eric through Anne, continued the friendship with Steve at Innovative Interfaces, rowed on the San Francisco Bay with Anne and Steve at Open Water Rowing Center, Sausalito, and lots, lots more.

Anne was a mentor for me in the library profession, with her creativity and challenging ideas, questioning, always thinking and sharing.
I was lucky to see Anne when she stayed for a night on what turned out to be her last trip to Australia, and she generously shared with me some work contacts and ideas.

Anne was a rare and wonderful person. I will miss her and I will always remember her.

I have not seen Anne in a few years, but our paths would cross at ALA over the years. The story I have to tell involves the unionization of librarians at the University of California. I became active years after Anne had been in the forefront of Berkeley librarians' organizing. However, when we began bargaining with the university in December of 1983, a union with very few resources, Anne graciously opened her home to members of the bargaining team. I remember the stars on the ceiling of the bedroom glowing in the dark. We stayed there so often that Anne gave me a key to her house on Oregon, which I kept for years on my keychain, finally returning it to her at an ALA meeting. We had many discussions on the direction of reference and she always put forth provocative ideas that caused me to reconsider my own thoughts. She will be sorely missed.

Miki

I'm so sorry to hear about Anne's passing - I just can`t believe she is gone.
I got to know her during the Glasgow IFLA conference in 2002 and appreciated her lively, enthusiastic and inspiring manner so much.

I'm very sorry to hear this sad news, and actually was astounded. I came to know her during the 2003 IFLA Berlin conference, and was very much impressed with her enthusiasm, energy, eloquence and knowledge. I sent her a few email messages and always received warm replies. I expected a long lasting friendship. When she was absent from the IFLA conference this year, we all missed her and hoped she would recover soon.
My deepest condolences, and tears.

I met in the early 1990s Anne when she struck up a conversation with me on a hotel escalator during an ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco. When we reached the lobby and saw that it was raining, she asked me where I was headed and offered me a ride in her car. During that conversation we discovered our mutual belief that reference service was due for a major review and rethinking. She graciously included me in her "Rethinking Reference" workshops. She measured their success not by their income but by the energy, enthusiasm, and creativity generated among their participants. Those are the qualities Anne brought to all of her work on behalf of librarianship and, I imagine, in every other area of her life. We are the better for all she gave us and the poorer for losing her now.

Anne has been a role-model for me for 30 years, and an important colleague
for half my life.

I first met Anne in the early 1970s when, as an activist student library
employee (SLE), I was part of a group agitating for sick leave and holiday
pay for student library workers. Anne really impressed me -- I was
surprised that someone in what I then regarded as a high-level position
was both supportive of our cause, and was helpful in strategizing how best
to deal with a resistant administration.

In the mid-1970s Anne gave me my first quasi-professional job. She had
gone out on a limb and created the first real document delivery service in
an academic library (BAKER) at a time when many people scoffed at the idea of such a thing. (Today, all sizable academic libraries have such a
service.) In establishing this service she showed her vision of how
something like this could be so important, but she also demonstrated her
astuteness in networking and organization in incorporating other library
units (like ILL) into the service. And she offered an important training
ground for library school students (like me) in important skills that we
couldn't get in school, and exposing us to her vision of what libraries
could become.

In the mid-1980s I moved in around the corner from her home on Oregon St.
Over the years that physical proximity led to many unplanned encounters
and discussions over important topics (from the library world to political
topics to exotic places to visit and/or bikeride). I particularly remember
a few years ago when I passed by her place (by then her office) to find
her working on a Sunday, and she decided to accompany me to brunch for an exotic meal at our local Thai Church (where we ran into people we both knew from the Free Speech Movement).

But perhaps most of all, I remember Anne as an incredible networker. Her
vision would enable her to see even the tinyest threads of connections
between people she knew. She was constantly matching people together in
ways that would lead to great synergy between the people, as well as
serious benefits for libraries and/or society. (Even on her deathbed, she
matched me up with a UCB faculty member who had an important videotape that was too decayed to watch -- something that is of deep interest to me professionally.)

