Welcome!

Hello and welcome to what I hope is an enjoyable and interesting venture into the blogosphere. 'Antipodean Footnotes' arose from my realisation that there are few blogs promoting the rich and varied special collections of Australasia. This blog will focus on notable items uncovered in local collections, announce exhibitions and publications, and comment on books that were 'new' to this American expat in an effort to raise awareness of what is held by institutions 'Down Under'. Occasional news from the Northern Hemisphere will find its way here as well.

Who am I? Well, I grew up in New Jersey where in 2001 I earned a B.A. in Geography from Rutgers College, Rutgers University. Afterwards, I attended Indiana University, completing my M.L.S. with a specialisation in rare books and manuscript librarianship in 2005. While in Indiana, I was employed by the Lilly Library, first as a public services associate in charge of the Library's photo-reproduction and digitisation programme, and then as a reference associate responsible for managing the Reading Room, curating exhibitions, and answering reference enquiries. Today I manage the Reed Special Collections, a major part of the Heritage Collections of the Dunedin Public Library. Among the Reed collections varied holdings are medieval manuscripts, editions of the Bible and Bible commentaries, incunabula, hymns and hymnody, autograph letters, and first and early editions of works by Charles Dickens, Samuel Johnson, Sir Walter Scott and Robert Burns. Not content to leave formal study behind just yet, I am presently writing an M.A. in English Literature through the University of Otago. My thesis is an analytical and historical study of the Dunedin Public Library's collection of Johnsoniana.

Feel free to comment or email me with news and announcements.