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C o l u m b i a U n i v e r s i t y RECORD January 18, 2002 5

An Interview with Jocelyn Wilk, A Keeper of Columbia’s Cutlture

library science and I figuredI could at least learn somepractical skills. My historybackground dovetailed nice-ly with the archives concen-tration, so I decided to takethat track. While in gradschool, as part of my course-work, I did a number ofarchival internships, workingin places like the AmericanJewish Historical Societyand the Boston SymphonyOrchestra archive, whichprovided me with positive“hands-on” experience. I wasalso inspired by the womanin charge of the archives pro-gram; she made me want todo this.

CR: Columbia was found-ed in 1754 as King’s Collegeby royal charter of KingGeorge II of England and isthe oldest institution of high-er learning in the state ofNew York and the fifth oldestin the U.S. That must make

your job at the Archives andColumbiana Library ratherunique?

JW: It does, especiallybecause we document, pre-serve and provide access torecords, photographs andother historic materials relat-ing to the entire history ofthe university. Columbia hasseveral special collectionsand archives around campus;this specific collection at theUACL only contains materi-als pertaining to the historyof the university. Additional-ly, we maintain the King’sCollege Room, a museumroom with items—paintings,furniture, printed works—dating back to the first daysof the college in 1754. Weencourage people to comeand visit it on the days we areopen to the public. We alsohave everything from oldcollege bulletins, printedmatter, directories, corre-spondence files from thepresident’s office, Trusteeminutes going all the wayback to the 18th century, var-ious Columbia publications,clippings, you name it.Because I’ve been here thelongest of our staff, I guessI’m considered the referenceexpert, so I tend to answerlots of reference requests.

CR: With so many works,files, documents, pho-tographs, and resources span-ning so many years, youprobably get a lot of ques-tions from a lot of people,even if non-Columbians?

JW: Right. I wouldn’t besurprised if I’ve answerednearly a thousand questionsalone since I’ve been here.Some take a few seconds toanswer, others a week. Weaverage 120 requests a monthin the form of e-mails, let-ters, phone calls, or walk invisitors and they come fromas far away as China, Aus-tralia, Europe, or as close asthe office next door. And alltypes of people contact usboth from inside and outsidethe University, looking foranything from informationabout their grandfather whoattended in 1910 to specificphotographs for a documen-tary film, what kind ofresearch Columbia conducted

during World War II, or thehistory of a named profes-sorship. Once we even hadrepresentatives from Dream-Works come research imagesof Columbia during a certainera to use for costume andset design for their upcom-ing movie, “The TimeMachine.”

CR: It sounds like you’rea bit of a ‘history detective’answering such a variety ofquestions. What else do youdo with these materials whenyou get a break from thequestions?

JW: It’s not all just refer-ence work. I also go throughunorganized boxes and filesof documents, clippings,announcements, that sort ofthing and process them,deciding what’s worthy ofbeing kept, and how best toorganize it for futureresearchers. As we organizethe materials, we use basicpreservation techniques,placing items in acid freefile folders and boxes, copy-ing fragile items onto acidfree paper, placing othersinto mylar sleeves, so they’llbe in a stable environment.Ultimately we create findingaids so researchers and thestaff can know where thingsare, basic information abouta specific collection and howto get at them. For instance,a colleague recently re-housed and re-organized abig, disparate collection ofmaterials into what nowcomprises our 1960s and1970s protest and activistcollection. It is so much eas-ier to use those resourcesnow. The goal is make theinformation we have asaccessible as possible and tomake sure people knowabout at least some of thereally cool and interestingstuff we have.

CR: Being surrounded byall of this “cool and interest-ing” old stuff, do you have afavorite part of theColumbiana collection?

JW: (laughs) It’s a toughquestion because I deal withso much. But coming acrossthe oldest materials is defi-nitely the most interestingfor me. It’s very exciting totouch these old elegant din-ner invitations, for example,knowing that more likelythan not people have notseen or touched these in areally long time. Anothergratifying part of the job ishelping people find whatthey’re looking for. We wantpeople to use the materialsand find answers to theirquestions. It’s like a big trea-sure hunt.

The UCAL is currentlyopen to the public—anyonewith a legitimate question—from 9:30am to 4:30pm,Monday, Wednesday andFriday though archivists canbe reached by phone (854-1338) and e-mail (archives-columbiana@ columbia.edu)at all times during the workweek.

BY JO KADLECEK

Archivist Jocelyn Wilk at her office in 210 Low Library.

