HOOF BEATS AND SOCIETY: THE HUMAN-ANIMAL RELATIONSHIP.

Date: Saturday & Sunday, May 15-16, 2010

Where: Grafton Campus (map) Contact: vetCEinfo@tufts.edu or 5 0 8 . 8 8 7 . 4 7 2 3

Schedule & Registration Information: THE ELIZABETH ATWOOD LAWRENCE SYMPOSIUM

Course Director: Dr Allen Rutberg

The Elizabeth Atwood Lawrence Symposium

The Elizabeth Atwood Lawrence Symposium: Hoofbeats and Society: the Horse-Human Relationship is scheduled for Saturday, May 15, through Sunday, May 16, 2010 in the Agnes Varis Campus Center (building 'O' on the campus map).

The symposium is a tribute to the life and work of Dr. Lawrence and focuses in an area of special interest to her, the horse-human relationship. Speakers and group discussion will address how horses mirror our views on nature and the implications for animal welfare. We will consider how to optimize the horse-human relationship, promote responsible horse ownership and encourage effective policies for horse rescue, adoption and humane death.

Horse enthusiasts, rescue groups, veterinarians, scholars, and other stakeholders are invited!

The registration fee for veterinarians is $150 for both days or $100 for one day. The registration fee for lay people/NGO is $40 for both days or $20 for one day. Registration includes lectures and course notes on a CD (printed notes are available for an additional charge of $10). Dinners are available for $35 per day. A PDF registration form is available.

Endings…

It is with some sadness that I can now report that the collection is done, with the exception of the serials which are now in progress. It is my last day here as an employee of Tufts . With over 6500 titles (when all is said and done!) it was a large task, but one I have been most honored and privileged to work on. This job will forever live in my heart - it was a dream that I never wanted to end! The collection is now accessible to all and hopefully with a quick search, you shall be able to find some gems to aid in your research or pleasure reading of anything to do with the HORSE. This is my first time working with a digital collection and the rave reviews and downloads (almost 2,000 downloads on our most popular book!) on Archive.org have far surpassed my expectations.

Nothing says a last day like a party! And what I party I got! Horse themed of course… The staff and some of the people who helped me with the collection came. (Oh, I love parties, especially ones for me!) The library staff here is made up of talented, wonderful people who enhanced the experience of working on this collection. The Seaverns collection is available to the public, we just ask that you call (508-839-7957) or email (webvet@tufts.edu) and make an appointment. Then you too will be able to see the glory of the collection for yourself and meet the wonderful staff who works here. Give my love to Suzanne (you’ll probably see her first as you come in!), my office mate, who put up with the piles of books and traffic of book carts exploding from my area. Thank you all!

PS. If anyone knows of a Horse Librarian position, let me know!

This collection never ceases to surprise me - some are good, some make my eye twitch. Earlier this summer I found, in a box, a spread of prize lists from horse shows. Each horse show has a list of entrants and their horses, along with the times for the test that they are going to ride and this is called the prize list. A couple in particular caught my eye, with a familiar logo. The New England Dressage Association still has the same logo from the 1980’s! And low and behold, in a prize list for their Summer Competition from 1982, I found my trainer’s (who is also my aunt!) name and her first horse! More surprising to me is how far the sport of dressage has come in just under three decades. In the 1980’s it was only possible to show to 4th level dressage and there was no possibility of riding the International levels. Now you are able to compete at the International levels at most recognized shows and most definitely at all New England Dressage Association shows!

And now on to the twitching part… I’m currently working on cataloging the serials, or items that are published in installments (like a magazine or a journal). Just today I had a great surprise -- an expert serials cataloger is coming in to finish that part of the collection! Yay! Now my time is freed up to tie up all of the loose ends.

My next lovely surprise was that we had visitors specifically for the collection! Unfortunately I wasn’t here to help them, but I think we may have found what they were looking for. It appears they were doing research on a Harry Worcester Smith who once lived nearby in Grafton. They were looking for a photo and we found a most elegant one of him on a horse! As you can see from the results, he was an accomplished Fox Hunter. It warms my heart that people are coming to look at the collection and use it.

Here’s to surprises! I hope you find one today!

