Category Archives: Behind the Scenes
J. Paul Taylor: Educator, Civic Leader and Politician
On August 24, 2020, J. Paul Taylor celebrated his 100th birthday. Due to the current health crisis, an in-person celebration was not held as in the past. Instead, a virtual centennial celebration was held to honor Mr. Taylor, where family and friends sent digital birthday greetings and recollections. For those not familiar with J. Paul…
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The Banning of Henry Miller’s The Tropic of Cancer
Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event that celebrates the freedom to read. Supported by the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, the event brings together librarians, booksellers, publishers, teachers, and readers of all types and ages who wish to maintain the public’s right to seek out and express ideas, even those deemed…
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Durango Microfilm Collections
As we conduct our virtual reference services in Archives and Special Collections (ASC), under the restrictions the COVID-19 virus has placed upon us, we’ve been receiving a large number of requests for scans from our Durango Microfilming Project resources. With Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15) geting underway, it seems like a good time to…
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Herman Weisner: The Untold History of a Historian Part II
Part Two In my last post, Herman Weisner: The Untold History of a Historian Part I, I ended with Herman moving his family to Organ, New Mexico. Much of my information came through an email interview with Weisner‘s son, Craig Weisner, of Williamsburg, New Mexico. Craig elaborated in detail in his responses to my questions, he also threw in a few bits of information that stirred a desire to discover…
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An Archivist’s COVID-19 Journal, Part IV: The New Normal
The first three posts in this thread have focused on how the pandemic has altered my work routine. If you will indulge me, I would like to provide some random thoughts on how this has dramatically affected my time away from the office. With coronavirus ravaging New Mexico and the state’s economy in freefall, it…
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An Archivist’s COVID-19 Journal, Part III: Groundhog Day?
Working from home never appealed to me. As an archivist, working temporarily from my apartment presents many complications. For many professions that is doubtlessly true. I do not wish to discount those fields but rather reflect on the only employment I have known for the past 20 years. I pursued a career in the archival…
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An Archivist’s COVID-19 Journal, Part II: No Longer Essential
The week of March 16th proved to be unlike any other in my working career. Normally changes in large bureaucratic organizations occur over weeks, months, even years, yet the rapidity with which new directives rolled-out proved stunning.  By that Friday, I was packing up needed files, paperwork, and other material to begin working from home…
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Getting to know the ASC Staff during a time of Social Distancing
We sure miss you Aggie Nation! Please know we are still available to help you with your research needs even if Branson Library is currently not open to the public. Get to know our staff as they each briefly tell how they came to work at ASC and why they are so passionate about…
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An Archivist’s COVID-19 Journal, Part I: A Brave New WorldÂ
I was blissfully unaware that Cowboy Days would be the last public event I attended.  Actually, I spent little time among the ranch animals and unique activities on Saturday, March 7, so I suppose it is another grudge I harbor against COVID-19, however I had come to work at the event. My colleague and I staffed a table inside the New Mexico…
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Some Preservation Talk
It’s no secret we’ve all been spending a lot of time in our homes lately. The time has afforded many people a chance to do some spring cleaning and in the process explore some of the old boxes tucked away in closets, under the bed, or in the garage. In some cases, those boxes contain…
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