Your host and primary author, Bruce Alen Klaiss, is trained as a university-level librarian, working these days as a bookseller for a Major Book Store Chain. I originally come from Battle Creek, Michigan (growing up there in the days of governorship of Mitt Romney’s father, George), but now reside in west central Alabama, following a long sojourn in the Orlando, Florida area and several years in upper west Pennsylvania. Despite these sojourns in other areas of the country, I still regard myself as a man of the Wolverine state; and, like the Norwegian blue parrot, I’m “pinin’ for the fjords” in my own peculiar way. I am married to Kitt, an osteopathic family practice physician, and we have two children.

I’ve written for the American Library Association’s convention newspaper, Cognotes, in summer 1995. I have also published a paper, “Using Resource-Sharing Consortiums to Extend Automated Reference Resources to Rural and Small Libraries,” in Current Studies in Librarianship 20: 64-81 (Spring-Fall 1996). The paper is indexed in Library Literature.

Though the logical conclusion is to believe that part of my name is “Harper,” and that I’m somehow related to the Right Honorable Stephen Harper of Canada (especially since I write articles on Canadian politics occasionally) or author Harper Lee of Alabama, this is not the case; it’s simply an instance of serendipity-doo. My nom de net for over 20 years, since my early days on CompuServe Information Service (PPN 70105, 1026 — and for 19 years!), has been “Harper Blue.” This is in homage to the Master Harper Robinton, one of the finest characters ever to emerge from the pen of Anne McCaffrey. Those who aren’t familiar with Robinton and the Dragonriders of Pern are urged to run to their nearest library or Barnes and Noble Booksellers and begin with Dragonflight.