Jane Crabill

Crabill’s passion for libraries comes after a long career as a librarian on military bases in the United States and overseas. 

“My first instinct toward librarianship was loving books and wanting to connect people with books, but now libraries provide all kinds of information to keep up with vulnerabilities to hackers and keep our weapon systems safe,” says Crabill. 

Raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, Crabill as a teenager worked for her high school library before attending UNL and for Lincoln City Libraries before going to graduate school. 

“A friend of my mother’s was head of the children’s section of the public library, and she advised me on applying to library schools, to get an advanced degree,” said Crabill. 

Crabill attended the university in the early 1960s and graduated in 1966 with a BA in English, including a minor in history. She wanted to be a librarian but studied to be a teacher instead because Nebraska didn’t have a library science program. One of her favorite extracurricular activities was working on the Cornhusker yearbook. 

“That was a good experience, and it introduced me to a lot of students, including Bob Kerrey, former governor and senator from Nebraska,” Crabill reminisced. 

After graduating from UNL, Crabill moved to Michigan to teach high school for a year and then entered the University of Michigan’s graduate school for library science. 

Her library career kicked off in a public library—Prince George’s County Memorial Library in Maryland, where she worked for a few years before being hired by the Army Library Program in Germany and later became a Department of the Army civilian.

Crabill’s extensive career included working as the circulation supervisor at the Command Reference Center library on the military base in Heidelberg, Germany. She also ran four different branch libraries while in Giesen, Germany. In her final position in Nuremberg, Germany, she supervised the staff of eight branch libraries and the central library where books were cataloged. In the United States, Crabill was stationed at Fort Liberty (formerly and once again Fort Bragg). Crabill said that the armed services hired all types of librarians, including those specialized in medical and engineering information. 

“These libraries service American soldiers and their families stationed abroad, offering adult and children’s programs and computer installations, and they also provide support to soldiers working on undergraduate or advanced degrees while deployed in Europe, and reference materials for privates to generals,” Crabill explained.

Crabill says she loved the chance to travel and volunteered for assignments overseas. They were culturally broadening experiences. Since her retirement on June 30, 2011, she has made several trips back to Europe, including river cruises on the Rhine and Mosel Rivers. She also enjoyed visits to California wine country, especially in Sonoma County. 

Crabill has also remained active during her retirement with volunteering for literacy tutoring at Fayetteville Urban Ministry and the St. Paul’s-in-the-Pines Episcopal Church in Fayetteville, North Carolina. In the retirement community where she now lives, she participates in bimonthly trivia nights and the book club. Crabill has written book reviews for the retirement community newsletter and recently started a wine tasting club. 

After a long career as a librarian, Crabill is a dedicated friend and supporter of the University Libraries and her alma mater. She believes that libraries are still central to providing information in all areas to protect our country’s infrastructures. 

“We are in an information age, when it is crucial to have as many resources as possible to keep up with other countries and bolster scientific research—and now we are getting into artificial intelligence and a digitized world.”