Category: Member Articles

Articles – big or small – by members, for members.

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Member Articles

Solar Eclipse 2026

Volume 53, Issue 4 —— Fall 2026
Ruth Kneale

So…. an attempt was made to see the 2026 total solar eclipse. Let me tell you about it!

On August 12, 2026, there was a total solar eclipse that fell across the northern part of Spain and the western part of Iceland. My family and I had always wanted to see Iceland, and this was a great excuse to go, so off we went! (We went ahead of time to explore Reykjavik and parts of the country, and if you ever have the opportunity, I highly recommend it.)

Reykjavik was expected to experience just under a minute of totality; the longest experience in the country was at Látrabjarg in the Westfjords, for 2 minutes 13 seconds. If you’ve looked at a map of Iceland you’ll see that the Westfjords are one of the most remote regions of the country. Between Reykjavik and the Westfords is the Snæfellsnes peninsula, considered “the place to be” for the Iceland Eclipse Festival, which was held August 11-15.

However, there were many concerns in Iceland, covered in online visitor articles, reddit posts, and Icelandic news; I read about them in The Reykjavik Grapevine, an alternative magazine and Iceland’s largest English-language publication. (You have to see their front page and read about the art… see below!) The biggest concern was the impact of the gigantic increase of traffic on roads, because the main road leading to the eclipse zones not only is just a two-lane road, it goes through a tunnel. It would have been awful to have been trying to chase the eclipse and instead get stuck in an hours-long traffic jam! There were also significant impacts to food and lodging. Hotels sold out ages ago, and the few rooms still available were going for more than $1000USD a night. People were renting spaces in fields to camp in – the gentleman in front of us at Customs at the airport was one of them. He’d tried finding a place to stay six months out, but there was nothing available!

Authorities and science communicators were telling the 80,000-plus eclipse visitors “if you can stay home [or at your hotel], stay home. It can be best just to experience the eclipse at home rather than trying to go somewhere,” said G. Pétur Matthíasson, spokesperson for the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration. We were lucky enough to have a hotel room on the 6th floor with a balcony, and that’s where we planned to watch the eclipse. Although we’d gone prepared, the National Library of Iceland was handing out eclipse glasses, so we snagged some of those, too. Of course, as happens with an eclipse, there’s always the chance the weather will interfere. The day of was grey and drizzly – but we weren’t giving up hope, because the weather can always change! But….despite that hope, it stayed overcast and raining.

Let me tell you, though. The power and weirdness and just sheer awesomeness still came through. When totality started, at 5:47pm, the skies abruptly got darker than they had been the entire rest of our visit. The seagulls all settled down. I swear, the wind died down, too. And the world just got quiet, except for the pattering of the raindrops. And a minute later – technically, 58 seconds – the clouds brightened back up to their stormy grey, the birds went “what?”, and it was hard to tell that anything had happened.

Even though we didn’t get to see what we’d gone for (or the Northern Lights, for that matter, we were just too early for them), our Eclipse 2026 trip was totally worth it. And I have to say again, if you have a chance to visit Iceland, go for it!

All prepared for the sun to come out at the last minute and show off for us!
This is totality….
And a minute later, all returned to normal. Ah well… next time!
The Reykjavik Grapevine, Issue 11, August 2026
Reykjavik Grapevine cover art explanation; art by Hugleikur Dagsson. Hilarious!

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Member Articles

Eclipse Gallery

Volume 53, Issue 4 —— Fall 2026

Zac Painter was in Bruges during the eclipse and managed to catch these images; check out those natural pinholes!

These images were obtained via Reddit’s r/solareclipse and r/astronomy subreddits, and shared here with permission of the posters:

Correct_Presence_936 https://www.reddit.com/r/Astronomy/comments/1vvldwj/i_captured_the_suns_corona_during_the_august_12/
jhroom/Foto Room
https://www.reddit.com/r/solareclipse/comments/1vumd7m/eclipse_in_spain/
Miloslav Druckmüller (via NoRodent)
https://www.reddit.com/r/solareclipse/comments/1vz14nh/the_corona_of_the_2026_total_solar_eclipse_as/ ; also links to his academic pages with many more images
mollskis
https://www.reddit.com/r/solareclipse/comments/1w55gon/12th_august_total_eclipse_spain/

