Annual Christmas Letter to the Patrons

Whew! I survived 2016.  I’m sure this is a sentiment that many of us share.  It has been a year full of challenges as our country faced a crossroads, as we each aged another year, and as we perhaps faced good life altering decisions.  Yet here we stand at the close of the year and celebrate our accomplishments and potentials.

For me, there came a day in 2016 when I woke up and realized that I was fully immersed in the professional world.  I negotiated and dictated legal matters.  I became a representative of DSU in matters involving external agencies.  My colleagues became my friends.  I formulated ideas that I wanted to contribute in order to move my community forward in a positive, productive manner.  I developed a voice and hoped that it was heard.  Somewhere along the lines, I passed a point where I stopped having to operate independently and found myself part of a team - A big shout out to the alumni who advocate and support me 100%!

Looking back at the year, so much has been achieved! 

• Today I sit in a physically different office then I did twelve months ago thanks to the Office of Planning and Construction.   
• I have a beautiful exhibit installed in a new archives gallery thanks to the Delaware Public Archives. 
• My collections have increased in size following the #GOTPAPER initiative of the Office of Enterprise Risk Management.  
•  There are four wayside signs permanently installed on campus through an IMLS grant and the camaraderie of the archival fellow, intern, and student volunteer.   
• Last, but not at all least, I started an oral history program because of a partnership with the DSU Legacy Committee, a group of loyal alumni who seek to preserve university history. 

My challenges yielded my successes.  I will cherish the moment I received a call from the staff of Vice President Biden’s office because they needed research help.  I will always remember the feeling I had when I stumbled into an abandoned records room in the most unlikely of places.  I will savor the advice I received and feeling of being welcome in the home of a 90 year old alumna who graciously allowed me to conduct an oral history. 

There are many aspects of the future that are obscure and difficult to guess.  There have been significant changes for the staff at the William C. Jason Library and departmental restructuring is still ahead as we move into 2017. By the same token, those who are in the highest offices of this university are setting goals to advance the archives into further prominence within the community.  Whatever comes next in 2017, I will serve to the best of my ability. Continue to join me here, in this blog, as the archives progresses through 2017. 

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and health and happiness in the new year, 

Joy