May 14, 2024 • 22 mins
Nancy Klingener, the community affairs manager for the Monroe County Public Library, joins Gwen to talk about how she keeps the library's events, history archives and many no-cost services in the spotlight via social media.
Nancy, a veteran journalist in Key West for 30 years for numerous news organizations, took here talents to the Keys library system to in August 2022.
Since then, she's posted fantastic Twitter threads on Keys history that brings to life the greatest hits from the island chain, including before and after photos of Keys landmarks, oddball crimes, Duval Street arrivals and closings, and the sponging era.
For the historic photo of a man holding his enormous catch of sponges from the ocean, Nancy is grateful AI hasn't created a scent feature.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Key West Sidetracks. I'm Gwen Filosa digital editor
at Keys weekly newspapers down here in beautiful Key West Florida.
My guest today. Uh Why don't you introduce yourself for everybody? Sure.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
I'm Nancy Klinger. I am the Community Affairs Manager for
the Monroe County Public Library.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
And I asked you to be on because the, the
Monroe County Public Library system is phenomenal. Everyone knows this.
Um And the way that it's expanded in recent years
to uh be on social media with resources and I
love this day in history, I follow it on Twitter and,
and it,
(00:42):
it, the way it is, I can just see a
couple of things that click. I go right to the
library site where it's like this little newsletter of Amazing
Keys history photos and it ranges from, there was a
fire on Duval Street to like here's a sawfish that
they were dragging in when back when sawfish were plentiful and,
(01:03):
and the, the, the history of it, it's not just
the only when, when I say only in the Keys,
I kinda mean,
you know, we, we uh something like the dry Tortugas
or something about the lighthouses like there's just something about
the island community. I don't mean like Florida man or,
or this guy, you know, felt Gravity chronicles like that.
(01:23):
To me it's the rich history that it's like something
out of this world. So tell me
um how can people follow it and tell me how,
how you put it all together?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah. Um People can follow it uh Either on our website, keys,
libraries.org and if you hit the uh Florida history button,
you'll see it there. Um They can get it on social,
on Twitter. It's under Keys libraries on Instagram, it's under
Keys History and under on Facebook, it's the Florida Keys
History Center.
(01:54):
So the Florida Keys History Center is um we, we
sort of call it our sixth branch of the library
in some ways, it's, it's the most um comprehensive and
I would say important archive of documents and images from
the history of the Keys. Um And it's based at
the Key West Library. It was started
(02:15):
back in the sixties by Betty Bruce and um Tom
Hambright uh took over and really expanded it and got
a lot of the images online. And uh recently, um
Doctor Corey Malcolm is now our lead historian and has
just continued to um make it better including the Today
(02:36):
and Keys History column.
So he produces it um using both the columns that
Tom produced over the years and then finding new stuff,
which is really cool. And then we edit it down
and uh, post it online and on our socials.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
And of course, because me, I, I love the ones that, uh,
you know, here's the sailors down on sloppy Joe's but
there was one recently from my neighborhood. I, I don't
even want to describe it in, in my voice. It
was like a massage place on flagler and the sign alone.
And I, I think it was the seventies. It wasn't a,
(03:15):
you know,
and I put it, I shared it with credit to
the Florida Keys Library History Center. And I was like,
you all never told me about
this.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Right. Right. Yeah, there was definitely, it
Speaker 1 (03:26):
just was a different time. Yes.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yes. It was a different time. But, you know, this
is always
been a sunny place for shady people. It was just
Speaker 1 (03:35):
like, and I'm not saying there was anything wrong but
people were like, oh, it used to get and I
was like, I don't believe any of you, but I
don't know if it was on the up and up,
but it was just, it was just an odd sign for,
for Key West. I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
It said men only. Right.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yes, it did.
It did. And it, but I mean, those, it's just
the colorful history. I love the bar history here. Even
as a sober person, I, I'm always like, tell me
about the Boca chica was there really a fence inside
for and they're like, well, in the way they would
drive over there to, um,
yeah, it's, it's part of the culture. But, uh, but
(04:08):
there's one thing I was thinking of was the, because
the sawfish are in the news, this terrible, uh, crisis
going on with the fish and, and they don't know
what's causing the spinning fish. But, uh, someone pointed out
one day they're like, you should look at the photos
at the library, um, on Flickr and I didn't sawfish
are huge. It, it looked like they were putting them
(04:29):
on a boat and there's so many of them. That's
the kind of documentation that
it's so
critical.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Yeah, we have um and there's a shortcut to that
uh image collection by the way, which is bit.ly/keys picks
with an X. Um And you can really get lost
in there just fair warning. Um But we have something
that we specifically call the Dead Fish Collection. And that's
um you know, back in the day you'd go out
(04:57):
on a fishing charter and then you come back and they,
you know, nail up all your catch and you take
a beautiful photo and
they're great photos and they've actually been used by scientists
to document um what they call shifting baselines, which is
that the fish are not getting as big because they're
just getting caught before they can get that big. And
(05:17):
so and bigger fish reproduce more, et cetera, et cetera.