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Conferences Member Articles

ISS/SLC Conference Wrap-up

Volume 53, Issue 3 —— Summer 2026
Emma Moore

Inaugural Information Science Summit and Special Libraries Conference: Albuquerque 2026

One of the biggest promises made by last year’s merger of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) and the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) was preserving a conference focused on the needs of special library practitioners. A conference focused on the day to day practice of information science had been in ASIS&T’s strategic plan even before the merger, as the Board had identified a need to connect faculty research with librarian experiences on the ground. After the successful votes by SLA and ASIS&T members in favor of the merger in early Autumn 2025, a tireless Conference Planning committee, lead by Kendra Levine, quickly got to work. From June 6 to June 9th at the Clyde Hotel in Albuquerque, New Mexico, all their hard work came to fruition.

The conference was intentionally smaller and more focused in scale, which provided a feeling of “right-sizedness” at least to your correspondent. We were lucky to have a local expert, Dr. Stephanie Moore of UNM, give a targeted, accessible and optimistic keynote: ““Working GenAI into Shape: Ethics as Professional Agency and Leadership”. That blend of big picture ethical thinking and on-the-ground efficacy set a tone for the sessions of the next few days. In the intimate scale of the Clyde’s meeting rooms, there were sessions on popular topics which became standing room only! One of my favorites was on “information friction”, by Darin Freiburg of the University of South Carolina- Darin is also the leader of the Libraries and Librarianship Special Interest Group (SIG), and their leadership is quite interested in integrating the knowledge of newly arrived members from SLA.

As always, there was a mix of sessions focused on successful projects; those focused on new tools and frameworks that might be useful back at the office; and roundtables that let the audience explore their professional needs and strengths along with panelists and moderators. PAM (soon to be CAMMP) had three very successful sessions accepted. The Math Roundtable focused on uses and ways to teach LaTex to diverse student populations, and that was immediately followed by a lively and collegial PAM dinner at the 505 foodhall. Many thanks also to Sharice and Byron of AAAS for their generous sponsorship of the Monday night PAM dinner! The industry partners of PAM were well represented, both at the exhibit hall and in the always popular industry partners roundtable on Monday the 7th. While I had to leave early, it was great to see that Meg Eastwood and PAM were leading a great session on AI and Open Access to close out the weekend.

In the wake of the conference, there was a general feeling both of optimism and lessons learned, especially as attendees were given the choice to vote on a 2027 conference location (New Orleans or Denver). This feels like the ABQ conference will be a first step in the right direction, as the new organization created by last year’s merger figures out what we look like at this new frontier.

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Member Articles

Legacy Info & Hidden Collections

Volume 53, Issue 3 —— Summer 2026
Dr. Deborah Garwood

Deborah’s presentation at this year’s ISS/SLC presented the idea that industry experts and special collections librarians / archivists could benefit from opening “hidden collections” in scientific libraries of yore. She was inspired by her dissertation research interviews with archivists at history of medicine collections in Philly, who estimated that only 2% of their collections were digitized (or ever would be). Last year she also learned about an Air Force Research Libraries program to hire MSLIS grads to come up with ways to access its scientific manuscripts and records from the 1960s to 1980s. The information in these holdings is scientific, but she think also a rich cultural record of American life blending science and business for consumers while supporting the economy. Dr. Garwood’s pitch is that opening hidden collections gives businesses an edge in competitive intelligence (deep knowledge of a region’s geography, transportation for example) while the preserving institution benefits from increased access to collections.

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Member Articles

Meet the Chicago Collections Consortium and Revs Institute

Volume 53, Issue 3 —— Summer 2026
Jerrel Horn

I was able to attend a webinar on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 talking about the Chicago Collections Consortium (CCC) and the Revs Institute, and I thought it was really fascinating and wanted to share.

The CCC is a membership organization of 60+ institutions composed of public and private universities, public libraries, special libraries, museums, and other repositories with collections that chronicle the rich history of Chicago. Ellen Keith, Executive Director, will discuss their portal, the organization’s other outreach activities, and the organization’s next steps in its second decade.