It is with some sadness that I write this blog entry. Indeed, I’ve been trying to write it for two weeks now and the words would not flow. The cataloging of the monographs (aka books!) has just about been completed. With just about 6,000 books in the catalog we are now starting to shift the collection from it’s scattered locations throughout the library to an order which we hope is easy for patrons to use. Let me tell you that shifting 6,000 books is no easy task! We have many hands helping us and hope that we do not end up shifting everything too many times! It’s literally dirty work, but thankfully with student helpers who don’t mind, or at least don’t complain too much to me, the job will be completed before August when our students arrive for their next year of vet school.

And now it’s time for some shameless self promotion of the collection! We’re famous - AGAIN! Our books have taken a prominent place on our Hospital for Large Animals website. Don’t they look great? And what a perfect place for them to be seen, on the Health Management page! Note the link on the bottom of the page! Yay!

News in the horse world is teeming with intrigue. Walking with Winnie is a blog written by a woman who was walking cross country from Massachusetts to California with her mustang mare. The mare has, unfortunately, come up with some lameness issues. I have enjoyed following them through their journey thus far! In the dressage world, a five time German Olympian, Isabell Werth’s horse has tested positive for banned medication. International riders respond to the testing asking for clearer regulations. An American, Steffen Peters, for the first time has swept the CHIO Aachen! On a sadder note, the Boston Mounted Police force has been disbanded due to budget cuts. This article has strong voice, and is not necessarily my view, nor is it endorsed by the school, however has some interesting parallels between India and the USA.

The next phase for me for the collection is to continue on with the “clean-up” of the difficult titles and then it’s on to the serials! For every end there is a new beginning!

Last weekend was the unofficial start to summer! Here in New England, that means horse show season is upon us. Anyone acquainted with an equine enthusiast might have heard murmurings about showing growing louder. For some wonderful tips on preparation for shows, the collection, of course, provides a wide variety of books in several disciplines.

The shelves left of uncataloged books are dwindling, but there are still some fascinating nooks and crannies left of the collection. For instance, there are two boxes filled with programs from local horse shows! I went and pulled a couple of examples! One is from the Dedham Country and Polo Club in 1959, however from the website, I could find no mention of a horse show. With a tad more digging around the internet, I found that the show actually originated in Norfolk Hunt Club and the show does indeed still go on, but in Medfield now! Yet another horse show program is from the Myopia Show, which continues to run to this day and even will be televised on NESN this year. This show is, according to their website, the 2nd oldest horse show in the US!

This weekend, I will be grooming for my aunt, while she competes at the Intermediare II level of dressage at the Mystic Valley Hunt Club. If you find yourself there, please come and find me! I love to talk about the collection!

The best kind! Saturday started with the very exciting Preakness and the exciting duel between Rachel Alexandra and Mine that Bird who both ran magnificent races! I am usually a little bored (gasp!) by racing but these stories have piqued my interest and wow, it was a truly amazing race (even though I already knew the winner by the time I watched it… boo!).

Sunday began with my waking up late and running off helter skelter to the barn where my horse, Sandor, is stabled. It was going to be a big day for us! Pam Goodrich, of Foster Meadow Farm, was teaching a clinic. Sandor and I were the 3rd ride and I made it before the first ride even started. Phew! Being late and not watching other’s ride is a no-no in the etiquette of the dressage world! Pam’s distinctive growls were well timed and added humor, both for the riders, and the auditors. Many of the ideas were familiar, but added to the overall effect. Pam rearranged my position a little, so don’t judge my photo too harshly! Nor look at the face too closely - I’m concentrating!

After feeding the horses and listening to their contented munchings, it was back home I went. One might think the horsing stopped, but no, I found the house empty and decided to indulge yet again! I had not one, but two episodes of Equitrekking was teaching a clinic. Sandor and I were the 3rd ride and I made it before the first ride even started. Phew! Being late and not watching other’s ride is a no-no in the etiquette of the dressage world! Pam’s distinctive growls were well timed and added humor, both for the riders, and the auditors. Many of the ideas were familiar, but added to the overall effect. Pam rearranged my position a little, so don’t judge my photo too harshly! Nor look at the face too closely - I’m concentrating!

On the horsey chart, this weekend measured at least 18 hands!

Upon returning to the state, I was thrilled to see all of the shades of green, mixing with the blooming of flowers! I was less thrilled to see the hayfield that was my lawn….

