[DCRM-L] I am happy to announce that I now have the job many on this list thought I already had

[Erin Blake]

It's doubly weird to be forwarding this message to DCRM-L because (1) it's
about me, and (2) it was internal to Folger staff, but it fills in the
details nicely, for anyone who is interested.

Short version: I am now "Erin Blake, Senior Cataloger, Folger Shakespeare
Library" and I'm living happily ever after. I'm still working with Folger
Cataloging Team colleagues Deborah J. Leslie, Sarah Hovde, and Emily Wahl,
and we now under the umbrella of the newly-created Collection Description
and Imaging Group, headed by Julie Swierczek, Associate Librarian for
Collection Description and Imaging.

Cheers,

Erin.

----------------
Erin Blake, Ph.D.  |  Senior Cataloger  |  Folger Shakespeare Library  |
201 E. Capitol St. SE, Washington, DC, 20003  |  eblake at folger.edu  |
office tel. +1 202-675-0323  |  www.folger.edu



*From:* Julie Swierczek
*Sent:* Thursday, September 6, 2018 9:36 AM
*To:* Everyone at Folger <FolgerEveryone at FOLGER.edu>
*Subject:* Congratulations to Erin Blake, Senior Cataloger



If you walk through Deck A, you'll notice a familiar face in a new spot.
After 18 years at the Folger, Erin Blake has returned to what drew her to
librarianship in the first place: cataloging. Her phone extension remains
x323, but she's now located just inside the Cataloging Office where she
will be focusing primarily on manuscripts and art.



Erin began at the Folger in 2000, as Curator of Art. Over the next 14
years, she co-curated several exhibitions, jousted with conspiracy
theorists on the international stage (ask her about the "space aliens"
quote in *The Globe and Mail*), published articles on Shakespeare
illustration, and expanded the collection to include such items as the only
surviving copy of the first edition of Martin Droeshout's *Sibyls*,
<https://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/boz3k2> Augustin Daly's
extra-illustrated copy of *A Midsummer Night's Dream* (the only volume of
the set of ten that Mr. and Mrs. Folger had missed acquiring
<https://collation.folger.edu/2013/03/a-perfect-ten/>), and the Folger's
only example (so far) of a large format Boydell Shakespeare Gallery
painting (the massive *Romeo and Juliet by James Northcote
<https://luna.folger.edu/luna/servlet/s/u0644w>*, now in the Paster Reading
Room).



While Curator of Art, Erin also spearheaded the cataloging of visual
material in Hamnet, managed the retrospective conversion of the art card
catalog, and served as chief editor of *Descriptive Cataloging of Rare
Materials (Graphics)*, the national standard for art cataloging in
libraries. After 14 years as a curator who could reboot servers, edit
Hamnet configuration files, and prepare catalog records for bulk upload,
she formally moved the other side of the equation, becoming Head of
Collection Information Services in 2014. Over the next four years, Erin
supervised the Acquisitions and Cataloging departments, maintained and
upgraded the Folger's Integrated Library System, introduced the library's
online request system, and pitched in as needed doing emergency cataloging,
couriering First Folios across the country, and building multi-layered
Excel spreadsheets for anyone who needed one.



As some of you know, the transition from Central Library to the Collections
Division included an exercise where each person was asked to consider their
current work, their career goals and plans, and what gives them the most
satisfaction in their work. As Erin explained to me, the answers for her
were obvious: although she *could* do (and had successfully done) all sorts
of things, her passion lies with the collection material itself, and in
providing descriptive access to it for researchers. For that reason, she
has chosen to move into the position of Senior Cataloger.



Next time you see Erin, be sure to congratulate her on her new role. We are
very lucky to have her experience and knowledge in our Division.



Julie



Julie C. Swierczek (SWER-check) |  Associate Librarian for Collection
Description and Imaging  |  Folger Shakespeare Library  |  201 E. Capitol
St. SE, Washington, DC, 20003
<https://maps.google.com/?q=201+E.+Capitol+St.+SE,+Washington,+DC,+20003&entry=gmail&source=g>
| jswierczek at folger.edu  |  office tel. +1 202-675-0334 <(202)%20675-0334>
|  fax +1 202-675-0328 <(202)%20675-0328>  |  www.folger.edu
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