Ahoy, Mateys! I’m excited to share my first archives-related article with you that was just published in Archival Outlook.

Back in March 2021, I started an internship at the Coast Guard Academy Library Special Collections. I wrote a post after my first day on the job, which includes photos of a fantastic 10-foot Lego build of the USCG Cutter Gallatin.

“The Mystery of the 1896 Cruise Diary” is a ‘first experience in the archives’ piece with some advice for students getting started on their first internships or field experiences.

Here’s a link to read the article in a magazine layout: https://bluetoad.com/publication/?i=768566

Or you can view/download the PDF below.

The print edition comes out sometime in December. I’m thrilled that the cover of the magazine features a photo of one of my literary heroes, Gwendolyn Brooks. She was the first writer I saw read their own work and it was a powerful experience. That was in the early 1990s when I was a student at Loyola University Chicago. I didn’t know then that you could walk up to a writer, shake their hand, and thank them for their work. Even if I had know, I’m not sure I would have gone up to her because as open and encouraging as she was in her reading/talk, I was awestruck. The first writer whose hand I would shake and say thank you to was Leslie Feinberg, author of Stone Butch Blues. And that was only because friends pushed me toward the stage but that’s a story for another day.

I hope you read my article and if you enjoy it, let me know! And please read around in the rest of the magazine if you’re interested.