Librarian

In advance of Banned Books Week (Sept. 25-Oct. 2) I want to thank the often unheralded defenders of my First Amendment rights — librarians — who have quietly fought and continue to fight censorship. Large amounts of great literature have been banned at one time or another by self-appointed arbiters of the public morality — churches, school boards, censor boards, etc. — because these books have asked questions or described situations that made the rich and powerful uncomfortable or offended someone's sensibilities.

Richard K.C. Hsieh, a public health specialist and former National Library of Medicine official who in retirement traced his family tree back to seventh-century China, died of a heart attack Dec. 31 at his Towson home. He was 79. Born in 1932 in Tianjin, China, not far from Beijing, Richard Hsieh (pronounced Shay) moved with his family to Taiwan after World War II, according to his wife of 51 years, the former Rebecca Tung. He came to the United States in 1953 from Hong Kong to enroll at the Johns Hopkins University, where his father had done graduate studies in the 1920s.

Mary G. Creaghan, a Loyola High School librarian who during her nearly four-decade career helped generations of students appreciate the world of books and letters, died in her sleep Saturday at St. Elizabeth Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Southwest Baltimore. She was 98. Mary Gabriel Creaghan, the daughter of a contractor and a homemaker, was born in Marriottsville and raised in Pikesville. She was a 1929 graduate of St. Joseph Academy in Emmitsburg and earned her bachelor's degree in English in 1933 from St. Joseph College, also in Emmitsburg.

Mary Beth Crisco, a retired Harford County librarian who led the computerization of her agency, died of lung cancer Wednesday at the Upper Chesapeake Medical Center. She was 74 and lived in Bel Air. Born Mary Beth Harmeyer in Joppa, she was a 1955 graduate of Bel Air High School, where she was a four-sport athlete. She received an associate's degree from Towson University and a bachelor of science in general studies and a master's degree in library science from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Esther L. Sandstrom, a former middle school librarian and a world traveler, died May 26 of heart failure at Franklin Square Hospital Center. She was 95. Esther Louise Plancon, the daughter of French immigrants, was born and raised in Springfield, Mass., where she graduated in 1933 from Classical High School. She earned a bachelor's degree in English from American International College in Springfield in 1937. She worked as a telephone operator after college and in 1937 married John Russell Sandstrom.

Margaret M. Guccione, a retired Goucher College information technology librarian and volunteer who helped place stray animals, died Oct. 8 of colon cancer at her Butchers Hill home. She was 67. Margaret McFarlane, the daughter of a physician and a nurse, was born and raised in Alton, Ill. After graduating in 1961 from Marquette High School in Alton, Ms. Guccione earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1965 from St. Louis University. She taught English in St. Louis until moving to Germany in the late 1960s with her first husband, David Guccione, whom she later divorced.

Carol N. Kelly, who was head librarian at St. Paul's School for Girls for two decades and an active churchwoman, died Sept. 29 of Alzheimer's disease at the Maples of Towson, an assisted-living facility. She was 71 and had lived in Cockeysville. Carol Ann Newman, the daughter of an insurance executive and a homemaker, was born in Hartford, Conn., and graduated from East Hartford High School. She was an undergraduate at Drew University in Madison, N.J., when she met and fell in love with a classmate, John Frederic Kelly.

Paulette Tanenbaum, a retired Harford County librarian, died of malignant melanoma March 8 at her home in Street. She was 79. Paulette Townsend was born in Paris, the daughter of an American pastor and a French mother. After the Germans occupied France, the family fled to Lisbon, Portugal, where they boarded a ship for New York. They lived in southern New Jersey before moving to Providence, R.I., where Mrs. Tanenbaum graduated from Mount Pleasant High School. She later moved to Harford County, where she worked as a county librarian in Bel Air and Fallston for 30 years.

A librarian and an art teacher were injured yesterday as they tried to break up a student brawl at Meade Senior High School, authorities said.Donald Gobbi, the librarian, was flown to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center for treatment, said Anne Arundel County police spokesman Randy Bell. Mr. Gobbi was released last night, ...^...C hospital spokeswoman said.John O'Neill, the art teacher, was treated at North Arundel Hospital for minor injuries and released, Officer Bell said.Five students received minor injuries in the fracas, which brought county officers and military police from Fort Meade rushing to the school.

Re: "Elkridge residents oppose 55-and-older development": OMG! There goes the neighborhood! Can you imagine it? Old folks rolling around the sidewalks behind their walkers and on their scooters. Depends cartons cluttering up the recycling containers. And grandkids, dozens of squalling grandkids all around! We've paid half a million - and more - for our single-family houses and now these geezers want to move in and destroy our property values. Why can't these folks stay with their own kind?

An avid reader who considered the library a second home has left a $950,000 bequest to be shared by the Baltimore County Public Library and the Enoch Pratt Free Library . The city and county systems will share equally in the gift from Margaret S. "Peggy" Peterson, a retired county librarian and former Towson resident who died in 2006. "The library meant so much to Peggy from her childhood to her death," said Lynn Wheeler, a close friend and director of the Carroll County Public Library System.

Esther L. Sandstrom, a former middle school librarian and a world traveler, died May 26 of heart failure at Franklin Square Hospital Center. She was 95. Esther Louise Plancon, the daughter of French immigrants, was born and raised in Springfield, Mass., where she graduated in 1933 from Classical High School. She earned a bachelor's degree in English from American International College in Springfield in 1937. She worked as a telephone operator after college and in 1937 married John Russell Sandstrom.

Margaret M. Guccione, a retired Goucher College information technology librarian and volunteer who helped place stray animals, died Oct. 8 of colon cancer at her Butchers Hill home. She was 67. Margaret McFarlane, the daughter of a physician and a nurse, was born and raised in Alton, Ill. After graduating in 1961 from Marquette High School in Alton, Ms. Guccione earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1965 from St. Louis University. She taught English in St. Louis until moving to Germany in the late 1960s with her first husband, David Guccione, whom she later divorced.

Carol N. Kelly, who was head librarian at St. Paul's School for Girls for two decades and an active churchwoman, died Sept. 29 of Alzheimer's disease at the Maples of Towson, an assisted-living facility. She was 71 and had lived in Cockeysville. Carol Ann Newman, the daughter of an insurance executive and a homemaker, was born in Hartford, Conn., and graduated from East Hartford High School. She was an undergraduate at Drew University in Madison, N.J., when she met and fell in love with a classmate, John Frederic Kelly.