Mudd Manuscript Library Blog

Name: Helene van Rossum

Title and Duties: Special Collections Assistant. Processing collections, organizing exhibitions, and “all other duties as assigned!”

Recent projects: I processed recent additions to the John Van Antwerp MacMurray Papers , which included about 1500 photographs taken by MacMurray while Secretary to the U.S. Legation in Peking (1913-1917) as well as 16 mm films that were shot in 1928 and 1929, when MacMurray served as a minister to China (1925-1929). Dan Linke and I curated an exhibition about MacMurray’s years in China, which included selections of the photographs and films, as well as documents and letters from the John Van Antwerp MacMurray Papers (October 20, 2007 through January 18 2008).

Worked at Mudd since: 1997

Why I like my job/archives: Handling the papers that people left behind is as if you are looking over their shoulder. It is like traveling in time! I love finding the stories behind the papers and passing them on to others.

Interesting work anecdote: Through my ten year old son—a dinosaur expert since he was four—I knew of Roy Chapman Andrews, the famous explorer who found dinosaur fossils in Mongolia and on whom the character of Indiana Jones was loosely-based. When I started preparing for the exhibition on John Van Antwerp MacMurray in China, to my astonishment, I found that MacMurray had not only accompanied Andrews’ 1928 expedition out of Kalgan (China’s gateway to Mongolia), but actually filmed the event. The movie revealed a quite spectacular entourage: a crew of 37 people, eight cars, and 150 camels—and because MacMurray had made arrangements for Andrews’ safe passage with the local warlord—they were escorted by 50 Chinese cavalrymen. Still, my son found it all a bit underwhelming. He offered me a small model dinosaur skeleton to liven up the photographs on display.

Favorite item/collection: Louis Fischer Papers

Other information: Outside my Mudd hours I am a children’s book writer and a shadow puppeteer

Name: Dan Brennan

Title and Duties: Special Collections Assistant IV, responsible for cataloging and processing of University Archives collections

Recent projects: Processing the Department of Oriental Studies Records, Department of Music Records, Department of Politics Records, Office of Government Affairs Records, and Dean of Undergraduate Students Records, as well as tying together the last stages in the processing of the University Library Records. I am also currently working on a project, with much help from my students Sarah and Josh, to make some sense of the many additions to the Historical Photograph Collection that we have received in the last few years.

Interesting work anecdote: Though not exactly a work anecdote, almost a year prior to my coming to Mudd I did a bit of research on the history of the Princeton Art Museum for a graduate school project that put me briefly in touch with the archives. If I search far back enough in my e-mail inbox, I can find a message from Dan Linke answering my reference question. Little did I know…

Worked at Mudd since: May 1, 2006

Why I like my job/archives: My educational background is in history and political science (plus a grad degree in museum studies) so working at Mudd is a natural fit for me. I feel lucky that I get to work on a daily basis with collections in which I have a legitimate interest, and which cover topics from colonial America to plasma physics. Finding new ways to provide access to them and increase their research value to our patrons is the most rewarding part of my job, especially since I get to see the results of this firsthand through my reference work.

Favorite item/collection: Though I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite, one small collection that I have a particular fondness for is the Princeton Print Club Records. The short-lived 1940s campus organization arranged for students to borrow from the club’s collection of art prints for the purposes of decorating their dorm rooms. Obtaining the prints was accomplished largely by simply writing letters to the artists and asking them if they might have a copy. When cataloging this collection my interest in museums/art history compelled me to look through the entire folder of correspondence, unearthing interesting letters from Ansel Adams, Thomas Hart Benton, and many others.

Adriane working on the Lee Walp Family Juvenile Book Collection as a processing intern at the Special Collections Library at the University of Michigan, 2004.

Name: Adriane Hanson

Title and Duties: Project Archivist, Public Policy Papers. I am responsible for planning the processing of collections, supervising their arrangement and rehousing, and writing finding aids (guides) to aid researchers in the use of these collections.

Recent projects: I recently completed a two-year NHPRC grant funded project to process 28 collections related to economics, totaling over 1,100 feet.

Worked at Mudd since: October 2005.

Why I like my job/archives: Working in the archives is a beautiful combination of my love for history, my natural obsession with organizing things, and my interest in the preservation of paper documents and books. An unexpected benefit has been being able to work with researchers, learning from them and seeing how my efforts aid them in their work.

Favorite item/collection: A biography of Sir William Arthur Lewis, a pioneer in the study of economic development, written in comic book form. Located in the W. Arthur Lewis Papers, Box 1, Folder 8.