The Revs Institute is a nonprofit organization specializing in automobile history, research and related educational programs. Arthur Carlson, Director of Archives and Research Center – Revs Institute, will highlight current projects at Revs Institute including a machine learning metadata generation project, the development of a specialized large language learning model to support research, and efforts to document and share specialized at-risk knowledge and share that with the world.

Learn more: https://www.carli.illinois.edu/digital-possibilities-series-meet-chicago-collections-consortium-and-revs-institute

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Member Articles

Discord for the PAMily – An Invitation

Volume 53, Issue 2 —— Spring 2026
Jeffra Bussmann

We would like to welcome all Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics Librarians and related Industry Partners to the PAMily Discord. 

Discord is a technology tool like Slack and Facebook that allows group conversation and sharing around topics of interest.  In our Discord, there are multiple areas for people to have conversations about specific topics — or even to share photos of pets, plan and take pictures of spontaneous PAMily meetups at other conferences and events, and share optimism and fun. 

If you have questions about the PAMily Discord, contact/email the Discord PAMily Moderators: Kayleigh Bohémier, Jeffra Bussmann, or John Kromer. 

Let us know if you have any questions. You can find our PAMily Code of Conduct documentation here. 

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Member Articles

Are the Lights Going Out?

Volume 53, Issue 2 —— Spring 2026
Ruth Kneale

It’s been a nerve-wracking fiscal year so far for all of us in the (US-based) PAM libraries. After the President was elected, he and his new Cabinet were extremely clear in their anti-science bias. That led to the utter massacre that was DOGE. Between that disaster, and some organizations’ anticipatory cutting of budgets, massive damage has been done to science in the US. For example, NASA’s astrophysics research division was facing a 44% cut1, which would have defunded an astonishing 41 programs, including OSIRIS-APEX, Keck Observatory, and Chandra X-Ray Observatory. Additionally, all money going towards STEM engagement (which includes REU programs) would be cut. The budget threats across the board were, frankly, terrifying from a science point of view. 

Thankfully, albeit with a lot of effort and strain, the 2026 Appropriations budget was approved at a nearly-flat rate for the NSF and NASA2. However, that didn’t mean the crisis was over…

Many organizations, whether hit by the DOGE chainsaw or suffering from the enactment of as-yet unapproved budget cuts, began FY2026 by cutting their budgets and laying off staff. I’ve heard back from a few folks to my PAMnet message who shared similar stories: their institutions restructured in some way, or faced loss of grants (note: NSF-wide, there have been almost 2,000 grants cancelled so far3), that required astronomers and other scientists to take a serious hit to their salaries. This led to the departure of said staff, and we all know if the staff numbers go down, so does the library’s budget. A couple of librarians reported they’d had to cancel subscriptions as a direct result. Thankfully, no one has reported they had any layoffs of staff, but tension is high as we approach budgeting for FY27.

One of the most visible impacts late last year was the abrupt closure of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) library, which was nominally part of a planned physical reorganization of the campus, but came as a surprise to a lot of the scientific and library community4. According to an article from the New York Times5, “a NASA spokesman said the agency would review the library holdings over the next 60 days and some material would be stored in a government warehouse while the rest would be tossed away.” I’m sorry, tossed away? That library contained not only many older paper-based resources that aren’t available online, it also had “specialized equipment and electronics designed to test spacecraft [that] have been removed and thrown out”. This is just horrifying to me. The library is not the only part of the GSFC being targeted; between the DOGE layoffs, the office and building closures, and the sudden closure of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, there’s a fear that the entire shebang will be gone by the end of FY2026. 

Closer to home are cuts to the NSF that can possibly impact what I consider “my” observatories – cuts to both the National Solar Observatory, which runs the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST), and the National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratories (NOIRLab), which runs the Gemini Observatories. Both observatories skinned through the FY2026 budget approval process, but are in the process of having to plan for the worst. NOIRLab could be facing huge cuts, at the levels where Gemini will be operationally reduced by 50%, making it hard to actually operate it; ownership of Kitt Peak National Observatory and Cerro Tololo International Observatory would actually be transferred somewhere else; and the brand-new Vera C. Rubin Observatory, which is transitioning from construction to operations and was expecting an appropriately-sized budget increase, will get, at most, half of that6. As for DKIST, still my home and only operating for a couple of years, the threatened FY26 budget was for only $13M. “To put it bluntly,” [DKIST Director] Keller said, “for DKIST, at $13 million, we cannot operate. There’s no way for us to operate such a complex facility.”7 I just can’t wrap my mind around the possibility that the NSO would have to mothball the world’s most powerful solar telescope only a couple of years after bringing it online.

