We saw no proper post for August, so I’ve created a new month called AuguSeptember — which actually better reflects how busy things have been at the University Archives and Special Collections.

This month has seen Jessica Generoux begin work at UASC. While busily finding her stride, she has also provided vital feedback on our Finding Aids. She is hoping to build a mini-report that will help guide us in the reformatting of Finding Aids, and ultimately in making them accessible online and (fingers crossed) through the library catalog. She has been involved in the Great War project as discussions for the upcoming WWI Link display take flight, and has also been brainstorming some ideas for a short video on our collections. Really enjoying working with you thus far, Jessica!

Jessica also had a hand in putting up the Year of Queer display in the cases near the Starbucks on the ground floor of Murray. This is the second year in a row we have featured this exhibit, which showcases some of the newest additions to the Neil Richards Collection of Sexual and Gender Diversity. UASC devoted the entire month of September to celebrating sexual and gender diversity at the U of S, offering a tour of the Richards holdings on Oct. 1 as part of the USSU Pride Centre’s Queerapalooza festivities, and earlier in the month hosting a talk on 1920’s lesbian author Radclyffe Hall. 

The display on Radclyffe Hall’s book The Well of Loneliness is still up in the UASC reading room (Murray 301). The September 10th event was a success, with over forty people in attendance. At least two bow-ties reflecting Hall’s signature style were also present.

Between UASC and the Department of English, food was provided, including two 1928 recipes (crumb cake and chocolate-vanilla frigidaire refrigerator cookies) prepared in honour of the book’s year of publication. The talk itself was fascinating, with (the also very stylish) Shawna Lipton and the U of S’s own Ann Martin keeping the audience enthralled with a discussion of The Well and the role it played in the development of lesbian pulp fiction. We were also entertained by two of Radclyffe’s poems put to song and sung to piano.

In other news, we have been playing a game of musical jobs and musical desks, with Laurie moving into Dee’s position as supervisor while Dee is on artistic leave (congratulations, Laurie! One month already!), and Amy moving into Laurie’s  position, and Dee’s old desk (congratulations Amy!). As part of their new positions, both Amy and Laurie have been taking over more of the social media work, and have been doing a wonderful job!  I was able to capture a picture of Amy at her new desk:

In the meantime, Patrick has moved to a new soon-to-be sit/stand station in the back of our “T” Stacks, and I have toddled over into Patrick’s space. LOOK AT MY NEW DESK EVERYONE!

Laurie will be moving to my former space once the sit/stand stations arrive, and Mystery Phase 3 will be sitting in Laurie’s old space.

Whew!