Blog

Hi, I am Alice, a second year student majoring in Fine Art studio practice. It may seem strange to see a student of Fine Art who is willing to apply to the position of the Special Collections & Archives Project Assistant, which it is not so Fine Art related. Even my colleagues here have admitted that this job is sometimes not so creative, in the sense that, sometimes, people do paperwork and scan negatives. However, I feel differently since I became a part of this community. It is a treasure box full of surprises for me as a Fine Art student. It is unlimited inspiration.

With Halloween coming up soon, I found it fitting for my first blog post as the new Special Collections & Archives Co-op student to follow a theme of the supernatural. When I first started working here in the Rare Book Room, I quickly realized that there would be all sorts of random topics covered in the vast collection we have down here on the first floor of the Dana Porter Library. Luckily, there are plenty of books and magazines that fit perfectly within the themes of Halloween.

Another special (and sort of unusual) collection that the archives holds is Hospital Romances. This collection consists of short picture romances, each one with different characters and plot twists, all occurring in the same setting: the hospital. The main focus is specifically on the nurses, and their complex and romantic relationships with the doctors.

Everyone is interested in reading about their country’s past or coming across some old photographs of how their city looked like back in the day. For me, anything I find that relates to my country (I’m Lebanese) or to any country in the Arab region makes me feel proud of my cultural background. When I started working in the Special Collections & Archives department, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me to search for any material on Arab history. And luckily, I did.