After 43 years of dedicated service to the College of William & Mary, Kathryn Blue is retiring as senior cataloger in Swem Library's Cataloging Department.
Kathryn arrived at Swem in 1968. The College's Modern Languages Department had just added a program in Russian and had a large collection of Russian gift books that needed to be cataloged. When Kathryn arrived for her job interview (after receiving her M.A.L.S. from the University of Wisconsin), she was surprised to find that the job was basically hers -- that's what being fluent in Russian, German, and French will do for you!
Kathryn has seen the department through huge changes -- from the days of the old card catalog to the early days of cataloging on OCLC; from VTLS (the first automated library system) to Sirsi (our current integrated library system). She supervised all sorts of projects, from the retrospective conversion of the card catalog, the barcoding of the collection, reclassification of materials from the Dewey Decimal System to the Library of Congress System, and so much more.
As senior cataloger, Kathryn has handled the most difficult cataloging tasks. Most of her work has been original cataloging, involving complex analysis of the material in order to assign appropriate subject headings and classification. And she has added to her language repertoire -- she catalogs materials in all languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew, and Arabic. You name it, she can catalog it.
She also has the reputation for being a top-notch trainer. Her knowledge of everything cataloging, plus her ability to make even the most difficult rules and concepts comprehensible, has made her the go-to person when anyone needs instruction on a wide variety of topics, from using the online catalog to the latest trends in cataloging. And she does it so easily....As one staff member remembers, "I once witnessed Kathryn write an entire sentence backwards while she was giving a cataloging workshop to us. Even her doodling is brainiac level!"
Kathryn's sure to enjoy life as a retiree. A long-time fan of biking, she'll be able to spend more time on the road. She'll continue her involvement in planning bike trips in the U. S. and other countries -- next stop, Portugal. Quilting and piano playing will also get more of her attention.
Kathryn's application of cataloging rules and attention to detail have created a catalog that can easily help patrons locate just what they need. And, luckily for Swem, Kathryn won't just retire into the night. She's already agreed to volunteer a couple of days a week, and the Cataloging Department will hold her to it!
--Trish Kearns, Head of Cataloging, Swem Library