The greetings of home are always sweet, even when the dog pretends she doesn’t know you any more. Along with the greetings also came news of the Kentucky Derby and what rags to riches story it was! It warmed my heart, although I missed my mint juleps and had been determined to try some of the recipes from this book: Derby entertaining : traditional Kentucky recipes for my annual party. Alas, I will have to wait until next year!

In dressage news, an American finally has won the FEI Rolex World Cup on American soil! Steffen Peters has been on an amazing journey with his equine partner, Ravel.

In the eventing world, the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event was won by an Australian woman. The horse world goes on - even when I’m not in the country!

The collection remains mostly as I’d left it, with the exception of some work done by my worker bee students! I’m delving into the art books, getting distracted occasionally by some truly magnificent photography. If you are looking for art books in the Seaverns collection, start in the N’s! There are photography books in the TRs and picture books in SF 303 - always feel free to ask a librarian! We love to help!

The smell of spring is in the air and one can once again begin to feel the warmth of the sun, in between the gusts of wind, of course! On my drive here this morning I was yet again mulling over how lucky I am to be working here - even the drive, while long, is bucolic as I pass by farms and the rolling green field where the dogs find some needed stretching space on my way to Tufts.

And now to the excitement - my sister is coming for a visit, to see the collection and to help me out with some tricky French and Italian titles that have been piling up on my desk. For those who have seen my desk, the piles can be overwhelming! I’m trying to tamp them down, fight against the entropy! The problem is, there’s a reason why these titles were left - they are tricky! Tricky cataloging! My sister is a fellow horsewoman and I am very excited to show her the collection.

Spring cleaning even comes to my desk! It also is, I admit, a task I feel I need to accomplish by the end of the week, as I am going on a long journey to India (click on the link to see our books on India -- this collection has everything!). There will be a shortage of posts as I will be out until the second week of June. Hopefully the spring cleaning will remain intact until I return and I don’t find a new pile on my desk!

when you’re having fun! I can’t believe it, it’s been just over a year since we started work on this project and we’re going to reach 1,000 scanned books with the shipment that goes out on Thursday. As always with projects like these, there are many people behind the scenes who are helping. Although my “voice” is prominent, the rest of the staff here at the Vet Library have all helped in many ways. Margot Thompson, who was the mastermind behind the Wiki and the Blog, has also left a surprise on the blog. If you will go to the previous entry and click on “Mac” you will find something very neat. Margret, the director, works on talking up the collection whenever it seems appropriate to help get the word out to a wider audience. Betsy remains on the lookout for the end user, checking my work and ensuring that our records are in some sort of compliance with the rest of the University. Amity handles the Seaverns books with care as they fly off the shelves for ILL to various parts of the country. And Suzanne! Ahh, Suzanne. She gets the pleasure of sharing her office with me and listening to me moan when I find the oddities that keep me awake at night. Dave, well, Dave he makes sure my computer is running in top condition. Many thanks to you all for all that you do and know that this collection isn’t being done in a vacuum, and that without your help, I’d be a long way from finishing!

My desk and carts lie in a major thru-way for the library. One must pass by to get to the kitchen. This, as you can imagine, leads to a LOT of foot traffic and being a sociable person I enjoy this immensely. I also enjoy when people stop by and peer at the titles on the carts. This one book, Mac by Cecil Aldin which is still on my cart as it is in the middle of a particularly hard batch of cataloging, has attracted a lot of attention from staff members. Each one has stopped, intrigued by either the spine, which is a blue and green tartan, or the front cover, which is a drawing of a dog that one cannot help but say “Awwwww” to. Mac is a treasure and although only one staff member so far has read it, I’m thinking this book might not stay on the bookshelf too long - at least until the staff has a chance to take it home.

A little known fact about the Seaverns collection, is that not only is there an amazing amount of nonfiction, there is also a fairly sizable collection of fiction and even juvenile literature. If you wanted to browse the shelves, PZ 3-10.3 are literature titles, SF 302 is also children’s lit specifically for Horses, and SF 309 for Horsemanship for kids, which is also mixed with books for adults.

Lesson learned: you might find a treasure on your way to the kitchen!

