The start of a new year always seems like a particularly appropriate time to begin new ventures. With that sentiment in mind, I’d like to welcome you to The Back Table, a blog which will highlight special collections at the libraries of New York University. This blog was born out of a collective interest among library staff in forging a stronger connection between the NYU special collections libraries, the departments that act in accordance with them, and the larger archival community. Our goal is to maintain a virtual space for exploring our professional interests as archivists and examining how those interests apply to our work at NYU Libraries. Although the subject matter of each post will be determined by each individual contributor, potential topics include archival collections currently being processed at NYU, how archival theory plays out in practice, current and emerging trends in archives, or particular challenges encountered through the course of daily work.
This blog is envisioned as a truly collaborative effort among the special collections departments. You can expect contributions from the professional staff of the Fales Library and Special Collections, the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, and the New York University Archives, in addition to the professional staff of library departments that handle special collections, like the Preservation Department. You can also anticipate blog posts from our many graduate students and interns whose efforts aid and enhance so much of our work. Although our intention is to focus primarily on the archives profession, we acknowledge that the work of archivists is often intertwined with the work of a variety of library professionals—catalogers, conservationists, digital librarians, educators, etc.—and we will invite our non-archivist colleagues at NYU to contribute their experiences on occasion as well.
This blog is the result of a discussion between five NYU archivists which took place, appropriately, at a back table in the University Archives.
The Back Table regular contributors are:
Hillel Arnold is a Project Archivist at NYU’s Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. He holds an MA in History from NYU and a MLIS from the Long Island University’s Palmer School. Previously, he worked as Digital Projects Manager for the Foundation for Landscape Studies, Graduate Assistant at the Tamiment Library, and Archives Assistant at the Woody Guthrie Archives.
Janet Bunde serves as the Assistant University Archivist and Archivist of the John Brademas Congressional Papers at New York University. She received an M.A. in History and a Certificate in Archival Management from New York University and a B.A. in History with a concentration in Peace and Conflict Studies from Haverford College. She has worked and volunteered in a variety of archival settings, from the Archives Center at the National Museum of American History to the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). She also serves as chair of the Outreach Subcommittee of the Archivists’ Roundtable of New York and on the Education Committee of the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress.
Jillian Cuellar is the Processing Archivist for the Communist Party, USA records at the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. She holds a MS in Library and Information Science with an Advanced Certificate in Archives from Pratt Institute and a BA in English from the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to her current position, she worked as a project archivist at Columbia University’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library, an assistant project archivist at Parsons the New School for Design’s Kellen Archives Center, and an Archives Technician at the National Archives and Records Administration-New York Region.
Lisa Darms is Senior Archivist at the Fales Library and Special Collections at New York University. She holds an MA in History and Advanced Certificate in Archival Management from New York University, and an MFA in Photography from the University of Washington. She has worked as a project archivist for the New York City Mayor’s Office, processing archivist at the Fales Library, and archival aide at the American Civil Liberties Union. Before coming to archives she taught photography and new media, worked as an imaging technician at the Washington State House of Representatives, and exhibited solo and collaborative artworks.
Jennifer Waxman currently works in the Preservation Department of NYU Libraries as their first Preservation Archivist. Previously she worked at the Associate Archivist at the University Archives of the American University in Cairo in Egypt, as a project archivist at the Museum of Modern Art and as a consultant for special libraries and archives. She received her MA in History with a Certificate in Archival Management from NYU.
As this blog unfolds, we look forward to a continuing discussion and we welcome your participation. Thanks for reading!