Week 2

Week two in D.C. was a much of a whirlwind as week one. Class continues to only get more interesting and each speaker ends of being as amazing as the last one. Listening to the speakers talk about their professions with clarity and openness has given me more insight into their respected fields and industry. Meeting Bill Clinton’s Press Secretary was one of the most interesting discussions from this past week. It was highly interesting and entertaining to hear the side of Mike’s story with President Clinton. I have a higher respect for Mike after listening to his side of the story rather than the media’s portrayal of the scandal.

This week I have also hit the ground running with my research at the Library of Congress. I am amazed at how much history housed within the walls of these buildings. Looking through Herbert Putnam’s papers has been nothing short from extraordinary. From reading his personal letters between him and Teddy Roosevelt to holding blueprints of the hill in my hand, I am constantly in awe at how much history we have access to, yet we don’t take advantage of it. Meghan and I had a brief conversation about the collection from the current and next generations. It has challenged me to think about how much bullshit is important as a society to preserve. Society, in my opinion, no longer values the correspondence between the Librarian of Congress and other librarians across the states, but rather values the uproar a simple tweet creates. I am curious to see within the next decade or two how different preservation of correspondence will be as new technology and platforms begin to unfold.

I don’t want to harp on negatives too much within my blog, so I will tell you a funny story. Prior to our meeting with Senator Cassidy, Meagan and I were being super productive at the Library of Congress. We both finally felt that we knew what we were going to focus on within our papers. Our meeting with Senator Cassidy wasn’t until 4 p.m., so we knew we had plenty of time to get research in before then. 3 o’clock rolls around, and we decide to start wrapping things up so we can go change and get ready for the meeting. We both wanted to make a good first impression and show up early, looking our best. We change and begin to head over to the Hart building. We make it halfway there, just before the Supreme Court building, and the bottom falls out and we are soaked within a matter of seconds. We begin running towards the Hart building and the weather only got worse. We said the hell with waiting for the pedestrian crosswalk light and managed to not be hit by a cab or two on the way over. Needless to say, my goal of the day was not to meet my first Senator as a wet dog. Long story short, even an umbrella won’t save you from a torrential down pour on the hill.

Until next week, 

~Brit