What an experience! The Florida circuit is like entering another world - a world where horses are paramount and the money flows around them - you can almost taste it in the air! It was a perfect setting and the performances ranged from beautiful to making the hair on the back of your neck stand upright. Stephen Peters, who won the Grand Prix on the first day, also has a glowing report of the event. All things were, however, not perfect. It was COLD! I bought a winter jacket and a horse blanket to wrap up in! And Anky forgot the test twice! It is always good to know that mistakes can happen to all of us, even those who have won three gold medals! Anky’s musical performance was wonderful and the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention as I was awed by the ride. A heart felt thank you to all of those who participated - you helped to inspire me in my own riding! We’re raring to go now! I wish that there had been a program to bring home, as it would have been something, I think, that John Seaverns would have loved. My photo story is a sad one - I’m just bad at it and I don’t think digital cameras like me…. Alas, I took 8 pictures and they’re all bad…. Sorry!

As I work my way through the collection, every once and awhile a book makes me take pause. Today that book was A Very Young Rider by Jill Krementz. This book is also one that I own, a present from my grandparents (although with my copy, the dust jacket is long gone!). It was worthy, at least I felt, of many reads and rereads. A touching story of a young girl as she progresses in her riding and showing from ponies to real horses. And what did she get for Christmas? You guessed it, a horse! Well, a larger pony, but close enough! I am not the only one to think this book is wonderful - over 1,000 libraries own a copy of just this edition and there are 9 other records in OCLC for different editions (or perhaps just bad cataloging…)! Check it out!

It has been just over a year that I’ve been working on the collection and I can still say, with much happiness, that I love my job. It still is a dream come true! We’ve finished the books outside the lecture hall and have moved to the 2nd floor of the library now. There are over 4,000 books cataloged.

I am leaving on a journey down to the warmer climes, to see the Gold Medal Olympian ride, along with 19 of her peers in the World Dressage Masters in Wellington, Fl.! I hope to get some photos to share with you all! Stay warm!

The collection is going along swimmingly, although mentions of swimming in this area right now are probably met with glares. The snow is covering all and the probability of a white Christmas is very good, at least here in New England Are you one of those people whose wish list always includes a horse? Well, as you can imagine, it was all I ever asked for. My parents would always sigh, and say yes, but what ELSE would you like? Here’s to hoping all of your Holiday wishes come true!

While we Americans are in the spirit of thinking about presidents, I found something spectacular on this Friday afternoon. Sitting on the shelf (one of the last ones outside the lecture halls) was a pile of books that looked of somewhat dubious origin. I was hesitant to catalog them, knowing they were going to be most difficult. On my cart now sat this dubious pile. As I gingerly took one book, two books, some success! They had been cataloged! Polo has been one of the topics that I’ve been seeing a lot of lately. Paul Brown a name I also have seen quite a bit of, has a book entitled ‘Hits and Misses’ full of his own line drawings and signed by Paul himself. Next to this book was what looked like a duplicate until I flipped through the pages, the first of which looked just like the other book, but as I flipped further, I found all of these signatures! Intrigued, I looked further. Dates and names of dinner parties and cocktail parties, signed by the attendees, sometimes with notes, sometimes without! Now, I know you’re thinking that was exciting, but what is really exciting is that none other than Franklin Roosevelt signed it! What a neat end to a dreary Friday!

This is often a requirement for library jobs, especially the back room jobs like mine. Today I found out why. It was a day of miscellanea. With the large number of books being cataloged and processed, and my former student workers busy with their school work, there are bound to be backlogs. I worked on clearing up the reshelving, which sounds simple but with the collection spread over 5 different sections, it becomes trickier than one might want! I did, however, get my free work out, which makes me feel less bad about not using that gym equipment in the basement!

Also on the agenda for the day was offering three students positions to help with this collection. So far, two of them are excited to join the team! Hopefully they will make an appearance on the blog shortly! Stay tuned!

As for that long awaited book review:

Do you think of cowboys when you think of Turkmenistan? I didn’t, but now an image of an American cowboy is going to be inextricably linked. The latest book I’ve read of the collection (and yes, I admit, it took forever!) is Sacred horses: the memoirs of a Turkmen cowboy by Jonathan Maslow. This book is currently out of print but can be found here in our Seaverns Collection. I have learned more about Turkmenistan’s history than I ever could have anticipated. The author became obsessed with the idea of riding an Akhal Teke, which is a breed of horses, known for their distinctive high set neck and colors that literally glow. This obsession takes him on a journey whereupon he finds not only the horses, but many lasting friendships along the way. This book, although dense, leaves one wondering what is going to happen next. Two thumbs up!

