Upon retiring in 2003 from the Hartford Public Library in Connecticut and relocating to South County, Rhode Island, I met with Dr. Michael Havener, the then dean of the University of Rhode Island Graduate School Library and Information Studies program. I had known Dr. Havener from various library committee meetings throughout New England. We met to discuss the number of unrepresented students of color in the GSLIS program. I humored him by stating “I guess they do not have any Black librarians in Rhode Island …” I asked him this question due to my attendance at the recent Rhode Island Library Association annual conference at Bryant University. I fondly remember seeing only one librarian of color that spring day, Marlene Lopes, now retired, special collections librarian at Rhode Island College, who became a member of CORI.
I am not sure what Dr. Havener said to Dr. Donna Gilton, a former professor in the program, now deceased, but Donna always used to tell me, “He instructed me to meet with you.” I recollect saying to her, “as a seasoned educator and a pioneering voice in the library world and due to your immense expertise and passion for librarians, he selected the right professor to meet with me.” And not to mention her institutional and community knowledge. Our dear founding member Dr. Gilton, passed November 28, 2023.
Our first CORI meeting included Attorney Denise Dowdell, a former librarian, and designer of the CORI logo. Dr. Havener, Dr. Gilton, Denise and I would meet several times a month at the home of Dr. GIlton and her mother, Mrs. Hattie Gilton, whom we decided would be ex-officio of our organization. Plus, Mother Hattie always prepared a full course meal, whether it was breakfast, lunch or dinner and we always sat at the formal dining room table. No wonder it took forever to incorporate, we procrastinated just to continue with Mother Hattie’s sumptuous meals.
After months of meetings, research, and discussions, in September 2005 we had our inaugural program at URI’s University Club. An invitation to every RI librarian and library worker of color that Gilton and Havener could think of, including current and former URI GSLIS Prism Fellows, was disseminated. Librarians of color from neighboring states, Connecticut and Massachusetts were also invited and many attended. Our featured speaker for the luncheon was Andrew P. Jackson (Sekou Molefi Baako) former executive director of the Queens Library's Langston Hughes Community Library & Cultural Center in New York. Andrew has returned to RI on several occasions as guest speaker for CORI as well as for RILA annual conferences. (He is also on program for our September 25th event.)
Since inception, CORI has presented at RILA’s annual conferences as well as established a yearly fall mini conference. Guests’ speakers included well-known and prominent librarians throughout the country. From Dr. Carla Hayden, former Librarian of Congress who returned her honorarium from RILA and benefited it to CORI, with the stipulation that it be used for future CORI programs, to presidents and executives of the American Library Association and Jack Reed, Senior Senator of Rhode Island.
Without the URI GSLIS support, there would be no CORI. Nor would we have existed without the numerous librarians, library support staff and libraries that opened their doors so that CORI could have a meeting or present their mini conferences.
Of course, my biggest thank you are to the many that served as CORI officers and to all the members throughout the years. Never forget that the countless hours you volunteered will always be appreciated as you are why CORI impacted not only Rhode Island but the nation, as we are nationally known. It is bittersweet to end this run, and I am eternally grateful.
Please save the date and join CORI as we mix & mingle in an evening of celebration and remembrance on Thursday, September 25, 2025, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the Rhode Island State Library, 82 Smith Street in Providence. You are welcome to bring a friend and colleague.
For additional information on CORI, see https://cornucopiaofri.blogspot.com/
Sadly submitted by,
Ida D. McGhee