So um those images aren't both really cool to look at.
But they are all
so important documentation for history and for science.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
I also love those dead fish board photos. The people
just look so happy and I'm so satisfied. Like I
caught all these fish and it's through the ages
Speaker 2 (05:41):
and I love what they're wearing usually too.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
It's, it's, it's, it's, I, I don't know, I'm, I'm
a fan of that genre of photography.
Um But 11 post recently was the sponges and you
had the great line on, on Twitter. You was like,
I'm really glad there's not a smell. A Rama on
the guy had like 100 sponges right from the water. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
There were some kids on the dock and they were
all like holding these gigantic sponges and you were just like, oh,
that could not have smelled good
Speaker 1 (06:08):
absorbent. And the turtles, the turtle crawl history is we
ate turtles
Speaker 2 (06:16):
and we shipped them, we made them soup and shipped
it all over the place. And also Goliath Grouper. If
you search that on that site, you will see incredible
numbers of huge, huge fish
Speaker 1 (06:29):
and, um, and al and also just, uh, it's throughout
the Keys, the Keys history. Uh One thing about the
photo collection because it is we're talking tens of thousands
of photos that are, that are
stored
Speaker 2 (06:43):
scanned in very high resolution by, um, our staff and
volunteers and, uh,
identified and tagged and yeah, it's a lot of work
Speaker 1 (06:53):
these were old school real photographs that had to be
scanned in and cataloged and marked evidence. That's amazing to me.
And when it says like the, the, the so and
so collection, the Edwin O Swift collection are the, are
they all donated or is the library buy
Speaker 2 (07:13):
some of it's a mix. Um And in some cases,
we just
scanned them with that permission, but we don't have the
uh physical object. Um We don't own that. Um But
in a lot of cases, either uh they were donated
or um in some cases, they were purchased by
(07:36):
somebody else and donated to us for us. Um The
Scott De Wolf collection, you'll see a lot of those
like that. Um So yeah, it's, it's a, a variety,
but we're always looking for more if anybody um has
some great photos and you know, the most innocuous photos
(07:58):
years later, you can be like, wow, that is a
period of time that is gone and should be documented.
There's some photos there that I took as a Miami
Herald reporter in the early nineties, Captain Tony Terrain, sitting
at the mayor's desk, uh Finbar Gittleman standing on the wolf.
And those are important photos to, to show a time
(08:19):
in Keys history. And it's like, wow, that's I'm historical now. Great.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Yeah, there's a, there's always a, a double edge to that.
Uh But, but
you have been in the Keys 3030 years as a
journalist as a community member, very active, you know, a
lot about the Keys, specifically Key West, but, you know,
a lot about the Keys. Have there been things, does
it happen often where you're like, oh, my gosh, I
never heard of this or I don't remember.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Yes,
Speaker 1 (08:47):
you have a good memory
Speaker 2 (08:48):
and sometimes it's something that happened, you know, in the
time that I lived here and I don't remember it.
And I'm like, how did that, what, what was I
doing that? I didn't notice that, you know,
a wing of a plane that crashed here, washed up
in Scotland or something like that. So, yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
And, um, and, and Corey Malcolm chooses the, the incidents
or the. That's right. I, I keep calling them. It's
not a, it's not a trial.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
He choose news items. Yeah. And he, he sends me
a longer, um,
version and, you know, mark which ones are new and
I kind of edit it down. So
Speaker 1 (09:25):
that's
Speaker 2 (09:26):
what
Speaker 1 (09:26):
I love about it because without clicking, I get a
little bit and then I click and I go right
there to what it's all about. It's really well done. Nan. Oh,
thank you. Yeah. And, um, you know, in the Monroe
County Public Library system is, it's phenomenal. Everyone knows that
that's not. Can we talk about the marathon library? I,
once on the road
(09:46):
in my car needed to do an interview on the
radio live. I walk in and I think my first
time and I, I go up and I go, I
told him, can I, and they go? Yeah, of course,
we have like these little rooms that you're welcome to use.
I, that place is beautiful. Can you talk about just
what it's like to people who I felt like I
(10:07):
was in Stanley Kubrick movie and a good one and
a good one.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
It's a beautiful facility. It's very new. It opened in
the 2021. Um, and it does have, uh, those study
rooms that you can reserve or use if it's not,
you know, in use already. And it's got a big
community room, um, and it's got a, a maker space
as they call it upstairs with a 3d printer and
(10:33):
a fabulous children's collection upstairs and a special area for
teens where they can sort of be,
you know, not having to hang out with the little kids. And, uh, it's,
it's a beautiful, beautiful facility and I, uh, suggest everyone
stop
by
Speaker 1 (10:50):
and public libraries. Uh, I'm gonna guess we're similar on this.
I don't know what I would have done without a
public library. I grew up in North Burn in Indiana,
rural and we had a Carnegie library. We had an Andrew,
you know, and, and, um, my, I, let's just say
I used to spend time there as a child
dropped off. You could do that, then you could do
(11:12):
that then. But I, and I'm, I'm reading Irwin Shaw.
