FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 23, 2008

Contact: K.E. Schwab  

724.738.2199

 karl.schwab@sru.edu

Bailey librarian finds time to smell the flowers

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - When Lynn Hoffmann, assistant professor of library in Slippery Rock University's Bailey Library, isn't helping students and faculty find rare books, articles in scientific magazines or offering tips for gathering information for class research projects, he's often thinking about growing flowers.

Hoffmann recently took honors in the Garden Forum show staged at Fellows Riverside Gardens, part of the Mill Creek MetroPark's Davis Center in Youngstown, Ohio, for his flower-growing skills.

His green thumb talents, and those of others who grow vegetables and flowers for a hobby, were on display as part of the Garden Forum, an umbrella organization of Youngstown-area women's garden clubs, and the Mill Creek MetroParks' show. The display, including a photo of Hoffmann, received section, front-page coverage in The Vindicator Monday in a story by Elise Mckeown Skolnick.

Hoffman, of Youngstown and a member of the Men's Garden Club there, told Skolnick he began entering the shows about five years ago. He said he originally found them educational as he discovered many types of plants and flowers, "And then I thought, 'Well, I can do some of this, too,'" he said. "So I just started out small scale, entered a few things."

Hoffman said he got into the hobby gradually, "I kept entering more things as I got more comfortable with it." This time he entered a few items, including a hydrangea and a dragon wing begonia.

While he didn't take top honors, he said he is not discouraged. "It's an incentive to come back again and do better the next time," he told the reporter. "It's just fun to do."

Slippery Rock University is Pennsylvania's premier public residential university. Slippery Rock University provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that intentionally combines academic instruction with enhanced educational and learning opportunities that make a positive difference in their lives.