Guest Profile
Dear Readers:
Bibliofile attempted to interview Santa Claus for the December issue; however Saint Nick was too busy to return calls, and your trusty editors were too busy with final projects to travel to the North Pole. Now that the holiday and final rush is over, Bibliofile was able to catch up with Santa while he was on vacation in Cancun. We hope you enjoy the following interview.Name: Dr. Santa Claus
Alias: Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Pere Noel,
Saint Nick
Education: B.A. (Glass Blowing) from Carnegie Mellon
University; M.S. and Ph.D. in Child Psychology and Animal Husbandry from
Johns Hopkins University
Research interests: Glass blowing, knitting,
wood cutting, home economics, animal husbandry, large animal veterinary
science. He wrote a dissertation on the role of perpetual myths in
social doctrine.
How he became interested in these subjects: He was
abandoned as a child and raised by elves.
Family: Mrs. Klara Kringle, who is archivist/librarian
of the North Pole Historical Library and Archives. Mrs. Kringle is
currently moving their rather large collection of children's letters to an
on-line format. She is also developing a database of children worldwide.
Dr. and Mrs. Kringle are also the guardians of several thousand adopted elves
and reindeer.
What he likes about Pittsburgh: It is conveniently located
at the intersection of three rivers, which serve as good navigational guidelines.
He also appreciates the cookie table tradition.
Hobbies: Snowboarding and reindeer polo. He is
a founding member of the North Pole Polar Bear Club.
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: Baskin Robbins Peppermint
Books he is currently reading: The Physics of Christmas:
From the Aerodynamics of Reindeer to the Thermodynamics of Turkey by
Roger Highfield
Favorite Book: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
by Douglas Adams
Favorite TV Show: Survivor. "Richard Hatch
is on my 'naughty' list." He also enjoys an occasional round of Battle
Bots.
The Final Question: What else would he like
students to know? He really does not have a belly that shakes
like a bowl full of jelly. In fact, he does tae bo and can bench press
Rudolph. Also, next Christmas he would appreciate if people left him
potato and sour cream pierogies instead of cookies. A little change
can be a welcome thing.
Bibliofile thanks Dr. Claus for speaking with us. It
was an honor.
Publication of the Department of Library &
Information Science
University of Pittsburgh
135 N. Bellefield Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Last updated January 31, 2003