Remembering Joan Dunlop of the New York Public Library

Yesterday I was browsing through the obituary page of the New York Times and noted an article about Joan Dunlop , an advocate for women's health rights.  The name sounded familiar, but at first I just couldn't place her.  The article stated she was an assistant to Vartan Gregorian of the New York Public Library.

I then remembered serving on a committee with her about the external noise from street musicians on 42nd Street near 5th Avenue.  That location was in "the middle of everywhere" so the street musicians who were trying to make a living couldn't care less about the readers in the library.  In an academic library the noise is from the loud conversations of students.  Most researchers at NYPL came by themselves and didn't generate much noise.  I remember the committee made a trip to the Midtown South precinct of the NYPD to complain about the noise.  The police had much more serious concerns.

I last saw Ms. Dunlop at a farewell party for her.  Her short tenure at NYPL was not her claim to fame. In any event I send my condolences to her family.