Nadia Sophie Seiler Rare Materials Residency

It’s satisfying to put the pieces of a puzzle together when we can, but it’s just as exciting to think of the undiscovered treasures that might be hiding in this collection. — Nadia Sophie Seiler

The Nadia Sophie Seiler Rare Materials Residency is a nine-month term-limited position that provides library professionals with substantive exposure to rare materials cataloging. The residency is made possible by the Nadia Sophie Seiler Memorial Fund, in memory of Nadia Sophie Seiler's passion for books and libraries, with a goal of encouraging similar enthusiasm and expertise in the next generation of special collections librarians.

Seiler Residency at the Folger

The Folger hosted the Seiler Residency for its first three years. The residents were integrated into the full, day-to-day life of Folger staff, participating in departmental meetings, joining the Saturday Reading Room rotation, attending talks, and contributing to the collegial environment. They worked directly with curators, researcher services, and other staff at all levels in order to gain a thorough and practical understanding of rare materials librarianship.

The residency's primary focus is rare materials cataloging. Seiler Residents chose projects from among several offerings, all selected with an eye to accommodating their own individual interests, institutional priorities, and available staff expertise; and were carried out with training and guidance of Folger catalogers. The residency culminated in a public presentation.

• 2016-2017: Anna Loewenthal. Anna advanced her facility with cataloging early printed English books, with a focus on the library’s large collection of almanacs.

Public presentation: Cataloging Almanacs

• 2017-2018: Brittney Washington. Brittney continued with cataloging early English printed books, with a special side focus on English Civil War broadsides.

Public presentation: Cataloging English Civil Wars: Broadsides

• 2018-2019: Sara Schliep. Sara's residency was marked by a multiplicity of activities, allowing her to accomplish an overall goal of mastering English secretary hand.

Pop-up exhibit: Inkhorn Controversy.

Public presentation: Recipes, Name Authorities, and rules, oh my!

Nadia Sophie Seiler’s passion for rare materials and for cataloging inspired all of us at the Folger Shakespeare Library. We who worked closely with Nadia were pleased and honored to be able to help ensure that our beloved colleague's memory lives on. Seeing the spark of enthusiasm for rare materials ignite the mind of a new librarian is seeing Nadia's spirit in the next generation.

Current status

Since the 2021-2022 academic year, the Seiler Residency has been hosted by The Yale Center for British Art. New opportunities are announced on RBMS News & Events, DCRM-L, and other professional websites and lists. More information on the Nadia Sophie Seiler Memorial Fund is available here.