Jim Carmin is the Special Collections Librarian at the Multnomah County Library. Jim’s presentation will focus on the highlights of the Ed Francis Collection of Fly-Fishing Books, which is housed at the Multnomah County Library. He will also talk about some features of the archives, and the most recent acquisitions made possible by members of the Flyfishers’ Club of Oregon. We have all heard about this amazing collection, now we have a chance to learn more!

In 2002 the Multnomah County Library was given a major gift from the Flyfisher Foundation: the Ed Francis Collection of fly-fishing books, more than 250 rare books dating back to 1787. Additionally, during the last few years, the archives–all the papers, photographs, and other materials related to the founding, history, and operations of the Flyfishers’ Club and Foundation–have been given to the special collections and have been organized, properly stored, and a finding aid created for easy access. And for several years the Foundation has been regularly contributing a generous financial gift to the special collections for additional acquisitions of great fly-fishing books.

Jim Carmin has directed the John Wilson Special Collections at Multnomah County Library since 1998. Prior to this he was a librarian for 12 years at the University of Oregon where he also earned his M.A. in art history, accompanying his earlier Bachelors and Masters degrees from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He’s reviewed fiction and other books regularly for more than 20 years for many publications, including the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Miami Herald, and The Oregonian. And while he’s not a regular fly-fisher, he has been known to cast a fly or two in Oregon rivers and looks forward to getting back in the water soon.