Many of Mike's closest friends were also colleagues. In the essays that follow you will discover how Mike touched their lives both professionally and personally. Mike was a collector.
He collected Fiesta dishes, teddy bears, books, and friends. Mike loved not only the collecting but also the displaying and promoting of what he collected. Despite his talents as a collector, Mike was the first to admit he wasn't very good at collecting money. He often said that he kept his money in circulation because it was good for the economy.
I cannot predict how many tears will be shed by readers of this festschrift, but I can tell you that the majority of contributors shed buckets of tears as they struggled to put on paper what Mike Printz meant in their lives. Some of the contributors know each other and dislike each other: Mike collected individuals and if some of them did not like each other, it never influenced how he felt about them.
Everything you need to know to become a great youth services librarian you can learn from this volume. Respect the young people you work with; challenge them to perform, and they will. Add technology, not because it is the current fad, but because it offers library users more and better tools to help with their research papers and personal information needs.
Most of all, read and love books and appreciate the authors and editors who create them. Be active in your state and national association and inspire others to do the same. For many, when there was no other good reason for attending an American Library Association Annual Conference or Midwinter Meeting, the thought of seeing Mike was enough to make the trip worthwhile.