Like each p, and I'm running around reading Norman Mailer
was a little too. I was a little too. I
didn't get it. Stephen King. I was learning about storytelling
and reading in, in the little classroom libraries in my
elementary school. But I don't know what I would have
done without a public library to introduce me to the world.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Yeah. Yeah. And the great thing now is, um,
now that we have the inter webs, uh you can
get lots of stuff from the library even if you
can't make it to the building, you know, ebooks, e
audio books. I always say if you're paying for audible, don't,
Speaker 1 (11:48):
are you talking about Libby the app,
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Libby, the App, Libby and also Canopy has videos, um
TV shows.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
It's
Speaker 2 (11:56):
got,
Speaker 1 (11:57):
I
got my library card to sign in. So I have
used Libby a lot of stuff's already borrowed, man. I'm like,
how can an audio book be busy?
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Well, we only can, you know, afford X number of copies,
but I was
Speaker 1 (12:09):
very impressed. There was a lot of new literature that
I was interested in that. Um some stuff that was
from the literary seminar, some authors and Libby changed my life.
Not just during it's you just, it's all free,
Speaker 2 (12:22):
right?
Speaker 1 (12:22):
It's all. Um
Speaker 2 (12:24):
And also we have things like uh Law Depot, which
is also you get in there through Libby. And so
if you need a business form, a lease, a will
any kind of form like that. Um You can get
that for free with your library card from Law Depot.
Um We have linkedin Learning, which is what used to
(12:44):
be called linda.com.
Um And now it's linkedin Learning and it's got thousands
and thousands of courses on technical like software. It's got
um management and it's got creative fields like music and
writing and art and stuff like that and all free,
all for free. Also mango
languages.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Mango languages. There's a language because I'm on Duolingo and
I don't like that. It's very judgmental and we won't
stop talking about water and bread and
mango
languages. Mango languages. And, um, this is extraordinary because I guess, um,
you know what, I was doing a AAA big project
story for the Miami Herald years ago. And I remember
(13:25):
that's when I found Flickr. That's when I found the
mi the library. And I called at one point I called,
I mean, I, I did read it that this is,
you know, you can use it. It's public, but I
called Brianna like, I think twice and I was like,
I can use any of these as long as I credit.
And she goes, yes, they're public. They're, they're, they're yours.
That's right.
(13:46):
And, and that's, that's just outstand. Outstanding. And gotta ask
you what are, oh, I had Emily Berg on recently,
Emily Berg from books and books. And now she, I
asked her straight out do audio books count as reading
because I don't really read. I don't, I listen though,
I listen to Britney Spears autobiography. Does that count as
reading
Speaker 2 (14:06):
it? Does
you were taking in the content from a book? Right.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Correct. And I did, I did, um, I went to
the independent bookstore Day. Guess what I got.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Did you get the golden ticket?
Speaker 1 (14:19):
No,
they put it in a book. I was like, you,
you're lucky this place is in trash torn apart. No.
The Reformatory
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Ives book. I just saw her last weekend. Actually,
Speaker 1 (14:33):
she was here for the literary,
Speaker 2 (14:34):
she was, she was, she's incredible. I did
Speaker 1 (14:37):
buy that. It's about the, well in, it's about the
Dozier school. Yeah. Hellish Circle of Hell that Children were
put through in Florida. But
um there's another book, The Nickel Boys.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
So, I mean, obviously inspired, but um her book seems
a ghost story,
Speaker 2 (14:57):
right? Yes. She's a horror writer. Um for the most part.
And also, um she had a great uncle who died
at the Dozier school. So her main character is based
on him. And she said she talked about this at
the literary seminar that she was, um she'd been working
about this, thinking about this for years, but it's very traumatic,
(15:17):
of course,
you know, especially since it was part of her family.
And then she heard about Colson Whitehead's book and was
just like, oh, no, and she got a message or
a tweet or something from him that he was like,
it's ok. No. Ghosts in my book.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
That is
the best story. I wondered about the timing and if
it was, uh, oh, I know. I,
in a different circumstance I relate to that. Oh, no.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Yes. Oh, that's the worst feeling in the world when
you mine
Speaker 1 (15:45):
with comedy where you're like, oh, no, I didn't know.
But anyway, but obviously that
I don't even have the words to express Dozier. There,
there's plenty of um
enough, can't be written about it. So, but um Colson
Whiteheads is another one II I uh underground railroad. I
tore through that and then remember how, because I was
(16:06):
always joking. I used to dog sit for uh you
and you have a lot of books we do and
I'd always take a picture and send it to my
friends and go this. They're tricking me into reading, but
it's not gonna work.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
We have some graphic novels.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
I know I do. Well, then my eyesight's getting, um
I said skating board, but the audio books have really
saved me, but I did buy a actual paper book um,
of uh of, I can't wait to read the Reformatory. I,
I just um it's right up my alley. It's um
what are you reading? Give me a couple of books
and what are you streaming? I ask everybody. I need
(16:42):
ideas
Speaker 2 (16:44):
streaming. We've been watching, um, that show Sugar on Apple
Plus with Colin Farrell, I think Colin Farrell is amazing. Actually. Treasure.
