So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Good-bye
by Lisa Grimm
It's true - we made it through each part of the move, including leaving the old building, getting into the new building, moving collections from two off-site facilities and remediating the worst of the Iron Mountain failures - but the economy is driving our team apart.
I'm off to new adventures of a non-archival nature; finances compel me to resume my previous IT career. The archival profession as a whole should have an open discussion about why a career that requires at least one (and often more) advanced degrees and a high degree of technical skill typically pays so poorly; hopefully, at some point in the future, that will change.
While that will not happen soon enough for me, I can say unreservedly that I've had a blast in this profession, and especially here at Drexel - how many jobs combine detective work, fun with history, techie buzz and all-around camaraderie with an amazing team?
And my work will stay with me - when last in Seattle, I noted places where Amy Kaukonen (WMC 1915) had lived and worked in that city, and I can answer just about any question you might pose about the evolution of women in medicine (or at least point you to someone who might know where else to look for details - why not start with The Chaff?). When looking for pet names, my first impulse is now to honor an early woman doctor - it's no doubt a modern manifestation of Jeremy Bentham naming his cat The Reverend Sir John Langbourne, DD (perhaps this happens to other UCL alums as well?) - although I would maintain that Anna M. Longshore-Potts, MD, is much easier to remember.
It's also been interesting to see how many search results we get from middle schools, especially those looking for information on women doctors during the civil war, such as Mary Edwards Walker, and those looking for Rebecca Cole and Eliza Grier. It's especially encouraging in light of the planning grant we recently received to develop more content (and context) for this age group - something I'll be keeping tabs on from afar.
I look forward to a future blog post when the Correspondenzblatt der Homoeopathischen Aerzte goes online - while I may be moving on, this blog will be in the extremely capable (if very busy) hands of other members of the department, so do continue to follow along. Hopefully, there will be a new hire announcement in the near future (and I'll try not to leave anything too strange for that person in my soon-to-be-former office - we've got enough of that sort of thing in the stacks).
And here are a few other takeaways –
With that, I must say farewell - it's been a wonderful opportunity to share some of our work here with you, and I'll continue to keep an eye on future developments. Watch for more to come!