RECORD PHOTO BY JO KADLECEK

ColumbiaIn the News

A New York Times article onnew security measures under dis-cussion by the Times Square Busi-ness Improvement District quotesRichard Briffault, vice dean of theLaw School, as saying, “They areobviously trying to have a morecontrolled environment, to com-bine the security you get in that set-ting with the openness that you getin a public setting. There’s nothingwrong with beginning thatprocess.” He said there was a dan-ger that the district could go too far.

Arecent Newsday article profiledthe progressive and unconventionalprogramming that George Steel,executive director of Miller Theatre,has brought to the University. Thestory says that Steel’s pursuits,which “flout the conventional,”have helped him “transform a smalluptown academic auditorium into afrequently sold-out center of musi-cal ferment.”

Wallace Ford, professor in theSchool of International and PublicAffairs was quoted in a recent NewYork Times article on Richard D.Parsons, AOL Time Warner’s newchief executive. Ford said that Par-sons is the right man for the jobduring a crucial time: “He is likeKublai Khan coming in to run theempire after Genghis Khan hasconquered all the territory.”

A New York Times article pre-dicting difficult times ahead forNew York’s confident new mayorMike Bloomberg quotes WilliamEimicke, professor of political sci-ence, who warns, “What he’s goingthrough, he’s never gone throughbefore. He hasn’t been in thegame.” The article does note thatEimicke, who worked for HughCarey when he was Governor ofNew York State, is “both surprisedand charmed by Bloomberg’s reac-tion to the fiscal problems hefaces.”

In a USA Today article focusingon a two-month study of the mid-ocean ridge that slices across thebottom of the Arctic Ocean,Charles Langmuir, the Arthur D.Storke Memorial Professor atLamont-Doherty said, “We foundmore hydrothermal activity on thiscruise than in 20 years of explo-ration on the mid-Atlantic Ridge.”

Edmund Phelps, McVickarProfessor of Economics, was quot-ed in a recent New York Times arti-cle on the economic stimulus pack-age. According to article, Phelpssaid, “It’s strange to be talkingabout stimulus at this point,because it’s so late. There are signsnow that gross domestic product isabout to turn around.”

Fewer companies are visitingbusiness schools to recruit students,according to the New York Times,and many are turning to otherindustries or applying to businessschools to increase their chances.In the article, Martin Feldberg,dean of the Business School, saysthat interest in the business schoolis enormous—applications haveincreased 60 percent so far this aca-demic year.

For her almost six decades of volunteer service, the National UrbanLeague Guild honored Helen E. Harden (center, first row) at a Dec. 8thluncheon in Columbia’s Low Rotunda. Harden, a native New Yorkerand former teacher, was presented with a plaque for helping to estab-lish the Guild and raise funds for it, and for her active involvement innumerous community organizations. Among the 300 guests at the trib-ute were (standing l. to r.) representatives from the New York UrbanLeague Manhattan Advisory Board: Anthony Nolen, Savanna Clark,and Dorothy Gordon; (from l. to r. seated) Naomi Frye of the Philadel-phia Urban League Guild; honoree Helen E. Harden; Larry Dais,assistant vice president for Public Affairs and director of CommunityAffairs; and NYC Deputy Mayor of Policy Dennis M. Walcott, also theformer president of the New York Urban League.

New York Urban League VolunteerHonored in Low Library Rotunda

Jocelyn Wilk, 28, hasworked at the UniversityArchives and ColumbianaLibrary (UACL) since May1999, and two months agowas promoted to assistantdirector of the UACL. Thatmeans Wilk—along witharchives director, Marilyn H.Pettit, and two other staffmembers— regularly roamsthe site of the original archi-tecture library in 210 LowLibrary where the UACL ishoused. She also helps main-tain and provide access torecords and memorabilia rel-evant to the history ofColumbia. The ColumbiaRecord caught up with Wilkon the balcony bookshelf totalk with her about the workshe and her colleagues do.

CR: As an archivist, you walkinto history everyday. But itseems like most people in theirtwenties have chosen high-tech,dot.com-type careers of thefuture. What made you decide toimmerse yourself in a vocationthat concentrates on maintain-ing the past?

JW: I’ve always beendrawn to books and libraries,and was always read to ortaken to the library by myparents. When my sisterstarted volunteering at ourschool library, I followed suitand just kept volunteeringthroughout high school. Itbecame an outlet for me,something I always enjoyed,and the librarians alwaysliked me. Then I went to col-lege and studied history, butby my senior year, I pan-icked. I mean, what was Igoing to do with a historydegree? My mom suggested Igo get a master’s degree in