Few living residents know as much about Nantucket as Elizabeth "Libby" Oldham, and if she doesn't know something, she knows where to find it. Beginning in 1951, she was a regular visitor to Nantucket until becoming a permanent resident in 1979. Most of her adult life was spent in New York City where she lived with her one child, a daughter, in Greenwich Village and had a career in publishing, principally with the Bollingen Foundation, publisher of scholarly works in the humanities.

On Nantucket she has been active in the Unitarian Church, where she sings in the choir; the Nantucket Theatre Workshop; and the Nantucket Community Music Center Chorus. She served from 1982 to 1992 as executive director of the Chamber of Commerce and participated in the successful campaign to restore the African Meeting House. Currently she is research associate in the NHA Research Library. Known on and off island for her world-class copy-editing skills, she is the copy editor of Historic Nantucket, Nantucket Magazine, and numerous books. At many island institutions, such as the NHA, no document is fit for public view until it has been "libbied," a phrase that has entered common usage.

This embroidered narrative uses the titles of Oldham's favorite books, poems, and plays as a background for her life.