As of March 1, 1998, Sister Katherine Misbauer is replacing Sister Aurelia Ottersbach as Archivist for the Sisters of Loretto. Sister Katherine comes to the archives from Nerinx Hall in St. Louis. She had previously held positions in administration in schools in Louisville and Lebanon.

Donia Conn is the new Conservator for the Kentucky Libraries. Ms. Conn accepted the new position to work in the William T. Young Library Conservation Lab. After completing a Masters of Library Science with a conservation specialty at the University of Texas, Austin, Ms. Conn completed a nine-month internship at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. She completed her undergraduate work at St. Olaf College (Northfield, MN) with a major in mathematics. She began a masters program in mathematics at the University of Wisconsin where she also took her first position in a conservation lab working as a conservation technician. In addition, Ms. Conn worked at the Minnesota Historical Society and the Harry Ranson Center in Austin. At the University of Kentucky, she will oversee the book repair unit focusing on Young Library's circulating collections, and she will also direct full-level conservation work on unique materials and artifacts housed in the UK Libraries Special Collections and Archives Division.

In this age of the fax, voice mail and e-mail, is the good old-fashioned handwritten letter dead? No, in fact, its making a comeback.

Statistics from the US. Postal Service show that, overall, the number of ordinary letters to friends rose nearly 3 percent, from 38.7 million pieces in 1993, to 39.8 million in 1994.

"Figures showing the continuing popularity of letter writing among older Americans are especially significant," according to the National Council on Aging. "For them, letter writing is a more important way than ever to reach out, share insights, assert opinions, foster relationships and avoid isolation. Beyond that, getting a letter has an immediacy, a tactile quality and a timelessness so lacking in today's fast-paced lives of instant communication."

Page 12, Spring 1998 Newsletter