People always ask me why I want to become an archivist, and I always respond with some idealized blanket answer that references the preservation of history and provision of access to everyone. My answers are always filled with such good will that I feel as if some heroic composition should be playing as I recite […]
A Learning Experience and Adventure
Upon receiving work-study as a second semester, first year M.A. student in April, I had no idea that working at the Burke Library would not only be a learning opportunity, but also an adventure. Although I’ve had prior experience working at my hometown’s library in high school, little did I know that being a part […]
United We Stand: National Workshop on Christian Unity Records
I just finished processing my first collection at the Burke Library and I am filled with excitement but also with anxiety. While the hard work of describing and arranging is over, the finding aid needs to be evaluated and then made available to the public. The idea that this document will be made public terrifies […]
The Robert E. Speer Collection: A Treasure Chest of Pamphlets
On August 11, 1949, Emma Baily Speer sent an invitation to Dr. Pierce Beaver, curator of the Missionary Research Library, requesting that he and his wife pay her a cordial visit in Connecticut to look over the materials in her late husband’s library: Robert Elliot Speer had passed away two years earlier at the age […]
Please Join Us October 11!
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Archival Jitters- First Day at Burke
There is a lot of information! This is a recurring thought when it comes to the field of archives. There are standards and there are schemas, there are rules and there are processes. Each organization has its own in addition to those endorsed by the SAA. My first day as an intern at Burke was […]
Back to the Burke: My Return from Southeast Asia
Last spring I wrote an article about my upcoming summer in Indonesia, an opportunity I received through an academic fellowship funded by The Henry Luce Foundation, the same organization that supports my work at the Burke Library Archives. Now, three months later, I am back. Of course, everyone wants to know: "How was Indonesia?" What […]
Final Thoughts on My Last Day at Burke
As I sat on the subway during my commute this morning, it occurred to me that this is the last time I will be heading uptown and entering the doors of the Union Theological Seminary and finding my way to the Burke Library. Interning at the Burke Library Archives this summer has been an incredibly […]
“Good-bye” to My Summer at Burke
Many of my mornings during my internship at Burke have begun with a few stolen moments of serene beauty and solace in the quad of UTS, one of the most enjoyable perks of working at the Burke Library Archives this summer. When the New York City winter is upon us in a few months, I […]
Last Day…Final Words…
As I walked through the large heavy double doors of the main entrance to Union Theological Seminary this morning I realized it would be my last time walking down the cool glazed brick paved hallway and wending my way to the Burke Library entrance. The summer of 2013 has flown by and I am sure […]