Meeting with Sarah Burge and Toby Appel

Yesterday I met with Sarah Burge. Sarah is a Preservation Librarian. She takes care of the rare books and photos. Sarah started her job five years ago, and she was the first Preservation Librarian here at the Cushing/ Whitney Medical Library. Sarah has a very important job because only the librarians on the historical staff can handle the rare books and photos. The collection has over 100,000 rare books, manuscripts, journals and prints. To preserve the books Sarah controls the humidity and the light surrounding them. Sarah has an undergraduate degree in art and history. She also has a Masters degree in Library Science. Sarah's favorite thing about her job is working with the staff and the collection. Some of the skills someone would need to succeed in this career are attention to detail, flexibility, and problem solving skills. I learned so much from Sarah yesterday. I learned that Harvey Cushing was one of the first Neurosurgeons to successfully perform a surgery. I also learned that the first printed medical book was published in 1491. I had a wonderful time with Sarah.

After meeting with Sarah, I met with Toby Appel. Toby has an PhD in the History of Science, a Masters Degree in Library Science, and a Undergraduate Degree in Math. Toby is the head of the Historical Library. Toby has a very complex job. She purchases new and rare books. She teaches classes, offers reference services, and does exhibits for the Library. Toby's favorite part of her job is that it has so much diversity, and she never gets board. Some of the skills someone would need to succeed in this career are knowledge in the history of medicine, attention to detail, flexibility, organization and a great attitude about team work. The most challenging thing about Toby's job is that you constantly have to learn new things. Toby has been working at Yale for 16 years, and she enjoys what she does. I had a great time with Toby.