The circle of friends and colleagues that I know (or know better) because
of Anne is enormous, and probably constitutes 40% of the people I feel
close to in the library world (and that number is enormous!).

Anne has been such an inspiration to me. From her activism at protecting
library fundamentals (like her struggle against filtering), to her vision
of how libraries need to change in small ways (like developing online
reference) in order to adhere to their primary fundamentals of providing
good information to all segments of society, to her skills in making
important new developments happen -- Anne has been a critical role model
for me and many others. So many of us will sorely miss her. But, as
Suzanne Calpestri has said, Anne will live on in all the friendships and
working relationships that she helped create.

Anne was a treasure and a blessing, for her family and friends as well as for the profession. She was always a joy to be with and always interesting. Her contributions were legion, home and away. My family and I will never forget meeting her and Steve at the market in Galway one beautiful day in August a few years back. That sunny, happy person will be missed and will be remembered.

Mike

About 300 of Anne's friends and family were able to go to her funeral yesterday. Roy Tennant sent me a photograph he took of Anne's gravesite that we've put up at infopeople.org/anne.html.

Thought-provoking, inspirational, dedicated, passionate, innovative, forward-thinking, talented in writing professional literature and clever songs, wonderful conversationalist, and an enjoyable person with whom to share a simple or fancy meal. These are but a few of the words that come to mind as I think about the all-too-short amount of years I have known Anne. I have been lucky enough to share time with Anne and will be forever grateful to have known her. She will be missed, indeed.

Anne, my friend of some forty years, farewell. Remember when we toiled over requests cards in the bibliographic department at the UC library to verify and justify the purchase of books. We have come a long way from there professionally speaking, and you were a major part in many of those developments. Your contribution to our lives personally and professionally is vast. You were one of my very fist American friends. - I came to this country in 1956 and to the Berkeley Library school in 1959. Anne and have been friends ever since. Even through the years of 1971 and 1986 when I was back in Hungary. -
Anne, I will never forget how you helped to update my 15 years of missed American librarianship. You never let me down, you always inquired to see how I was faring. When deeply involved in CLA ACTSS activities a few years back and out speaker let us down in the last minute almost you jumped in and saved the day. You were even too modest and humble not wanting to do it saaying that you were not really savvy talking about metadata. Hah! Needless to say, you did pull it through better than anyone could have done it. You did not let down, and I knew it was for our friendhip mostly that you obliged. We will never forget when shortly after our arrival in 1986 how my Hungarian husband of poor English language facilities "fell in love" with you because you were patient with him, was able to converse with him, or better yet, he was able to converse with you because you chose your words so well that he could understand even complicated concepts the way you presented them. A very special talent that I always appreciated very much. He even understood what the Internet was in those early days of the early nineties. We'll all think of the fabulous parties you and Steve gave, how you made all your guests feel that they were the only people there.
Dear Steve, Jenny, Stephanie and Nicolas, your loss is immeasurable, however your lives were (created) and made richer by Anne who will always be with us!

Anne’s passing creates a huge void in the profession as well in my own life. Anne was one of the most remarkable people I’ve ever met. We met soon after I arrived in Berkeley as University Librarian. I had already read Anne’s report on the Status of Women before I had arrived in Berkeley. Without doubt she shed light on an issue that was long overdue. It was an insightful document that also upset a number of people because so many were in denial. I know that I paid attention to it. Anne and I discussed her findings and recommendations on numerous occasions.

Anne had the unique quality of wearing several hats at the same time. She could walk into my office, as she did on numerous occasions, and give me hell about this or that, and then return a couple of hours later, in a completely different mindset, so that we could work together to develop an idea we were both interested in—like BAKER.

There is no question that she was out in front of the rest of us most of the time. One of my real regrets at leaving Berkeley was that I would no longer be able to work with Anne on a daily basis—or the rest of the Berkeley staff who were a remarkable group of people.