I was texting Mark last night because I got home
before he did and I was watching it and I
was like, you know, if Colin Farrell had made Roadhouse,
it would have been really cool.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Right. Because he just makes interesting movies
Speaker 1 (17:07):
and everyone on Twitter and stuff says he is the
nicest man. He's easy going. He'll pick up a take
out order and just be like, here's my cell number,
but I never, I got to bite my tongue on
her own house because I get in trouble. I just
had high expectations. Did you see it?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Uh I watched the first part of it to the
Fred the Tree explanation and then I was like, I
don't know how much more of this I can take.
The
Speaker 1 (17:32):
fighting wasn't even fighting, breaking fingers and the most unlikable
Dalton I've ever like every time he was on screen,
I was like,
I don't care what happens to you, but the Fred
The Tree, um those are, those are spectacular shots and
I've seen a lot of shots of the Seven Mile
Bridge and it is, it's riveting to see it. It's,
(17:54):
it's almost like you're with him on the bus, but
then you get off the bus because you can't stand him.
Um And the Fred the Tree book that there's another book,
that one was fake. Um But uh I don't know,
best movie that you've seen about. What about Criss Cross?
Should I watch that?
Speaker 2 (18:11):
It looks like I'm actually a big fan of the
James Bond License To Kill.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
It's, it's
really fun.
It's really violent. Well, they had to tone it down
after Timothy Dalton. People were freaked out by it and
now we have Daniel Craig which it opened the door,
that scene where they go off the, um,
Speaker 2 (18:32):
they did that before. True Lies. They did the bridge
thing before. True lies.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
They're on spoiler. It's a 30 year old movie. They're,
they're like, let's drive into the ocean to get
away. And
Speaker 2 (18:43):
it's got, it's got Wayne Newton. It's got young Benicio
Del Toro. It's incredible.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
And he parachutes into the, well, now what's now the paras?
And I'm like, actually nowadays that'd be the best way
with parking in that area,
kind of the way that he really stole the bride's
thunder though. So, what a dick. Um uh But that
is a fabulous movie. I love that movie. And they
were David Waky Island
Speaker 2 (19:13):
for Baas,
I guess.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
And the
Hemingway House is where he gets his license to Kill
a repo because that's the place that you would.
It's a place of sadness. Uh Nancy Klinger, um go
ahead again and tell us about your job is about
engagement and putting out the info and there's so much.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah, I know, I feel like I'm overwhelming people a
lot of times, but unfortunately, if you go to our website, keys, libraries.org,
you will find everything we've got to offer. And uh,
um coming up, we've got summer reading programs at um,
all of our branches because school's out. And so we
like to do something special for the kids every summer. Um,
(19:55):
so contact your local branch or you can just look
online for that um, summer reading.
And, uh, and
Speaker 1 (20:02):
there's, I love that there's so many author events and
they vary from a local, local person that you all
give a shot to, to come with their book. And
then people visiting this is a, this is a, this
is not a bad literary town, isn't
it?
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Yeah, we are blessed. We are blessed indeed.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
I mean, this person comes through town. They're like, sure. Sure.
But uh Nancy, thanks for all you do because you
are not only uh you, I mean, you created this job, right? To, to,
it's your, I mean, it was your idea to say, hey,
can we bring, it's very well needed to get to get,
you've caught me and I do read
occasionally.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
It turns out there's this whole field in library called
library marketing, which I didn't know. Um But uh it's important,
it's important that you have all this stuff and you
want to make sure people know about
Speaker 1 (20:53):
it, right? And you organize it in a way that,
that it's very user friendly and it's very, and there's,
there's stuff for everybody, whatever you, there's Children, family stuff,
but there's also
the adult readings are, you know, fiction for adults. And, um,
and it's pretty, it's pretty amazing. And thank you for, um,
how's June Car Cash the dog?
Speaker 2 (21:12):
She's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
She
is what you said it. I don't want to take
the doggies dog. She
Speaker 2 (21:18):
is, she, she should be like, there should be a
kid's book about her.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
She's just this, like adorable spotted black and white mutt mix.
Did you do the DNA? What do we got?
Speaker 2 (21:29):
About? Half
um pointer, mostly German, short haired pointer. A little bit
of regular pointer and half
American bulldogs slash um Pitbull. And then 9% of what
they call Super Mutt. Um Making that up, which is
just Pitbull and something and some, some, some.
(21:51):
So she's a good old, you know, redneck. She's from
Speaker 1 (21:55):
the Gulf Coast, that's, she's from Alabama also the under
bite and she sits in a way about Bowser, another
dog that, you know, sits that way. You call it
a circus bear and she sits kind of um to
the
side.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
So she kind of like sits up and shows her belly.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
She's
adorable and great. So Nancy Cleaner. Thanks for all you
do for the community and I hope you'll come back. Thanks.
I'd love to thank you and thank you for listening
to Sidetracks. I'm Gwen Filosa. I'll be back next week
with a new episode. Check us out online. Keys, weekly.com.
