Over the River and Through the Snow . . .

After nearly 15 years at the Boston College Law Library, where I have had the great privilege of working with our special collections in the library's Daniel R. Coquillette Rare Book Room, I will be moving across the river. In February I will become the Harvard Law School Library's Manager of Historical and Special Collections, where I look forward to advancing the cause of rare books, art, and manuscripts with a team of talented and dedicated colleagues.

All of us, I daresay, first fall in love with special collections work because we love the "stuff" - the artifacts themselves. Then, because we love our treasures so much, we delve into our collections as often as we can. Soon, because we love them so much, we strive to share them with others any way we can think of: by cataloging them, processing them, digitizing them, writing about them, and - my favorite thing of all - bringing them into the classroom where we can share them in person. And before we know it, a decade has gone by and we have a career - one that inspires, delights and challenges us every single day.

Well, at least that's what happened to me. I am forever grateful for the opportunities I have been given to work with and develop our special collections and programs here at BC Law. In particular, I am grateful to Dan Coquillette: mentor, inspiration, great benefactor, and friend. He has been an angel to me, the library, the law school, and the university, and words cannot express my profound debt of gratitude.

I look forward to continuing the special collections adventure at Harvard, and from my new perch across the river I look forward to watching the continued growth and success of BC Law's special collections in the Daniel R. Coquillette Rare Book Room.

Cheers, Karen Beck