Cathy Graham ’61, Lisa Balfour-Bowen ’61
Hats Off to the Founders: A conversation 50 years in the making
On a snowy December evening, four women arrived one by one at the Trinity Archives. As each stepped through the door, the room warmed instantly — cheerful greetings, quick laughter and the unmistakable ease of people who have shared something important for a very long time. Some see each other regularly; others catch up less often. But on this night, the delight of being together was immediate.
The founders of the legendary Trinity College Friends of the Library had gathered as part of the Friends’ 50th anniversary celebrations, a milestone reached through the dedication of hundreds of volunteers over five decades. Before the Friends became a volunteer powerhouse, however, there was simply an idea — one first proposed in 1974 by College Librarian Beatrice (Babs) Saunders, Trinity’s first professionally trained librarian. Inspired by a Friends of the Library group at Trinity College Dublin, Babs suggested Trinity create something similar. The idea lingered until it reached Jean (Griffin) Elliott ’61, who seized it and began gathering a group around her.
As co-founder Lisa (Balfour) Bowen ’61 later wrote, Jean, who passed away in 2017, had a way of drawing people in and forming a team with complementary strengths: Alice (West) Bastedo ’61, Catherine (Curry) Graham ’62, Helen (Pepall) Bradfield ’60 and Lisa herself. They met in the small boardroom at the top of Trinity’s main staircase to sort out how the first Friends of the Library Book Sale might actually work.
There were concerns from the College — about boxes in corridors, chipped steps and safety — but Jean persisted, reassured those who needed reassuring and moved the plans forward. When the first Book Sale opened in 1975, the response far exceeded expectations.What follows is an edited conversation with the founders, held in the Archives just before this year’s Trinity College Friends of the Library Christmas party.
TRINITY: What do you remember from organizing the first Book Sale?
Cathy: Stairs. A lot of stairs. Boxes going up and down.
Lisa: And everything had to go up and come down within 24 hours. When you think of how large the sale became, it’s astonishing that we managed it.
Helen: I did the book pickups — all of them — for the first nine years. I drove all over Toronto. People would call and say they had books, and off I went. Sometimes it was a few bags; sometimes it was carloads.
Alice: The College was understandably concerned about boxes in the corridors and the steps chipping.
Helen: Jean reassured them. She just kept going. And the sale went ahead, and people came.
Lisa: We were all surprised by that first total — $2,100 in 1975. It felt significant at the time.
TRINITY: Helen, you handled the book pickups for nearly a decade. What stands out from those years?
Helen: Most of it was happy and rewarding. But once I drove to Scarborough and found about 150 boxes, all wrapped in brown paper and all identical. When I asked what they were, everyone disappeared. I opened a few and realized they were all books about a small church with no connection to Trinity. We couldn’t take them. So, I made the toughest choice, left them there and drove away. I never heard from them again. Saying no to donations is difficult, but in this case it was necessary.
TRINITY: When did you realize the Book Sale had become something bigger than the five of you?
Lisa: It didn’t take long. People lined up for hours on opening night.
Cathy: And students started volunteering. They liked being part of it — and getting first pick of the books.
Alice: Whenever you came to help, you always saw someone you knew. And then you’d meet people from other parts of your life who were suddenly involved. It really brought people together.
Lisa: It became a kind of nucleus. A place where people connected — alumni, neighbours, newcomers.
TRINITY: The Book Sale remains incredibly popular, even as bookstores disappear. Why do you think that is?
Alice: So many bookstores have closed. The world is very different now from what it once was.
Lisa: But people still love books — real books. There’s something about holding one, browsing in a room full of them, discovering something you didn’t expect. You can’t replicate that online.
Cathy: And it’s social. People come to see each other, not just to buy books.
TRINITY: As the Friends mark 50 years, how does that feel?
Lisa: Surprising. You don’t think, when you start something like this, that it will continue for decades. It is incredible how this little group of us has spawned renewable resources.
Cathy: It’s encouraging to see new volunteers — alumni and others — taking on major responsibilities now.
Alice: We started something, and others carried it forward. That’s how it should be.
Helen: I’m proud of what it has meant to the Library and the College.
TRINITY: This year the Friends announced a $500,000 gift to the Lawson Centre for Sustainability. How does that decision connect to the Friends’ founding purpose?
Cathy: It’s important that there’ll be some memory of the Friends through the new building — that feels right. It’s a serious contribution. The goal of what Jean started was to support the College through the Library — and, more broadly, to support students and learning.
Lisa: The Friends of the Library Seminar Room will be a teaching and learning space. It keeps the focus where it has always been — on academic life and community.
Alice: And it shows what volunteers and donors can accomplish over many years.
Later that evening, after photos in the boardroom, the founders made their way into Seeley Hall for the annual Friends of the Library Christmas party. The hall — home to decades of Book Sales — was dressed for the holidays, with a tall Christmas tree, trays of treats and clusters of volunteers in cheerful conversation.
As Alice, Cathy, Helen and Lisa entered the room, they were greeted by friends old and new. It was a fitting way to mark the 50th anniversary: in the same space that has hosted so much of the Friends’ story, surrounded by the community that continues to carry it forward.
by Jennifer Matthews
Remembering Jean (Griffin) Elliott ’61, founding president
Jean (Griffin) Elliott ’61, founding president of the Friends of the Library, died in 2017. Her energy, warmth and determination helped transform a dormant idea into a thriving volunteer movement. She gathered people in, made them feel valued and set in motion a tradition that continues to shape Trinity today.
Jean’s presence was felt throughout the founders’ conversation — in their stories, their affection and their clear sense of the force who brought them together.