No paywalls. We don't make you sign up with your email.
(22:34):
It is all free and for the taken. Thank you
for supporting local journalism. Talk to you later.
Welcome to Key West Sidetracks. I'm Gwen Filosa digital editor
at Keys weekly newspapers down here in beautiful Key West Florida.
My guest today. Uh Why don't you introduce yourself for everybody? Sure.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
I'm Nancy Klinger. I am the Community Affairs Manager for
the Monroe County Public Library.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
And I asked you to be on because the, the
Monroe County Public Library system is phenomenal. Everyone knows this.
Um And the way that it's expanded in recent years
to uh be on social media with resources and I
love this day in history, I follow it on Twitter and,
and it,
(00:42):
it, the way it is, I can just see a
couple of things that click. I go right to the
library site where it's like this little newsletter of Amazing
Keys history photos and it ranges from, there was a
fire on Duval Street to like here's a sawfish that
they were dragging in when back when sawfish were plentiful and,
(01:03):
and the, the, the history of it, it's not just
the only when, when I say only in the Keys,
I kinda mean,
you know, we, we uh something like the dry Tortugas
or something about the lighthouses like there's just something about
the island community. I don't mean like Florida man or,
or this guy, you know, felt Gravity chronicles like that.
(01:23):
To me it's the rich history that it's like something
out of this world. So tell me
um how can people follow it and tell me how,
how you put it all together?
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah. Um People can follow it uh Either on our website, keys,
libraries.org and if you hit the uh Florida history button,
you'll see it there. Um They can get it on social,
on Twitter. It's under Keys libraries on Instagram, it's under
Keys History and under on Facebook, it's the Florida Keys
History Center.
(01:54):
So the Florida Keys History Center is um we, we
sort of call it our sixth branch of the library
in some ways, it's, it's the most um comprehensive and
I would say important archive of documents and images from
the history of the Keys. Um And it's based at
the Key West Library. It was started
(02:15):
back in the sixties by Betty Bruce and um Tom
Hambright uh took over and really expanded it and got
a lot of the images online. And uh recently, um
Doctor Corey Malcolm is now our lead historian and has
just continued to um make it better including the Today
(02:36):
and Keys History column.
So he produces it um using both the columns that
Tom produced over the years and then finding new stuff,
which is really cool. And then we edit it down
and uh, post it online and on our socials.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
And of course, because me, I, I love the ones that, uh,
you know, here's the sailors down on sloppy Joe's but
there was one recently from my neighborhood. I, I don't
even want to describe it in, in my voice. It
was like a massage place on flagler and the sign alone.
And I, I think it was the seventies. It wasn't a,
(03:15):
you know,
and I put it, I shared it with credit to
the Florida Keys Library History Center. And I was like,
you all never told me about
this.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
Right. Right. Yeah, there was definitely, it
Speaker 1 (03:26):
just was a different time. Yes.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yes. It was a different time. But, you know, this
is always
been a sunny place for shady people. It was just
Speaker 1 (03:35):
like, and I'm not saying there was anything wrong but
people were like, oh, it used to get and I
was like, I don't believe any of you, but I
don't know if it was on the up and up,
but it was just, it was just an odd sign for,
for Key West. I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (03:46):
It said men only. Right.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yes, it did.
It did. And it, but I mean, those, it's just
the colorful history. I love the bar history here. Even
as a sober person, I, I'm always like, tell me
about the Boca chica was there really a fence inside
for and they're like, well, in the way they would
drive over there to, um,
yeah, it's, it's part of the culture. But, uh, but
(04:08):
there's one thing I was thinking of was the, because
the sawfish are in the news, this terrible, uh, crisis
going on with the fish and, and they don't know
what's causing the spinning fish. But, uh, someone pointed out
one day they're like, you should look at the photos
at the library, um, on Flickr and I didn't sawfish
are huge. It, it looked like they were putting them
(04:29):
on a boat and there's so many of them. That's
the kind of documentation that
it's so
critical.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
Yeah, we have um and there's a shortcut to that
uh image collection by the way, which is bit.ly/keys picks
with an X. Um And you can really get lost
in there just fair warning. Um But we have something
that we specifically call the Dead Fish Collection. And that's
um you know, back in the day you'd go out
(04:57):
on a fishing charter and then you come back and they,
you know, nail up all your catch and you take
a beautiful photo and
they're great photos and they've actually been used by scientists
to document um what they call shifting baselines, which is
that the fish are not getting as big because they're
just getting caught before they can get that big. And
(05:17):
so and bigger fish reproduce more, et cetera, et cetera.
So um those images aren't both really cool to look at.
But they are all
so important documentation for history and for science.
Speaker 1 (05:32):
I also love those dead fish board photos. The people
just look so happy and I'm so satisfied. Like I
caught all these fish and it's through the ages
Speaker 2 (05:41):
and I love what they're wearing usually too.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
It's, it's, it's, it's, I, I don't know, I'm, I'm
a fan of that genre of photography.
