En garde! January 22, 2023 (11am-5pm)

On Sundays, the Austin History Center is only staffed by three staff members--a rotating archivist, me, and Lupe, our library assistant. Today, the ditigal archivist Nikki and I staffed the reference desk together. While she was busy with a patron, I helped another patron who came in asking whether her grandfather's confederate sword was in our collection. I researched our artifacts database for any swords that we might have in our artifacts room; that search revealed that we have two swords in our collection but there was not enough detail to determine whether they were confederate swords. She asked to see both swords. I went into our artifacts room , but only found one sword. I brought it up and showed it to the customer. It was not a confederate sword, but rather a beautiful masonic ceremonial sword. Although it wasn't what she was looking for, we both oohed and aahed over the intricate ceremonial sword. It was my first time finding an item in the artifacts room so it was a good learning experience.

The rest of the day was quiet, which gave me time to do research on Betty Baker and Steve Sadowsky. I found photographs for both of them that were appropriate for the posters. I also did biographical research for each of them, looking through the Austin American Statesman for articles about them, reviewing our bio files, and combing through city records for information about them since they were both City employees for decades. I drafted a Word document that provided biographical information, bullet points about their accomplishments, and nice quotes about them. Before closing for the day, I helped Nikki re-shelve materials and closed out the cash drawer.

Maria-Elena Cigarroa

Supervisor: Jennifer Hecker

General Schedule: Sundays (11-6); Thursdays (2:00-6:00); Fridays (12:30-5:30)