People and places

L-R, Althea Topek, Lori Schexnayder, Andrew Mullins

Andrew Mullins, formerly with the Louisiana Research Collection (LaRC), is now coordinating archival processing and supervising student workers for the Special Collections Division, which includes LaRC, the Hogan Jazz Archive, Rare Books, and the Southeastern Architectural Archive.

On October 26, Andrew gave two presentations at the annual meeting of the Louisiana Archives and Manuscripts Association (LAMA) in Ruston, Louisiana. For the panel "LBBTQ Archives in New Orleans" he discussed LaRC's LGBTQ holdings. Leon Miller also participated in the panel by talking about the creation of the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana, for which he was a founding board member.

For the panel "Supporting Scientific Research in Louisiana Historical Archives" Andrew discussed how archives can support STEM research. Courtney Kearney, Scholarly Engagement Librarian at Tulane's Howard-Tilton Memorial Library, also participated in that panel. Andrew and Courtney also spoke on archives and STEM fields as part of "Louisiana Virtual 2018," an online conference held November 15 by the Louisiana Chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries.

On Saturday, November 17, Andrew spoke at the science fiction convention CONtraflow VIII in Kenner, Louisiana, about how to preserve personal collections of comics, zines, science fiction books, and other materials. 

Also at the October 26 LAMA meeting in Ruston, Leon Miller was presented with the I. Bruce Turner Distinguished Service Award. On November 15, Miller attended a meeting of the Louisiana Historical Archives Task Force in Baton Rouge. On November 11, Miller hosted a tour of the Newcomb Museum exhibit "Empire" as part of the museum's Homecoming festivities. On September 13, Miller spoke to employees of Cox Communications as part of their annual Heritage Festival.

Miller also recently published "It Started in the Southwest: SSA and the Development of Modern Regional Archival Associations" in Archival History News. The article was an expansion of a paper he presented at the Society of American Archivists annual meeting in Washington DC in August.

Lori Schexnayder, formerly with the Tulane University Archives, is now coordinating reference and reading room services for the Special Collections Division, including the Louisiana Research Collection.

Althea Topek, formerly with the Louisiana Research Collection and the Southeastern Architectural Archive, is now coordinating ArchivesSpace implementation for the Special Collections Division. ArchivesSpace allows researchers to conduct online searches of descriptions of archival holdings in the Hogan Jazz Archive, the Louisiana Research Collection, the Latin American Library, the Newcomb Archives, and the Southeastern Architectural Archive.