Vol. 28 No. 3 Nov/Dec 2000

Members Take a Trip Down Memory Lane at Archives Work Party

On October 27, SLAers Joyce Hardy and Steven Strom of The Aerospace Corporation hosted our Chapter's archive "work party." Attendees included Kathleen Smith, Debbie Hartzman, Laurel Crump, Joyce Hardy, Bill and Mary Lee, Joan DeFato, Richard Hulser and myself.

Given the nature of the company's work, regular security was tighter than most people were probably used to, with two photo IDs required for entry into the facility. As the consecutively numbered badges were handed out, Bill Lee found himself to be "007" for the day.

The overall game plan for the day was three-fold:

(1) Review archives for three newsletter articles;

(2) Identify materials to be used for display at the annual conference in June; and

(3) Determine what needs to be done in terms of future weeding, preservation and organization.

As we traveled back in time, poring over old photographs and slowly scanning the minutes, budgets and newsletters decade by decade, common themes and questions began to emerge. If these boxes could talk, what secrets would they reveal?

Who organized our Chapter?
How old is our Chapter really?
How has the Chapter budget grown over the years?
What were salaries and holiday dinners like back in 19 . . . ?
What were the burning issues of the day?
What did our Chapter do the last time Los Angeles hosted the national conference?
What are special librarians made of?
How many special libraries were there back in . . . ?

Are libraries even necessary, and do they provide real value? (Even in the 1960s, all-powerful computers promised to render libraries obsolete, making everything available at the touch of a button!) It seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Our thanks to Joyce and Steven for a fun time and for sharing the history of our organization. Part two of the archive work party is scheduled for December 1.

Lindy Lecaros

Jefferies & Co.

Note: "Becoming a Superspecial Librarian" on page 5 is one of the fun articles unearthed by the crew.