Jim Schnur has been working at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library since his graduate studies. He has also taught history courses at Eckerd College for the past 18 years. But his projects as an established author showcase his fascination with the history of Pinellas County.
Jim Schnur has been a librarian at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library since 2002. This past year he published Memories of St. Petersburg through Time, a history of St. Petersburg. His next book, a history on Seminole, will be coming out sometime in 2015.
Schnur is a native to Pinellas County and a USF alumnus. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history and a dual master’s degree in history and library sciences. This passion for memories inspired him to write. His first book, a photographic history of Largo, was published in 2011. He has also published a book on Pinellas County in 2012 and Madeira Beach in 2013.
He decided that royalties from all of his books should go to historical organizations. He has been involved with many historical organizations over the years, including serving several terms as president of the Pinellas County Historical Society.
In addition to instructing and writing about history, he is also actively involved in public speaking about the history of the area. He often takes his discussions to the Internet with a popular YouTube channel focused on the creation of Pinellas County.
In his time at the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library, he has spent his time building the archives. In 2013, Schnur spoke with Dean Carol Hixson about writing Memories of St. Petersburg through Time. He planned to write the book on his own time and use the royalties to fund the digital archive at the library. The digital archive was started there in 2011. He spent weeks going through old photos and digitizing them.
“I believe in the work that we do here in the library and wanted to provide a way to share our city’s history while also raising money to help something that is very important to me,” said Schnur.
Schnur has never made any money from his books. He uses the profits gained by his books to benefit these organizations whose work he believes in. The profits from his upcoming book will all go to the USF Foundation.
