City Council April 27*, 2022 Alderman Michele Smith, 43rd Ward Committee dn transportation and the Public Way Honorary Tom O'Rourke & Peggy Barber Way
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO
SECTION I. Pursuant to an ordinance heretofore passed by the City Council which allows erection of honorary street-name signs, the Commissioner of Transportation shall take the necessary action for standardization ofthe 1800 block of North Fremont Street from Willow to Wicsonsin as "Honorary Tom O'Rourke & Peggy Barber Way."
Michele Smith Alderman, 43rd Ward
SECTION 2. This ordinance shall take effect upon its passage and approvals
Thomas O'Rourke. Obituary (2008) - Chicago. IL - Chicago Tribune
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Thomas J. "Cowboy" O'Rourke, 62 years, suddenly, July 31, 2008, beloved husband of
Margaret "Peggy" Barber; loving father of Betsy (Dan) Spillane, Haley (fiance, Keith
Morey) O^Rourljcemnd^ Uddvicic; dearest grandpa of Ffancirie, Shea and Beau
Thomas; fond brother of Patrick
(Marilyn); dear uncle of Courtney (Dale) Gorder and Darby (Tim) Douglas. Memorial celebration will be held on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008,4 p.m. at St James Lutheran Church, 2046 N. Fremont St., Chicago. In lieu of flowers, kindly make donations in Tom's name to Hartsel Library Friends, P.O. Box 10, Hartsel, CO, 80449. Funeral info, Ewald-Barlbck Funeral Home, 773-549r0098.
Published by Chicago Tribune on Aug. 1, 2008.
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Margaret 'Peggy' Barber, promotional mastermind behind National Library Week, celebrity 'Read' posters, dies r Chicago Tribune
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Margaret 'Peggy Barber, promotional
mastermind behind National Li Week^ celebrity 'Read' posters, dies
By BOB GOLDSBOROUGH
CHICAGO TRIBUNE | SEP 20, 2019
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MargarM -I e'ggyf'' Barber ol^ers^ tHepub .office forthe Chicago-?
con
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dedica^ed^b promoting librari
"She was a t^e believer in the importance of libraries to the health and soul of a community jand their transformative powers for the individual users," said Art Plotnik, the former editor of American Libraries magazine.
Barber, 75, died of complications from lung cancer Aug. 25 at her Lincoln Park home, said her stepdaughter, Betsy O'Rourke.
degre
ret Ellen Barber, she grew up in Alhambra, California. She received a ee in English from the University of California at Riverside in 1965
4/14/22, 3:59 PM Margaret • Peggy' Barber, promotional mastermind behind National Llbrary;Week, celebrity 'Read' posters, dies .-.Chicago Tribune
and a master's degree in library and information science from Rutgers University in 1966.
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Margaret "Peggy" Barber transformed how libraries and ',
!ibrarians;prompi:e;tbeTr
Li brary Association) " ':
San Francisbo Public Library.
Early in her career, Barber worked as coordinator for the Orange County Cooperative Library System and as a reference librarian for the Bay Area Reference Center at the
In 1970, Barber joined tfre Americany^ official title
was associate executive director for communication. Instantly, she began to put her stamp on the organization, recalled Robert Wedgeworth, who was the American Library Association's CEO from 1972 until 1985.
Barber transformed how libraries and librarians promote their services to the public through two initiatives: National Library Week and annual communications audits, Wedgewprtri said. National. Library Week wound up providing funding that allowed the association to develop a robust public relations function, Wedgeworth said, while t ie communications'advice that helped the association develop.a wide-ranging set of public programs. ,
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Margaret 'Peggy,' Barber, promotional mastermind behind National Library Week, celebrity 'Read' posters, dies - Chicago Tribune,
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'■ Peggy Barber was the guiding hand behind these two developments that became major financial and organizational success," Wedgeworth said. "Peggy was ^a^riui atcbp participants dn^e^'iir^i^^i"
Barber started the practice of annual posters featuring a major celebrity with a book, along jwith the headline "Read." The subjects of such posters included Sting, David Bowi$, Mel Gibson, Julia Stiles j Maya An|elpuy'Stler^eh Hawking; anftthe rock band -RtEvlwi>,- among;'others-; The posters also featured beloved characters such as Mickey Mouse and Miss Piggy of "Muppets" fame.
"How she managed to persuade the owners of Mickey Mouse and Miss Piggy images to authorize their uMp^pr^m^ still "said.
Patricia Glass Schuman, a librarian who was president of the American Library Association from 1991 until 1992, called Barber "a consummate innovator and a pioneer."
Margaret 'Peggy* Barber, promotional mastermind behind National Library Week, celebrity -Read' poster8„dles - ChicagoTriburie
"Peggy's efforts changed the way librarians and library supporters think about communication and advocacy — and she pushed us all with determination, style and grace," Schuman said. "Her advocacy for public communication and support for libraries and literacy profoundly influenced the American Library Association
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Plotnik worked in the early 1970s for a national magazine for librarians before Barber helped recruit him to join the American Library Association as the editor of American Libraries magazine. The two wound up being colleagues for more than two decades.
"Having walked the walk in her library work, she was a true believer in the importance of libraries to the health and soul of a (community and their transformative powers for the individual users," Plotnik said. "One might have called her a zealot, cheerleader or even missionary for libraries, but she wouldn't have fit the stereotype. Her style was from the heart — never false or overbearing 7-and her career was one of action, not just words, in bringing the library message, of both traditional and modern services, to the public, to the media (and) to furiders."
In 2000, Barber left the American Library Association and formed her own consulting firm, Library Communication Strategies. She shuttered the firm in 2015:
With Linda Crowe, Barber co-authored the 1993 book "Getting Your Grant: A How to Do It Manual for Librarians."
Barber chaired the^Nation^^bklitioh for Literacy arid the Community Advisory Board of WT3EZ-FM. In retirement she enjoyed travel, playing the cello.and walking her golden retriever, Lucy, her stepdaughter said.
husband, Haig Depoian, died-in 1994. Her second husband, Torn died ih 2008. In addition to her stepdaughter, she is survived by a
4^4/22-4:0O PM Margaret ^Peggy.'^arber,promotional mastermind behind National Library Week; oeiebrity :Read; pgsjlers,;dles r Chicagojribuhe
brother, GaryBarber; a stepson, Mike Depoian; four other stepdaughters, Haley Morey, Kate O'Rourke, Rose White and Donna Szpytek; and 13 stepgrandchildren.
Services-were held.
Bob Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.
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