The Legacy of Nancy Dulniak: Nana’s Story

Nana’s Books Foundation is a family affair built upon the legacy of Nancy Dulniak, mother, librarian, and lover of children, as reflected in a piece Nancy wrote during one of her memory classes after being diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment.

I spent the first eighteen years of my life in a small, picturesque valley with the foothills of the Adirondacks to the west and the Green Mountains of Vermont – Granville, NY. Because it was a small town where everybody knew everybody else, it was possible for me to get a library card at the age of 6. One whole year before the ‘legal’ age of 7! Books and reading have always been an important part of my life so it was completely natural that I would choose librarianship as my career!

I worked in the Pember Library during high school and then my college library, SUNY Fredonia where my husband Dennis and I met at Freshman Orientation. After college, I continued to work in libraries such as the University of Rochester, Montana State University, (the main and the architecture libraries), Ohio Wesleyan University, Piedmont Technical College, and Lander University. These positions allowed me to gain experience in several areas including Circulation, Acquisitions, Library Instruction, Special Collections, Reference, and Cataloging.

It was 11 years after I graduated from college before I had the opportunity to go to graduate school. The University of South Carolina granted me a Masters of Librarianship in 1987 and inducted me into Beta Phi Mu. Since then, I worked at the Sixth Court of Appeals Library in Nashville, TN, at Austin Peary State University as a tenured librarian, and at the Maitland Public Library. I retired in 2014 from Florida A&M University College of Law Library where I was the Catalog Librarian. 

Nancy passed away from Early Onset Alzheimer’s on January 26, 2021 in Oviedo, FL, leaving behind her husband of 47 years, Dennis Dulniak, her son Mark, daughter-in-law Olivia, son Craig, daughter-in-law Julia, and grandchildren Blaine and William. Her family created Nana’s Books Foundation in December 2020 to honor Nancy’s lifelong library legacy by providing grade-appropriate materials on Alzheimer's, dementia, and other disabilities to public libraries and students in Title I schools. We want to pass on Nancy's dual loves of reading and of helping others find what they need in libraries by providing resources for people to better understand disabilities that they may face in one way or another throughout their lives.

HOUSTON SCHOOL RECEIVES NANA'S BOOKS

Go Mt. Airy June 2023 Newsletter, Philadelphia, PA

Dennis and Craig Dulniak discuss Nana’s Books Foundation donation to books to Kindergarten class

Henry H. Houston Elementary School recently received a donation of nearly 700 books from Nana's Books Foundation, co-founded by Mt. Airy resident Craig Dulniak and his father Dennis Dulniak. 

Nana’s Books Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides grade-appropriate books on Alzheimer's, dementia, and other disabilities to public libraries and students in Title I schools. They selected Houston as one of five schools across the country to receive book donations this Spring.

"I am happy to have been able to relay my mom's love of books to Henry H. Houston Elementary School students," said Craig Dulniak. "The kindergartners we met were eager to share about their experiences with loved ones who have dementia or other disabilities. I hope that our presentation today, along with the books that they take home, will help them to better understand and include people with disabilities."

Since 2022, the Nana’s Books Foundation has been donating books to honor career librarian Nancy Dulniak, who died from early onset Alzheimer’s in 2021.

Nana's Books Foundation Donates Books to Pond Gap Students

Knox County Schools Hall Pass Newsletter – March 24, 2023

On Wednesday (March 23), Nana's Books donated 667 books to students at Pond Gap Elementary School! The Foundation's treasurer, Mark Dulniak, read “How to Babysit a Grandma” to the kindergarten class.

The Foundation provides books about Alzheimer's, dementia, and other disabilities to students in Title I schools.

Thank you to Mark and the Nana's Books Foundation for the generous donation!

St. Bethlehem Elementary to receive 800 books from Nana’s Books Foundation

ClarkvilleNOW January 26, 2023

CLARKSVILLE, TN – On Feb. 2, Nana’s Books Foundation president and former APSU registrar Dennis Dulniak will begin presenting over 800 books for St. Bethlehem students, classroom and school libraries.

Nana’s Books Foundation is in its second year in providing grade-appropriate books on Alzheimer’s, dementia and other disabilities to public libraries and students in Title I schools.

In 2023, five Title I schools were selected including St. Bethlehem Elementary. Each of the St. B’s students will be receiving a grade-appropriate book that has been ordered from Scholastic (delivery of these books for each student, classroom library and school library is TBA).

Nana’s Books was founded for Nancy Dulniak, who was a tenured librarian at Austin Peay State University.