With such mixed emotions we must say goodbye to Crystal Willer, the Conservatory Library’s Special Collections Librarian and Curator of the James and Susan Neumann Jazz Collection. She will leave us in May to become associate archivist at her alma mater, Lewis and Clark College, in Portland, Oregon. Although we will miss her greatly, we cannot help but be happy for her: this move will take Crystal, her husband, Jordan, and their adorable daughter, Josephine (Jo), back to her family and hometown. Moreover, Crystal will now oversee the poetry archive at Lewis and Clark, a resource she knows well insofar as this was her first love/area of study.
Crystal began work at the Con Library in the fall of 2018, initially as Project Archivist, and then early in 2020, she surfaced to the top of a competitive pool of candidates for her current position. While her responsibilities could find her invited into classes to teach about special collections, at the same time she has had oversight for organizing, accessioning, inventorying, and overall cataloging of Conservatory special collections. She communicated regularly with the Conservatory Library’s major donors, working closely with them on planning and project management. In addition to traveling exhibits, Crystal has overseen all manner of exhibitions throughout the Conservatory including the digital monitors throughout the Kohl Building. She has also supervised the work of a full-time curatorial assistant as well as two student assistants in digitizing all aspects of special collections toward making them more accessible to the Oberlin and greater music communities via the internet.
Crystal’s last day at the Con Library is Thursday, 19 May. We will miss you, Crystal!