Other information: In retrospect, I can see that I was destined to become an archivist, because in grade school my dream job was sorting mail at the post office.

Name: Jennie Cole

Title and Duties: Public Policy Papers Project Archivist (although this title is somewhat obsolete!) I coordinate Mudd’s accessioning process, maintain the general Mudd reference email account, and create the monthly reference calendar. I am also the project manager for the Council on Foreign Relations digital audio project, as well as Ivy Lee and James A. Baker III Papers microfilm projects. I supervise the New Jersey Historical Commission’s grant-funded Special Collections Assistant, as well as the Special Collections Assistant for accessioning.

Recent projects: I completed Woodrow Wilson: A Guide to Selected Resources in the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library earlier this year.

An interesting work anecdote: I’ve managed to have patron overlap from my last full time archival job at a historical society in Kentucky (2001-2004), with collections focusing on the nineteenth century history of the upper South, with my current reference work at Mudd. Small world!

Worked at Mudd since: September 2005

Why I like my job/archives: I always enjoyed reading and studying history (B.A. in Middle Eastern History, M.A. in American History) but never had the desire to be an educator, lawyer, or any of the other professions a history major is supposed to be interested in. I preferred research and museum work, and after internships at a historic house museum and historical society, ended up working as an archivist full time and enjoying it so much I went back to school to learn more about the theory of archives. I can’t imagine being as satisfied in another career.

Name: Daniel J. Linke (“Dan”)

Title and Duties: University Archivist and Curator of Public Policy Papers. Oversee the operations of the Mudd Library which includes reference, technical services, exhibitions, and collection development, as well as representing and promoting Mudd Library within the University and to the public at large.

Worked at Mudd since: December 27, 1993. Promoted to current position July 2002.

Ongoing projects: Directing the James A. Baker III Oral History Project; planning the celebration of the University Archives 50th Anniversary in 2009; and advocating for an electronics record management program, in conjunction with a full-time records manager to be hired.

Why I like my job/archives: Mudd’s holdings are broad and deep, in both the Public Policy Papers and the University Archives, and something interesting is always happening at Princeton. As a manager, I am also grateful for my smart and self-motivated staff.

An interesting work anecdote: For the Baker Oral History Project, I arranged to have Vice President Richard Cheney interviewed on videotape by former Newsweek White House correspondent Tom DeFrank in the Vice President’s formal office in the Old Executive Building, which is adjacent to the White House. The interview was to start at 10:30 but at 10:20, the Vice President walked into the room unannounced and asked, “Who’s in charge here?” I refrained from making any Al Haig jokes, but strode forward and said “I am, sir” and introduced myself. Fortunately everyone was ready to go so we started. Though I had asked for an hour of his time, Cheney talked for almost 90 minutes. (He restricted this interview though, so it is not yet available.)

Favorite item/collection: There are many. At the moment, when I give tours, I like to show Jacqueline Kennedy’s letter to Adlai Stevenson dated Dec. 4, 1963, Earl Gideon’s letter to the ACLU, and the Princeton flag that Pete Conrad ‘53 took to the moon with him on Apollo 12.

Other information: I am one of three “Dans” working at Mudd, and though born the earliest, I do not like being called “Old Dan.”

Name: John DeLooper

Title and Duties: Special Collections Assistant

I provide public service at the reception desk, including registering patrons, recording the circulation of materials and photocopy orders, and assisting visitors to the Mudd Library with initial reference inquiries. I also respond to e-mail reference questions, and create and maintain databases that aid in the compilation of monthly statistics for Mudd’s circulation and public service operations. In addition, I schedule classes and meetings in the library’s classroom, and work on other assorted projects such as assembling exhibitions and the James A. Baker III Oral History Project.

Recent projects: I contributed the 1983 case for the 2008 Alumni Exhibition, and created a new database to handle our circulation that will replace the old DOS-era system in use since 1992.

Worked at Mudd since: August 2, 2007.

Why I like my job/archives: I wanted to work in a library/archives setting because I enjoy helping others find information. Working with our collections is like working with history hands on, and I get to see the results of the work everybody puts in at the Mudd Library through the enthusiasm and joy researchers show when we help them find an unexpected resource or item.

Favorite item/collection: Historical Photograph Collection—seeing how the university, its buildings, and students have changed over the years is a way to step into the past and make history feel alive. It is amazing to see both what has changed and how much remains constant.