Super Fly Staff Meeting

Staff meeting this past week was scheduled to be the same old same old. Unfortunately/ fortunately our Political Science librarian who was set to train us double booked himself. At the last minute we had to reschedule so I suggested a tour of the conservation labs or Special Collections. Connie pulled some strings and found an associate of hers in Archives who could give us safe passage into the extra sensitive vaults.

I have attended numerous orientations with Special Collections in the which they flash some cuneiform tablets and the Oscar for the Gone With The Wind score. I must say they have proven to be a bit of a bore. The archives however made me more jealous of Wendy (who currently clocks in at the National Archives) and appreciative of the job that I have as well as the incredible resources of this university.

After passing through numerous security checkpoints and being quickly ushered in and out of temperature specific rooms I was able to see (and even touch some of) the following:

-A piece of art work out of Hitler's personal collection, featuring one youthful Adolf in lederhosen with some crazy German caption.

-The sixty third section of the Doctrine and Covenants, handwritten by Oliver Cowdery on surprisingly well preserved lined paper.

-An illuminated manuscript in honor of St. Jerome. This one I got to hold because I was the only one there who knew who he was and why he is significant. Because he translated the bible into Latin silly!

-We read an entry from one of Emiline B. Wells' journals. In a passage written about the saints being driven from Nauvoo, she described the traumatic experience though finished the entry with a maintained inner peace.