[Update: our holiday gift guide is now available! Thanks for the contributions]
Last year we asked on the ArchiveGrid blog for suggestions for gifts for archivists — and we were blown away by the number (and quality!) of suggestions (posted in 24 fun and practical gifts for archivists). This year, we’re moving the conversation over to HangingTogether and extending the fun to librarians. So, librarians and archivists, what would you like as a gift? We’ll assemble the best of the best and post them in a week or two. Then it’s up to you to leave the link for that special someone to find. Or use it to treat your colleagues. We look forward to your suggestions in the comments below!
![[Untitled, Anacostia family c. 1950. Smithsonian Institution]](http://hangingtogether.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/2422497673_445e738e30_z.jpg)
Merrilee Proffitt is Senior Manager for the OCLC RLP. She provides community development skills and expert support to institutions within the OCLC Research Library Partnership.
Some gift possibilities at the NYPL’s Readers and Writers shop, including these must-have library card socks: http://shop.nypl.org/OUT-OF-PRINT-Library-Card-Socks-42008
What a great idea! Loved last year’s suggestions. Shared the link to your post and my own response (too long for a comments box) at my own blog! http://nixonara.wordpress.com/2014/12/03/the-gifts-we-give/
i wondered about this one:
http://flip-pal.com/
Perhaps another mobile scanner for those going from place to place, scanning madly.
I want a big portfolio bag with a shoulder strap that will fit three or four collapsed Paige boxes. For field visits.
Aprille – I wonder if I can interest Rickshaw in this. Hmmmm.
For those really special signatures, how about a nice fountain pen? The Cross Stratford is impressive looking, and at $20 won’t break the bank. Available from Staples./product_1104554) I picked up one and like it a lot, although the ink cartridges are a bit on the small side so if I’m doing a lot of writing I run out of ink rather quickly.
sorry, for some reason the website did not display the first try
http://www.litographs.com/collections/totes
Books printed on totes and more…
http://www.adlerfels.com/our-wines/archivist/
From Sonoma Estate Vintners, “The Archivist” Wine! Here is a link:
http://www.adlerfels.com/our-wines/archivist/This is a bit spendy at $190, but for those of us raking it in, Lumio’s book-shaped light is pretty rad!
http://www.hellolumio.com/gallery/#productList
I was going to mention The Archivist candles but, since they’ve already received a mention, I’ll go with the Library Collection of candles. http://www.paddywax.com/Shop/Library
Personally, though, I’d love to receive this card catalog flash drive from Unshelved https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/billba/unshelved-goes-digital
I recently discovered this collection of candles called “The Archivist” (http://greenmarketpurveying.com/collections/the-archivist) from Greenmarket Purveying and have already bought three of them as holiday gifts for fellow archivists!
Every archivist I know (and plenty of non-archivists) squees when they see mini document cartons. I did a giveaway once where they had a USB drive inside: analog meets digital. Now that I think of it? Perfect proposal box for an archivist! http://bit.ly/1HXa9Dy
Cool bookmarks: http://oscarlhermitte.com/work/2
The Albatros is a new kind of bookmark that follows your reading. No need to remember the page number, each time you turn one, it inserts itself at the right place.
Inserting the Albatros bookmark in a book is done in the blink of an eye. Made out of polyester and with repositionable adhesive, the bookmark can last forever and without damaging any pages. The product works on any book, pocketbook, sketchbook, diary, of any format.
Once you have finished reading the book, leave the Albatros bookmark in place for the next reader, or simply discard it.
Oh! and for the archivist who cooks, your local heritage village, museum, or even archives(!) might sell a cookbook of historical recipes. I have two from Kings Landing in New Brunswick (no, it was not named after Game of Thrones) which I love.
Well, this year all I want for Christmas is a new reference desk… but as for things that can be put under the tree, every processing archivist could use steel-toed boots (required for the first archival job I ever had, and I actually managed to find quite a stylish pair), and I wholeheartedly second Kathie Johnson’s 2013 idea of massage gift certificates.
Last year’s recommendation of fancy hand cream was a great one – I like Lush’s Charity Pot, so you can heal your hands and save the world!
Melissa, do you have a pointer to your stylist steel-toed boots? Sounds great!
I’ve been looking for them without success. Pretty sure I got them at Marks Work Wearhouse. They were nice – black, no logo on the outside, and about as sleek as they could be for having the required steel toes. I actually wore them as regular boots a couple of times and got compliments!
Come on – you can do better than that with the citation! There’s a whole collection of those and even things to transcribe from this collection from the Anacostia Community Museum.
Thanks for providing the additional details! Yes, I could have done better — given the information you gave me I could find the image in the Smithsonian’s collection, but would not have found it without going through an aggregator (like Flickr Commons), I don’t think. I’ll go back and update the post a little later.
Space. To put anything.
…the final frontier.
Perfect for the beer-drinking archivist: Cellar Dweller (the beer is quite good, but you gotta love the name) “A light, crisp German ale with a noble hop presence. Made with all organic ingredients.” Only available at Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland. Fortunately, SAA is meeting in Cleveland in August 2015 and there will be plenty of opportunities to sample the local delicacies.
Love it, Jill! Thanks for sharing. This is going on MY list.