Um But 11 post recently was the sponges and you
had the great line on, on Twitter. You was like,
I'm really glad there's not a smell. A Rama on
the guy had like 100 sponges right from the water. Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
There were some kids on the dock and they were
all like holding these gigantic sponges and you were just like, oh,
that could not have smelled good
Speaker 1 (06:08):
absorbent. And the turtles, the turtle crawl history is we
ate turtles
Speaker 2 (06:16):
and we shipped them, we made them soup and shipped
it all over the place. And also Goliath Grouper. If
you search that on that site, you will see incredible
numbers of huge, huge fish
Speaker 1 (06:29):
and, um, and al and also just, uh, it's throughout
the Keys, the Keys history. Uh One thing about the
photo collection because it is we're talking tens of thousands
of photos that are, that are
stored
Speaker 2 (06:43):
scanned in very high resolution by, um, our staff and
volunteers and, uh,
identified and tagged and yeah, it's a lot of work
Speaker 1 (06:53):
these were old school real photographs that had to be
scanned in and cataloged and marked evidence. That's amazing to me.
And when it says like the, the, the so and
so collection, the Edwin O Swift collection are the, are
they all donated or is the library buy
Speaker 2 (07:13):
some of it's a mix. Um And in some cases,
we just
scanned them with that permission, but we don't have the
uh physical object. Um We don't own that. Um But
in a lot of cases, either uh they were donated
or um in some cases, they were purchased by
(07:36):
somebody else and donated to us for us. Um The
Scott De Wolf collection, you'll see a lot of those
like that. Um So yeah, it's, it's a, a variety,
but we're always looking for more if anybody um has
some great photos and you know, the most innocuous photos
(07:58):
years later, you can be like, wow, that is a
period of time that is gone and should be documented.
There's some photos there that I took as a Miami
Herald reporter in the early nineties, Captain Tony Terrain, sitting
at the mayor's desk, uh Finbar Gittleman standing on the wolf.
And those are important photos to, to show a time
(08:19):
in Keys history. And it's like, wow, that's I'm historical now. Great.
Speaker 1 (08:24):
Yeah, there's a, there's always a, a double edge to that.
Uh But, but
you have been in the Keys 3030 years as a
journalist as a community member, very active, you know, a
lot about the Keys, specifically Key West, but, you know,
a lot about the Keys. Have there been things, does
it happen often where you're like, oh, my gosh, I
never heard of this or I don't remember.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Yes,
Speaker 1 (08:47):
you have a good memory
Speaker 2 (08:48):
and sometimes it's something that happened, you know, in the
time that I lived here and I don't remember it.
And I'm like, how did that, what, what was I
doing that? I didn't notice that, you know,
a wing of a plane that crashed here, washed up
in Scotland or something like that. So, yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
And, um, and, and Corey Malcolm chooses the, the incidents
or the. That's right. I, I keep calling them. It's
not a, it's not a trial.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
He choose news items. Yeah. And he, he sends me
a longer, um,
version and, you know, mark which ones are new and
I kind of edit it down. So
Speaker 1 (09:25):
that's
Speaker 2 (09:26):
what
Speaker 1 (09:26):
I love about it because without clicking, I get a
little bit and then I click and I go right
there to what it's all about. It's really well done. Nan. Oh,
thank you. Yeah. And, um, you know, in the Monroe
County Public Library system is, it's phenomenal. Everyone knows that
that's not. Can we talk about the marathon library? I,
once on the road
(09:46):
in my car needed to do an interview on the
radio live. I walk in and I think my first
time and I, I go up and I go, I
told him, can I, and they go? Yeah, of course,
we have like these little rooms that you're welcome to use.
I, that place is beautiful. Can you talk about just
what it's like to people who I felt like I
(10:07):
was in Stanley Kubrick movie and a good one and
a good one.
Speaker 2 (10:11):
It's a beautiful facility. It's very new. It opened in
the 2021. Um, and it does have, uh, those study
rooms that you can reserve or use if it's not,
you know, in use already. And it's got a big
community room, um, and it's got a, a maker space
as they call it upstairs with a 3d printer and
(10:33):
a fabulous children's collection upstairs and a special area for
teens where they can sort of be,
you know, not having to hang out with the little kids. And, uh, it's,
it's a beautiful, beautiful facility and I, uh, suggest everyone
stop
by
Speaker 1 (10:50):
and public libraries. Uh, I'm gonna guess we're similar on this.
I don't know what I would have done without a
public library. I grew up in North Burn in Indiana,
rural and we had a Carnegie library. We had an Andrew,
you know, and, and, um, my, I, let's just say
I used to spend time there as a child
dropped off. You could do that, then you could do
(11:12):
that then. But I, and I'm, I'm reading Irwin Shaw.
Like each p, and I'm running around reading Norman Mailer
was a little too. I was a little too. I
didn't get it. Stephen King. I was learning about storytelling
and reading in, in the little classroom libraries in my
elementary school. But I don't know what I would have
done without a public library to introduce me to the world.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Yeah. Yeah. And the great thing now is, um,
now that we have the inter webs, uh you can
get lots of stuff from the library even if you
can't make it to the building, you know, ebooks, e
audio books. I always say if you're paying for audible, don't,
Speaker 1 (11:48):
are you talking about Libby the app,
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Libby, the App, Libby and also Canopy has videos, um
TV shows.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
It's
Speaker 2 (11:56):
got,
Speaker 1 (11:57):
I
got my library card to sign in. So I have
used Libby a lot of stuff's already borrowed, man. I'm like,
how can an audio book be busy?