With fall approaching it is appropriate that it is yet again a time for change. With the leaves beginning to change their color, I have finished the section on fox hunting and have completed half of the collection that is housed outside the lecture hall. I am now beginning a new journey through the world of horse racing. These two parts of the collection are formidable but surmountable! The fox hunting section was an older part of the collection. The racing is a much “newer” part of the collection and now I am finding ISBNs which are a cataloger’s dream come true! For most of the fox hunting I had to do author/title searches, which can be time consuming to type, and would have to choose between the lesser of two evils, with records that were not up to AACRII standards and needed to be updated. It was a pleasant surprise to find some of the racing titles to be up to “code” and I had the best search, an ISBN! Cataloger’s heaven!

With change, often comes a time of sadness. It is with great regret that my two student workers, Lindsey and Rebecca are now fully enmeshed in their 3rd years, with class from 9 to 5 and no time left to work with our books. I wish you both well, and know that you are missed! We are currently seeking students with a little bit more time available to them to work on the collection.

I walked into work today with a surprise on my desk - Tufts Veterinary Medicine. Now you might wonder why I was excited about this, but there’s, you guessed it, a feature article on the Seaverns collection! There’s even a lovely name: Horse Tales, and it’s mentioned on the front cover! The article is wonderful and I’m pleased to say that I’ve cataloged just about 500 books since this article was published. Still, however, working on that book review…

And still working on the fox hunting section - it’s really quite a large section! Once I am finished with this, we are going on to racing!

The Olympics are here! I do love the Olympics and celebrating all the glorious equestrian events! The tv coverage is pretty good, but all of the equestrian events are getting streamed in their entirety online for the first time ever! Cool.

Thanks to John Seaverns, the library now has a group of cards of the equestrian riders of the world for the 1936 Olympics As equestrian sports take so long to master, it is not surprising that I still know some of the names: Alois Podhajsky and Henri van Shaik are the two that pop out at me. Henri van Shaik was a mentor to many equestrians in New England and I grew up hearing about him. Alois Podhajsky was director of the Spanish Riding School and wrote several books, more of which we will be finding as we go through the collection!

Enjoy the Olympics and catch some of the equestrian sports if you can!

The collection is coming along swimmingly! We have just over 2,000 volumes cataloged. We have two new sections started, for which I am still awaiting location codes, an oversize and a rare books section. The war books are done and we’ve moved onto the Hunting section.

There are almost 400 books scanned now, with approximately 40 more going every other week! Some of the books appear to be popular and we even got an email from a researcher in England thanking us for having these books scanned! He called it a bright spot in his day.

There are two articles in the works about the collection! We’re going to be famous. I feel a little, well, let’s face it, a lot of pride in this collection. I can’t wait for it to get some press! Check back often, hopefully we’ll be able to link to them.

In the news! The Dressage Olympic horses have arrived! Debbie McDonald is giving updates. A Canadian Assistant Team Leader, Kerry McGregor, is writing a blog. It's a lot of fun!

Sometimes I don’t like to admit that I am a “Horse Lady” as the connotations attached are not qualities I like to have associated with myself. However, I turned into a “Horse Lady” on Sunday. My handsome steed after about 20 minutes of work, pulled up hopping lame on his hind end. Mind racing, heart pumping, I asked one of the women riding with me to watch, and yes, she agreed, lame. I quickly got off and put him on the lunge, and the answer was still yes. YES, it was a frightening lameness, one like I had never seen before. Thoughts of a year’s lay up, career ending injuries and other such dramatics whirled around my head. It was Sunday. I needed to wait until Monday to get the vet.