As others have said, Anne was a multi-talented person. One of Anne’s great talents was writing new lyrics to old tunes. Just before I departed Berkeley in 1978 Anne wrote a series of lyrics that she (and others) performed at a ceremony. I still have one of series framed on my wall.

FareWell, RMD

Sung to “I Wonder Who’s Kissing Her Now”

We wonder who’ll replace Dick D.
Whoever it is—he or she—
Can’t make us forget all the things he’s done:
Ball games lost; budgets won.

He taught us how the big system works
(We’ll forget the Armenians and Turks)

We all wish him well!
(Now who’ll give Salmon hell?)
Oh, no one can replace Dick D.

Years later Anne wrote more lyrics that were performed by a group of librarians at my ALA President’s Inauguration Dinner in Chicago in 1991. Somewhere I still have the videotape of that performance. It was a real kick.

The last time we had an opportunity to work together was when I asked her to participate in my first live teleconference at the College of DuPage on the topic of virtual/digital reference service. Who better than Anne to share her vision to an audience of over 5,000 viewers. Steve Coffman and Paul Constantine joined Anne on the program. We were all very nervous during rehearsal because this was a new experience for all of us, but once the lights went on, Steve, Paul, and Anne were marvelous. It was a great program and we all enjoyed the experience! (How many people can say they have ever seen Anne Lipow with make-up on! Ah, the demands of TV lights.)

I can’t say that there was instant love between Anne and me. We were often on the opposite sides of contentious issues, such a grievance at which Anne was serving as a staff advocate, but it didn’t take long for me to appreciate that she was an incredible talent. As I said she could fight with me in the morning and collaborate with me in the afternoon as if there had never been a morning meeting. As the years passed I came to recognize that Anne was probably the most remarkable librarian I had ever had the opportunity to know and work with. I will miss her professionally and personally very much, but I know that I am a better person for having known her.

Dick Dougherty

Stickystickystrombo noso rambo ickybickyban etc…..and his brother Lee. That’s what I think of when I think of Anne. Or something like that. It’s the title of a children’s story that she used to tell Emily and Katie when she would see them at ALA conferences. Funny the things you remember. Emily made her write it down one time so she wouldn’t forget it. (that’s when she was 8; now at near 21 she can still rattle it off correctly… we probably still have the paper napkin on which it’s written.) And she would tell the girls about Jenny and Stephanie and Nick…..Emily could tell you the names of all Anne’s kids, who was oldest, who liked what, what they were doing. She had such a wonderful rapport with them. It was always books, stories, family. Even if Anne was at our house for a party of adults and librarians, or in our hotel suite at a conference, she would wind up in the kids’ room reading a book or looking at whatever treasures they wanted to show her. Anne had a heart of gold and soft spot for children. Our girls met a lot of librarians in their years of attending ALA conferences, and a lot of the names and faces and locations run together for them, but not Anne’s.

Yes, I knew Anne professionally, mostly through editing and writing, but first and foremost she was a friend who I never saw enough. We would talk of family and travels and politics and everything under the sun. It was always upbeat and positive and with passion. She made my world a better place.

Ann Dougherty

Dear friends:

It seems impossible that Anne is gone, and even more impossible that in the space of a few months we have lost, in Anne and Reggie Zelnik, two of the most humane, compassionate & multi-dimensional people for whom the Berkeley campus has been home in the last few decades. When you hear "life isn't fair," this is what is meant. I want to beat my fists against the hard walls of Fate. It cannot be.

To Anne I owe my first real library job, and a quarter century of productive work later at the UC Berkeley Library, I am in debt to her for having conferred upon me my true vocation. The warm camaraderie of the early days in the Cooperative Services Department remains a bright light in the memories of all, (students, staff, librarians and the faculty on the receiving end) who participated. I can see Anne, leaning back in her chair, gazing out the windows of room 386 into the gray Berkeley morning sky toward Haviland and the tall trees along the north edge of campus, wrapped up in thought and miles away from us all, as clearly as if it were yesterday. The dreamer and the immensely practical, both rolled up in Anne.