Speaker 2 (12:05):
Well, we only can, you know, afford X number of copies,
but I was
Speaker 1 (12:09):
very impressed. There was a lot of new literature that
I was interested in that. Um some stuff that was
from the literary seminar, some authors and Libby changed my life.
Not just during it's you just, it's all free,
Speaker 2 (12:22):
right?
Speaker 1 (12:22):
It's all. Um
Speaker 2 (12:24):
And also we have things like uh Law Depot, which
is also you get in there through Libby. And so
if you need a business form, a lease, a will
any kind of form like that. Um You can get
that for free with your library card from Law Depot.
Um We have linkedin Learning, which is what used to
(12:44):
be called linda.com.
Um And now it's linkedin Learning and it's got thousands
and thousands of courses on technical like software. It's got
um management and it's got creative fields like music and
writing and art and stuff like that and all free,
all for free. Also mango
languages.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Mango languages. There's a language because I'm on Duolingo and
I don't like that. It's very judgmental and we won't
stop talking about water and bread and
mango
languages. Mango languages. And, um, this is extraordinary because I guess, um,
you know what, I was doing a AAA big project
story for the Miami Herald years ago. And I remember
(13:25):
that's when I found Flickr. That's when I found the
mi the library. And I called at one point I called,
I mean, I, I did read it that this is,
you know, you can use it. It's public, but I
called Brianna like, I think twice and I was like,
I can use any of these as long as I credit.
And she goes, yes, they're public. They're, they're, they're yours.
That's right.
(13:46):
And, and that's, that's just outstand. Outstanding. And gotta ask
you what are, oh, I had Emily Berg on recently,
Emily Berg from books and books. And now she, I
asked her straight out do audio books count as reading
because I don't really read. I don't, I listen though,
I listen to Britney Spears autobiography. Does that count as
reading
Speaker 2 (14:06):
it? Does
you were taking in the content from a book? Right.
Speaker 1 (14:11):
Correct. And I did, I did, um, I went to
the independent bookstore Day. Guess what I got.
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Did you get the golden ticket?
Speaker 1 (14:19):
No,
they put it in a book. I was like, you,
you're lucky this place is in trash torn apart. No.
The Reformatory
Speaker 2 (14:30):
Ives book. I just saw her last weekend. Actually,
Speaker 1 (14:33):
she was here for the literary,
Speaker 2 (14:34):
she was, she was, she's incredible. I did
Speaker 1 (14:37):
buy that. It's about the, well in, it's about the
Dozier school. Yeah. Hellish Circle of Hell that Children were
put through in Florida. But
um there's another book, The Nickel Boys.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
So, I mean, obviously inspired, but um her book seems
a ghost story,
Speaker 2 (14:57):
right? Yes. She's a horror writer. Um for the most part.
And also, um she had a great uncle who died
at the Dozier school. So her main character is based
on him. And she said she talked about this at
the literary seminar that she was, um she'd been working
about this, thinking about this for years, but it's very traumatic,
(15:17):
of course,
you know, especially since it was part of her family.
And then she heard about Colson Whitehead's book and was
just like, oh, no, and she got a message or
a tweet or something from him that he was like,
it's ok. No. Ghosts in my book.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
That is
the best story. I wondered about the timing and if
it was, uh, oh, I know. I,
in a different circumstance I relate to that. Oh, no.
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Yes. Oh, that's the worst feeling in the world when
you mine
Speaker 1 (15:45):
with comedy where you're like, oh, no, I didn't know.
But anyway, but obviously that
I don't even have the words to express Dozier. There,
there's plenty of um
enough, can't be written about it. So, but um Colson
Whiteheads is another one II I uh underground railroad. I
tore through that and then remember how, because I was
(16:06):
always joking. I used to dog sit for uh you
and you have a lot of books we do and
I'd always take a picture and send it to my
friends and go this. They're tricking me into reading, but
it's not gonna work.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
We have some graphic novels.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
I know I do. Well, then my eyesight's getting, um
I said skating board, but the audio books have really
saved me, but I did buy a actual paper book um,
of uh of, I can't wait to read the Reformatory. I,
I just um it's right up my alley. It's um
what are you reading? Give me a couple of books
and what are you streaming? I ask everybody. I need
(16:42):
ideas
Speaker 2 (16:44):
streaming. We've been watching, um, that show Sugar on Apple
Plus with Colin Farrell, I think Colin Farrell is amazing. Actually. Treasure.
I was texting Mark last night because I got home
before he did and I was watching it and I
was like, you know, if Colin Farrell had made Roadhouse,
it would have been really cool.