Monday morning comes, and I call the vet’s office, anxiously awaiting someone to answer the phone. Yep, you guessed it, I called too early and got the answering service. I’ll call back I say. They open at 8. At 8 on the dot, I call. A woman’s pleasant voice answers, as she listens to my description my wonderful steed’s ailment. She then tells me the protocol, she will leave a message for the Doc and he will call me back or she will schedule an appointment when she hears from him. About an hour or so later, my phone rings, my heart jumping, it’s the vet! His Irish brogue settles the whirling in my head, at least a little. It’s bad I say, trying not to be hysterical (is this the end of my horses’ career?). I see, he says, asks a couple more questions, then puts me on hold to make an appointment. The secretary beeps back into the call, we have an opening on Saturday. My heart sinks again. Another week. Don’t you have anything earlier I want to scream, The Horse Lady in me coming out again! Give me the vet back I want to yell! Don’t you know this is my HORSE! I send in the big guns, Auntie. Auntie gets me an appointment the next day.

Horses have a way of bringing humility into your life. We get to the vet’s office, and do the jog for the vet. He’s not lame. Hind legs are, however, walking a tight rope. It looked awful but not lame. A vet’s nightmare, a mysterious lameness that the owner “knows” is there, but the vet can’t see. The next step for the diagnosis was flexion tests. The flexion tests were positive, there was the hopping lameness I had felt and seen earlier. Still the vet says nothing, a nervous giggle escapes me as I watch my steed gazing off into the distance. We then put him on the lunge, and again, the lameness goes away! Argh. The Horse Lady in me is confused.

The mysterious lameness. There was no definitive answer found. Because my steed has a history of stifle problems, we injected that. If that does not help, we will be coming to Tufts for a bone scan to see if there is damage to the bones themselves. Keep your fingers crossed for us, we’re supposed to be competing in our first horse show as a team the first weekend in August. He’s having three days off and then it’s back to work! On the plus side, it does not appear to be career ending, on the negative, mysterious lamenesses keep a Horse Lady hepped up!

Last week we accomplished something grand! Yes, we finished the part of the collection that is housed down stairs in the stacks of the library. The collection is currently housed in three different parts of the library. Right now we are working just outside the lecture hall on the second floor of the building, hoping to stay out of the students' way during the year!

The subject matter has moved from the Veterinary Sciences, which can generally be found in the Library of Congress call number, SF 951 to 959. Check with your librarian if you need something specific though! We do have a way of finding things! But this is a great place to start.

Anyway, moving on! We’ve come to Military History! I’m delving into the classification of “U”. It is not a place I am that familiar with, however I am getting to know it fairly well! Look in the UC 600+ and UE 460+

Stay tuned as we’ll be moving into what is know as western riding and cowboys!

Nothing that I know of! Other that the fact that they were the topics of the last 2 books of the collection I read.

Jump for Joy written by Pat Smythe

is an autobiographical book in which she shares both the triumphs and trials of being a top woman jumper in England. Her early days were spent riding ponies and falling off them as well! As with any life that depends upon horses, there are high points as well as the very low points. One of the crushing blows that came for Pat was when her top horse, Finality who was owned by someone else, was taken away. Another was the death of her mother, with whom she shared the ups and downs of being a professional rider. The highest points were places that her horses had taken her to, top shows in the international circuit, where, among other things, she got to try her hand at being a matador. She never looses sight, as with any true horseperson, of the fact that she would not be where she was without her equine partners. The book is well written, engaging and well worth the read!

Dog Eat Dog: A Very Human Book About Dogs and Dog Shows by Jane and Michael Stern

was a lovely light read that kept me entertained the whole way through. As with showing horses, dog shows are a world unto their own. This book follows one breeder through her trials and glories. Bullmastiffs are the stars of the book and their personalities shine. It was a true page turner and I couldn’t put it down. If you would like a light read for the beach, or anytime really, I would recommend this whole heartedly

As I sit at my desk, surrounded by the piles of books, there’s a new chatter coming from our cozy office. This summer, as I have previously mentioned, I have two wonderful assistants who are currently working away. Lindsey Martell and Rebecca Bragg, both going into their 3rd year, are sassy additions to the staff. Each day they come in, eager to help, and make my job easier. They are a big help and I want to thank you both for all of your hard work! Thank you ladies!

Come visit and perhaps you’ll see their shining faces!

Greetings and apologies for the lack of writing! The collection is moving along with over 1000 books entered in! After skipping a couple of shelves, I find myself buried in the world of dog books! Dog books, you ask, in an Equine Collection? Yep, it’s true! John Seaverns was very interested in the equine sport of Hunting where equines and canines worked in harmony.

