Former Harper librarian a lifelong pioneer
Linda Glover served as an assistant professor and librarian at Harper College for 25 years, leading the automation of its card catalog and designing library instruction classes for students.
But family members say she was used to being a pioneer.
Back in the 1960s, she was recognized for being the first woman postal carrier in McHenry County, while delivering mail in Woodstock and working her way through college.
“There were women sorting mail and working in the post office, but no other women were carrying the mail,” said her daughter, Kristin. “It was considered groundbreaking at the time, and it was something she was always proud of.”
Ms. Glover passed away Monday. The Island Lake resident, formerly of Schaumburg, was 62.
Just two years ago, Ms. Glover retired from Harper, where she had helped advance the campus library into an automated system and make its vast research capabilities more accessible to students.
“We call it our library instruction area. She helped to start the program, where we would hold classes to assist students in their library research,” said Thomas Goetz, reference services coordinator.
Goetz figures Ms. Glover fell back on her experience in the classroom when she proposed the concept. Before coming to Harper, Ms. Glover taught English at Addison Trail High School in Addison.
“The library instruction classes have become very popular with our faculty,” Goetz said. “We offer hundred of these classes, every semester. They've become one of our most important services.”
“She was a pioneer in that area,” he added. “Those classes are her legacy.”
Ms. Glover earned her undergraduate degree from Elmhurst College before later earning a master's degree in library science from Dominican University, formerly known as Rosary College.
Her first years as a librarian were split between working part time in the libraries at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines and at Harper, all while raising her daughter as a single parent.
“She would work days at one and nights at the other, just to make ends meet,” her daughter, Kristin, said.
Ms. Glover ultimately accepted a full-time job at Harper, and during her long career there she twice served as library department chair.
In her retirement, Ms. Glover baby-sat for her 2-year old granddaughter, Ella Lee, and 9-year old nephew, Baylor. Together, they loved attending volleyball games at Prairie Ridge High School in Crystal Lake, where Kristin Glover teaches physics and coaches volleyball.
Visitation for Ms. Glover takes place from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at Justen Funeral Home & Crematory, 3700 W. Charles J. Miller Road in McHenry, before a 10:30 a.m. celebration of life service on Saturday, at Memory Gardens Cemetery, 2501 E. Euclid Ave. in Arlington Heights.