Speaker 1 (17:03):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Right. Because he just makes interesting movies
Speaker 1 (17:07):
and everyone on Twitter and stuff says he is the
nicest man. He's easy going. He'll pick up a take
out order and just be like, here's my cell number,
but I never, I got to bite my tongue on
her own house because I get in trouble. I just
had high expectations. Did you see it?
Speaker 2 (17:23):
Uh I watched the first part of it to the
Fred the Tree explanation and then I was like, I
don't know how much more of this I can take.
The
Speaker 1 (17:32):
fighting wasn't even fighting, breaking fingers and the most unlikable
Dalton I've ever like every time he was on screen,
I was like,
I don't care what happens to you, but the Fred
The Tree, um those are, those are spectacular shots and
I've seen a lot of shots of the Seven Mile
Bridge and it is, it's riveting to see it. It's,
(17:54):
it's almost like you're with him on the bus, but
then you get off the bus because you can't stand him.
Um And the Fred the Tree book that there's another book,
that one was fake. Um But uh I don't know,
best movie that you've seen about. What about Criss Cross?
Should I watch that?
Speaker 2 (18:11):
It looks like I'm actually a big fan of the
James Bond License To Kill.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
It's, it's
really fun.
It's really violent. Well, they had to tone it down
after Timothy Dalton. People were freaked out by it and
now we have Daniel Craig which it opened the door,
that scene where they go off the, um,
Speaker 2 (18:32):
they did that before. True Lies. They did the bridge
thing before. True lies.
Speaker 1 (18:37):
They're on spoiler. It's a 30 year old movie. They're,
they're like, let's drive into the ocean to get
away. And
Speaker 2 (18:43):
it's got, it's got Wayne Newton. It's got young Benicio
Del Toro. It's incredible.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
And he parachutes into the, well, now what's now the paras?
And I'm like, actually nowadays that'd be the best way
with parking in that area,
kind of the way that he really stole the bride's
thunder though. So, what a dick. Um uh But that
is a fabulous movie. I love that movie. And they
were David Waky Island
Speaker 2 (19:13):
for Baas,
I guess.
Speaker 1 (19:15):
And the
Hemingway House is where he gets his license to Kill
a repo because that's the place that you would.
It's a place of sadness. Uh Nancy Klinger, um go
ahead again and tell us about your job is about
engagement and putting out the info and there's so much.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
Yeah, I know, I feel like I'm overwhelming people a
lot of times, but unfortunately, if you go to our website, keys, libraries.org,
you will find everything we've got to offer. And uh,
um coming up, we've got summer reading programs at um,
all of our branches because school's out. And so we
like to do something special for the kids every summer. Um,
(19:55):
so contact your local branch or you can just look
online for that um, summer reading.
And, uh, and
Speaker 1 (20:02):
there's, I love that there's so many author events and
they vary from a local, local person that you all
give a shot to, to come with their book. And
then people visiting this is a, this is a, this
is not a bad literary town, isn't
it?
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Yeah, we are blessed. We are blessed indeed.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
I mean, this person comes through town. They're like, sure. Sure.
But uh Nancy, thanks for all you do because you
are not only uh you, I mean, you created this job, right? To, to,
it's your, I mean, it was your idea to say, hey,
can we bring, it's very well needed to get to get,
you've caught me and I do read
occasionally.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
It turns out there's this whole field in library called
library marketing, which I didn't know. Um But uh it's important,
it's important that you have all this stuff and you
want to make sure people know about
Speaker 1 (20:53):
it, right? And you organize it in a way that,
that it's very user friendly and it's very, and there's,
there's stuff for everybody, whatever you, there's Children, family stuff,
but there's also
the adult readings are, you know, fiction for adults. And, um,
and it's pretty, it's pretty amazing. And thank you for, um,
how's June Car Cash the dog?
Speaker 2 (21:12):
She's beautiful.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
She
is what you said it. I don't want to take
the doggies dog. She
Speaker 2 (21:18):
is, she, she should be like, there should be a
kid's book about her.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
She's just this, like adorable spotted black and white mutt mix.
Did you do the DNA? What do we got?
Speaker 2 (21:29):
About? Half
um pointer, mostly German, short haired pointer. A little bit
of regular pointer and half
American bulldogs slash um Pitbull. And then 9% of what
they call Super Mutt. Um Making that up, which is
just Pitbull and something and some, some, some.
(21:51):
So she's a good old, you know, redneck. She's from
Speaker 1 (21:55):
the Gulf Coast, that's, she's from Alabama also the under
bite and she sits in a way about Bowser, another
dog that, you know, sits that way. You call it
a circus bear and she sits kind of um to
the
side.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
So she kind of like sits up and shows her belly.
Speaker 1 (22:13):
She's
adorable and great. So Nancy Cleaner. Thanks for all you
do for the community and I hope you'll come back. Thanks.
I'd love to thank you and thank you for listening
to Sidetracks. I'm Gwen Filosa. I'll be back next week
with a new episode. Check us out online. Keys, weekly.com.
No paywalls. We don't make you sign up with your email.
(22:34):
It is all free and for the taken. Thank you
for supporting local journalism. Talk to you later.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.