I am excited to report that I am going to have two student workers this summer! You will meet them later on, and some of you might even recognize them from class. With their help, I am going to be able to focus on getting a lot of cataloging done, while they handle the physical processing (library lingo for call number stickers, stamps and those pesky security strips that cause the alarm to ring every time you go in and out of the library!) and other assorted tasks to care for the collection.

News of the horse world! So, Big Brown! What an amazing horse! Having watched both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness , I was amazed by the power of this horse and the ease in which he won. The question we’re all asking ourselves, could this be the year? A horse has not won the Triple Crown for the entire span of my life! Yes, since 1978. This could be an exciting year for the racing community! Keep your eyes on the prize Big Brown! We’ll all be watching, June 7th!

I suppose chair would be the more appropriate noun, but it certainly doesn’t have the same ring! Speaking of the chair, it is wonderful to sit! The barn renovations came along well, but I am grateful to be sitting again.

Even though I was not actively cataloging any of the collection, I did read through two books which I’d love to share with you! (Pictures coming soon… I promise this time! We’ve even ordered the camera!)

Canadian Entry was a wonderful look into the life of an aspiring young rider Christilot Hanson and her trusted mount Bonheur as they begin their journey to train for the 1964 Olympics. The tale of how she accomplished the feat of training several (ie. Passage and Piaffe) of the most difficult movements for a Grand Prix horse in six months is incredible! I find it interesting to note that I have read several books with a similar plot line and the tale of training does not change despite the difference in years in which they occurred. Training, which is what dressage is, is a timeless enterprise.

Continue reading "Back in the saddle again!" »

Now I would hope that’s not a statement used to describe me, but I have never been so happy to have a product named as such! A large part of the collection is older books which have some textured covers and lots of dust. This causes my label protectors to fall off the books!

Continue reading "Seriously Aggressive!" »

I am now in the section of books that are all entitled: Horse. A concise title one may think, but a nightmare to search for! Tufts currently has 6 titles, none of which are books that I have been working on. Soon there will be many more added to that!

Continue reading "The Horse or Horses" »

Before I even arrived on the scene, the staff of vet library had arranged all of the books by subject. So far I've cataloged through over 600 books about:

Horse tack, including several volumes on bits, which as a horse trainer I find very useful (although I haven't read any of them, so I talk big....).

Barns, building them, picture books of lovely barns.

Carriage driving. Lots and lots of books on the instruction of carriage driving, where you could drive a carriage, etc. (Many of these can be seen in the Internet Archive)

Continue reading "The Collection so far...." »

One of the exciting things about working on a project like this is that you find all kinds of quirks! My discovery of the day (which may actually be a tad sad as I have known this existed since day one of the project and have now finally gotten around to looking at it...): John Seaverns left his own personal catalog (actually 2, but I've now only looked at one....) of his books. The first page held my favorite content: "A collection of books on horses, riding, training, dressage, hounds, hunting and all other subjects relared [sic] to horses. A little fiction. Chiefly horse and hunting classics." But wait, there's more! And here comes my most favorite part!

Started in ...
• 1948 with 12 volumns [sic] (!!!!!!)
• 1963 994 volumns [sic]
• 1964 1155 volumns
• 1974 2547 volumns
• 1975 2806
• 1986 5008
• Feb. 1992 5797

John Seaverns was truly a collector! This little nugget of information brings me a little closer to fully understanding this collection. There are sometimes little notes in the books with dates of when he bought the books, but this gives me a start date! And a look into how fast the collection grew.

The exact number of the collection is a mystery and will be solved when I finish cataloging!

Hopefully a photo will follow!

I was languishing at home, unemployed and pressing the refresh button on the library job listings page, just because there might be a new job listing…. when I got an email from a dear colleague of mine. She said she had found the perfect job for me through Bibliotemps (a temporary library staffing agency run by the Central Massachusetts Regional Library System). The job combines my passion in life, horses, and my training as a cataloger and project manager. The late John Seaverns donated his collection of horse books to the Webster Family Library at Tufts Veterinary school. Needless to say I was thrilled! Now the scheming began - how do I convince the staff there that they need me? My enthusiasm for the project, along with the fact that I was the only one they interviewed… And yes, at the start of the New Year, I was once again gainfully employed! This was, and still is, my dream job come true - a horse library has been something I wanted to create for years, and here it is! I hope you will enjoy following the project along with me!