David Lurth and Professor Gary Gillum, Harold B. Lee Library

The direction of the Nibley Papers and Recordings project changed slightly from what was originally proposed last fall due to unanticipated developments. Shortly after the project was funded, the room in the Harold B. Lee Library (HBLL) where the boxes of Nibley papers were stored and where Gary Gillum worked on the project was repurposed and Gary and the boxes were moved to a much smaller workspace inside the Special Collections area of the library. Because of this and certain Special Collections security policies, the number of people who could effectively work with the Nibley papers was limited to only one other person besides Gary. During the time I waited to find out if my ORCA proposal would be funded, Gary hired a student to work with the papers. So, Gary determined it would not be practical for me to work on the papers, but preferred to have me work on compiling a list of library Call #s for the books from Nibley’s personal library that were donated and are kept in the Ancient Studies Collection in the HBLL. This project took up most of the total time spent with the ORCA funds and involved matching the books on the shelf (over 1000 total) with a list organized alphabetically by author and recording the library Call # next to the appropriate book. The complete list will eventually be made available online in an electronic searchable format.

After finishing the above project, I began transferring to audio CD some of the Nibley recordings that the HBLL only had in audio cassette format. I accomplished this by using my laptop and a professional audio recording software. I recorded seven Nibley speeches, approximately 30 to 50 minutes in length apiece, and used the software to improve the sound quality from the original recording. These new recordings will be made available to library patrons to checkout in CD format.

Although the ORCA project took a direction different than what I first proposed and would have preferred, I am still grateful for the experience and I learned a lot. I received a great amount of exposure to the cataloging and preservation aspects of the library profession and enjoyed it very much. I have recently decided not to pursue a career in the library field, but the experience I acquired through the project helped me to obtain my current employment which has been a blessing in my life.

Thank you for the opportunity and please continuing doing what you do to provide other students with this important program.