We miss a GREAT person, but more than anything we miss the person herself. It seems now that, in death as well as life, she has shown us all how to move forward with dignity and courage. May we keep the faith that was hers: freedom of speech, faith in human possibility, caring deeply about others and taking action to achieve those goals.

In peace,
David Kessler
Bancroft Library staff

Dear Ann is the friend who introduced me to Berkeley and was so important to Bill Riess and me. She gave us an engagement party, and found a job for me in the Psych Department. She constituted the fourth person in the first book group I was ever in, much less had heard of. Ann flew through life. She was so smart, she saw what needed to be done and moved right to it. At lunches when I saw her most recently, before the final illness, I loved listening to her report on her own life--she was both so certain, and so thoughtful. She was utterly inclusive, and a matchmaker, matching people and ideas both. Lucky all of us to have known her. She brought us all together, again and again. We have so much to miss, Jenny, Stephanie, Steve and all the family and all of the friends.

I first met Anne on a visit to Australia with Steve in about 1991. We got talking about reference service and I realised it would be really valuable to have Anne return and run her reference interview workshops for us. It was the beginning of years of organising Lipow workshops in Australia.

I was always amazed by Anne's energy, enthusiasm positive outloook and the caring interest she took in the people around her.Even after I moved out of librarianship we continued to meet for dinner whenever she was passing through Sydney. The last time was at a restaurant near the Opera House but of course neither of us knew it would be the last. I always looked up to Anne as a role model, both as a librarian and a fine human being. Anne, you will be missed.

I met Anne through the IFLA Conferences. She was such a warm. welcoming person and through her writings, seminars, etc was a truly inspiring librarian. Thank you Anne, you will be greatly missed.

Dear Stephen,
It hurts us to hear that Anne no longer is between us. We remember our visit in San Francisco and your wonderful home in Belvedere, July 2002, with warmth and great joy, and we remember Anne's generous offer to us: "Just come and stay in our home, as long as you want". We remember you and Anne standing at the harbour waiting for the ferry, bringing us to you for a wonderful evening with a delicious dinner, a visit at the violin- and guitarmaker and the walking through the beautiful paths and roads in Belvedere.
Dear Stephen: Our thoughts are with you. Anne will stay in our minds.

Yours Jette and Per, Silkeborg, Denmark

I knew of Anne professionally, having read her always insightful articles and heard several of her excellent presentations. I met her informally at IFLA in Berlin when I attended a Friday night service which she was attending and then shared a meal with Anne and other colleague at a nearby restaurant. Her energy, vitality, and enthusiasm about life and her profession were immediately palpable.

Her passing is a great loss to the profession, but her influence will be felt for years to come.

My heartfelt condolences to her family and friends.

Judith Lin Hunt

The following is the text of my remarks at Anne funeral on Monday

For the funeral of Anne Lipow -- Sept 13, 2004

Hello. My name is Steve Silberstein -- I am Anne Lipow's husband. As you know, just four days ago Anne peacefully passed away in her bed our living room, at 10:35 at night. Needless to say, as her breathing stopped, it was difficult to comprehend, being there with her, that she was both there and not there, and in any case that LIFE had left her. I finally was able to get to sleep about 3:00 am, then a few hours latter, at dawn, awoke and grogily went thru the motions of getting up. Anne was an early riser, and looked forward to each day -- I wondered what it would be like without her. As usual I went outside in the early dawn, walking down to the bottom of our steep driveway to get the newspaper, and as I bent down to pick it up, turned around, and headed back up the driveway, not knowing what to think about Anne, I noticed her car, parked in the carport at the top of the driveway, underneath out house. And staring down at me, as big as can be, was the text of its, her, license plate -- LUCHAIM -- Hebrew or Yiddish (I'm not sure which) for "To Life". (The spelling is a little unusual because someone else had taken the more normal spelling, but that didn't stop her from getting the phrase on her car's license plate)

There it was, staring me in the face from her car -- Luchaim -- thats Anne -- Life in its fullest, Life the great positive force, that indeed is Anne.

