Along with several other Texas RLG libraries, the Hirsch Library converted cataloging and interlibrary loan systems from RLIN to OCLC this summer. Training and revising procedures was time-consuming, but should lead to good results. For those members already using OCLC, if you notice the distinctive holdings symbol “FNE,” that is the Hirsch’s new symbol.
Two significant memorial gifts enabled the Hirsch Library to strengthen its collection over the past few months. The family and friends of Joyce Rader donated funds in her memory for the purchase of two substantial works: Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet (2 volumes, Zurich, 2001) and Les Miniatures du XVIIIe Siécle: Portraits de Femmes, (Paris, 1913). Fellow MFAH Guild members and friends of Anne Koehler contributed funds to purchase 22 books in her memory on the art of Pompeii and Roman art and culture to assist docents in preparing for the Pompeii exhibition opening in March of 2008.
The Hirsch Library also has received a number of large book collections as gifts over the past few years, and a new full-time Cataloging Assistant position was recently added to help catalog them. We are happy to report that Lynn Wexler accepted the position, beginning officially on September 1. ARLIS/Texas-Mexico members may already have met or worked with Lynn, for she has been a part-time reference desk assistant at the Hirsch for over two years and also is a student in the University of North Texas School of Library and Information Sciences. It is great to have Lynn with the Hirsch on a full-time basis and to get more of the gift collections cataloged and accessible to library users.
Margaret Culbertson,
Director, Hirsch Library
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston