Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Did you miss me?

I hope that no one remembers what I said in my first blog of this year. For those of you all who haven’t read that far back, let me just say that I broke my resolution. Though I am not proud of my lack of blogging in the past month I do have to say that I am really excited about the things that Trina and I are accomplishing through the fellowship. We are finishing our final push for the Mexico trip and we are also working on several projects independently.

I am sorry though, that in this time of happiness and excitement, I have to report some sad news. As many of you may have read, I am working on an oral history project for the Special Collections and Archives at the library. I did not get an opportunity to write about Dr. Angenieta Biegel, the wonderful woman I chose for the project.

Dr. Biegel was Professor Emerita at the IUMC and was a member of the IUPUI family. She was one of the first women to receive many great medical distinctions and honors through the university. Sadly Dr. Biegel passed away April 11, 2008. I only had the opportunity to meet with her three times, but my life was truly enriched with her presence. She was kind, extremely hospitable, and feisty. She also had a wealth of information and knowledge and I only wished I had the opportunity to get to know her better.

Though I did not get to finish the oral history of Dr. Angenieta Biegel, I did tape record one session with her. In her honor, once the editing and transcription are completed, that interview will be housed in the Special Collections and Archives at IUPUI.

If I have not learned anything else in my time as a diversity fellow, I have learned this, people are precious gifts. I think that what the fellowship does (through helping us understand and embrace diversity) is to try to help the fellows and those around us remember that we are not just in this profession to serve demographics, or statistics, but the library is a place that serves people. We should never take the opportunity to engage in conversation with or assist someone for granted.

Carrying on as always,

Ashley