Back inside the house, Marianne -- who was helping with Anne care these last couple of months, was up too, and when I told her what I just experienced, she explained to me that indeed Anne's spirit was all through the house -- and as I thought about that, I realized how right she is.

As many of you know, Anne was originally very reluctant to leave Berkeley and move into that house which I had ourely by accident come accross eight years ago when I was driving around in Marin just looking for a parking place. After all, we had just completed the remodel and expansion of her longtime Berkeley house which she loved.

As I looked around the house in response to Marianne's comment, I realized that she was right -- Anne's spirit is all over the house -- physically through all the remodeling she had both required and inspired -- the entrance way foyer is hers, the incredible kitchen window is hers, the backyard is hers, even the second oven in the breakfast room is hers -- there for her cooking so we could do even more for our annual day after New Years party -- a party which so represents her spirit -- her intense desire to be with people, to share, to introduce each of us to the better parts of each other, the goodness in each other, and to better serve each other.

As probably everyone here can attest, Anne just didn't have a negative thought about anything or anyone she came accross -- everyone and everything was wonderful, and all she did focus on that and inspire us all to be even better.

For example, one of the reasons she didn't want to move to Belvedere was the commute that it would entail to her office in Berkeley. Yet when she had to make that commute every day, she thought it was wonderful -- it gave her the opportunity to listen to and enjoy numerous books on tape, great radio talk shows like Fresh Air with Terry Gross, All Things Considered, and even so-called right-wing programs like Imus in the Morning and Dr. Laura.

Many people know Anne just loved little gadgets. When she discoverd a new one, she just had to share it with everyone she came accross -- which she would do by talking about it, showing it off, and then, if the person wanted, giving them an extra one she always had (or would get). Who remembers the little battery operated personal fan she discovered on a trip to Singapore many years ago? or the apple peeler, or the garlic peeler, or the mezzaluna, or the little hook you could pin on to your sweater to hold your eyeglasses, or most recently the pedometer?

Anne's enthusiam for any little thing was just infectious. As many people know, she started the Dreidel Factory because she wanted a better, i.e. non-plastic, dreidel to give her kids. When her friend Dean Metzger came up with a way to make a dreidel out of redwood, she just had to share it with the world. For almost 20 years she loved to sit out on Telegraph Avenue with all the other stret vendors, and show people about the marvelous driedel she had. She wouldn't just sit quitely waiting for someone to approach her -- no, she would proudly announce to every passerby "Look at how well it spins -- here -- try it". I remember once when some African American kids looked at her as somewhat crazy and responded "Whats that? Why would anyone want it?". She immediately went into an enthusistic pitch she thought they could relate to -- it was a gambling device, and they could make a lot of money with it, and gave them its revolutionary history, and lo and behold she had another sale -- thats how infectious and irresitable her enthusiasm was.

With her own books at Library Solutions Press, and those of others, she was equally enthusiastic. She couldn't resist telling everyone who wonderful this or that thing that this other person had done was. In my own case, I felt she sometimes went a little overboard talking me up, and afterwards asked her to tone it down somewhat -- but she just couldn't.

Cooking -- for most of her life she was enthusistically proud that she didn't and indeed couldn't cook at all -- hard (not soft) boiling an egg was about it, and that only under dire necessity. Then a few years ago, she took up cooking and just feel in love with it -- collecting and sharing recipes, and just loving making delicious and unique meals -- she was just loved it. Similarly, a few years ago she and I took up rowing out in the Bay, me for excercise and a chance to explore all the nooks and crannies of the Bay, she just gracefully get out in the middle of the water where she could sing to the hundreds of birds and half a dozen harbor seals that she said followed her