“Honor with Books” program provides one campus leader a creative way to recognize colleagues

 

As 2023 came to a close, Vice President of Development & Alumni Relations Erica Marks was looking for a way to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the staff and student workers in her office.

A lifelong lover of books, the solution came to her in a flash of inspiration and a meeting with the Friends of the Sojourner Truth Library.

The Friends’ “Honor With Books” program invites anyone – students, faculty, staff, alumni, family members and library patrons – to recognize special people by adding a bookplate to new materials in the Sojourner Truth Library’s collection, for a small fee that goes to support the Library’s collection of books, resources and programs.

Marks provided the Friends with a list of names and subject areas of interest to her honorees, and within a few weeks 25 books were plated with decorative inserts containing their names and her messages of appreciation.

“We have never had such a large request for bookplates, and we were delighted to make it happen,” said Friends of the Library Steering Committee Chair Thomas Olsen. “We hope Erica’s gesture inspires others to do the same; plated books are a lasting tribute to people we care about and they support the Friends’ mission to offer a margin of excellence to our wonderful Library.”

In a personal addition to the plated books for her colleagues, Marks arranged for one more bookplate to recognize her granddaughter Maya Kardas ’24 (Psychology), who will graduate from SUNY New Paltz later this year.

All the plated books will remain in the Library’s permanent collection.

Click here to learn more about the Friends of the Sojourner Truth Library.