I\u2019m Jaime Taylor, the Center for Jewish History\u2019s systems librarian. My
\njob has two components: I administer the catalog software, and I also do
\nstrange things with the catalog records themselves. As such, by chance I see records
\nfor all sorts of interesting items that I might not otherwise realize the
\nCenter holds.<\/p>\n
Some months ago I read a title, \u201cTrinitite from Trinity
\nNuclear Test.\u201d Farther down the record, in the physical description,
\n\u201ctrinitite encased in plastic.\u201d Below that, \u201cSample of trinitite
\ntaken from ground zero of the Trinity nuclear test.\u201d<\/p>\n
I froze at my keyboard.<\/p>\n
Were we all going to die of radiation poisoning?<\/p>\n
Every once in a while, archives listservs get emails about
\nwhat to do with firearms, ammunition, or un-exploded ordinance found in a box or
\na cabinet somewhere. (We also get emails about what to do with, say
\nhundred-year-old cake. It\u2019s truly an exciting field.) But I hadn\u2019t yet read
\nabout what to do if you find something radioactive in the stacks.<\/p>\n
Did I have the record for something radioactive? You\u2019d think
\nthat collection managers emeritus would have been smarter than to catalog and
\nfile away a dangerous radioactive item. You\u2019d also be quite surprised at the
\nnumber of live grenades archivists and museum curators stumble across.<\/p>\n
Before sending alarmed emails to my supervisors, I did some Thankfully, I learned that trinitite is the glass-like
\nresearch. We are, after all, librarians; information is our thing. The
\nWikipedia <\/a>article was very informative.<\/p>\n
\nresult of the first nuclear test, held in New Mexico in 1945, as our catalog
\nrecord indicates \u2013 and while it is slightly radioactive, it is not considered
\ndangerous. Oh, the relief! No all-caps email to the library director. Instead
\nwe are left with just this blog post to commemorate the brief spike in my heart
\nrate.<\/p>\n