So, what can we do? Right now, not much, it seems. Protect our budgets as much as possible, continue to keep our scientists and senior administrators aware of our values, and write to our representatives and senators of our concerns. Handwritten letters, especially, carry a lot of weight, but even e-mail and typed letters are taken seriously.

More than ever, I think we need to save as much data as possible (i.e. LOCKSS). We need to be civically involved so our Senators and Representatives know how much we value science. And we can remember the song “Light One Candle,” by Peter, Paul & Mary from 1982. It’s a peace anthem and struggle for justice, and the chorus gave me goosebumps:

Don’t let the light go out
It’s lasted for so many years
Don’t let the light go out
Let it shine through our love and our tears

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Member Articles

Highlights from the First PAM Bulletin

Volume 53, Issue 2 —— Spring 2026
Ruth Kneale

Ah, the 70s. The time of Elvis and his Hawaiian concert (the first worldwide telecast by an entertainer watched by more people than watched the Apollo moon landings!), LexisNexis, Skylab, the completion of the world’s tallest building (Sears Tower, 1,451 ft), the publication of The Princess Bride by William Goldman, and the launch of Pioneer 10, which later sent back the first close-up images of Jupiter.

And the publication of Bulletin #1 by the provisional PAM Division in September 1973! 

The SLA Annual Conference was held in Pittsburgh, June 11-13, 1973. Our Executive Board, 1973-74, was:

  • Chairman: Mr. Allen Wynne, Math-Physics Library, University of Colorado
  • Chairman-Elect: Mrs. Christine Bain, Dudley Observatory Library
  • Past-Chairman (Acting): Mr. Jack Weigel, Physics-Astronomy Library, University of Michigan
  • Secretary: Mrs. Jean K. Martin, Physics-Math-Astronomy Library, University of Texas
  • Treasurer: Mrs. Berle G. Reiter, V. G. Grove Library, Wells Hall

We sponsored 3 programs. Attendance ranged from 20-30, a nice showing for provisional programs! They were titled:

  • Fundamentals of Managing an Astronomy Collection
  • Past Use as a Guide to Future Development of a Math Branch Library
  • Professional Society Publishing in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences: Current Programs and Future Problems

Our Acting Chairman, Jack Weigel, presided over the 1973 Business Meeting:

  • The slate of candidates was introduced, and approved.
  • The Division Bylaws, which had been shared in advance, were discussed and approved.
  • Clarification was given to the 2-year Provisional status the Division had been granted in 1972. 
  • It was announced that the new Chairman, Allen Wynne, would also be the Conference Coordinator for 1974’s meeting in Toronto, Canada, with Louise Seidler as Program Chairwoman.
  • The decision to create and publish a PAM Division Directory was made.

Other Highlights from the Bulletin include:

  • Chatter from the Chairman, where Mr. Weigel shared his and others’ ideas for ways to bring our group closer together, and common projects that could be of use. They include:
    • A Union List of Astronomy Serials for North America
    • Traveling Exhibits in Astronomy
    • Visual Aids for Physics Classroom Presentations
    • Comparison of University Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics Collections
  • Membership Drive Underway
    • More than ever at this time, we needed members, so we could reach full Division status. Membership Chairman was Kathryn Strand of the High Altitude Observatory Library, and she had a lot of work to do.
  • Thanks to Members
    • As we’ve noted in our PAM Histories, we owe a lot to Jack Weigel. This section acknowledges the hard work he and Christine Bain did to get the provisional group up and running, and Jack and Kimyo Hom for their fine 1973 conference planning.
  • Plans for the PAM Division Newsletter
    • The beauty that is the PAM Bulletin was launched, as Jean K. Martin (Acting Editor) passed the baton – and the forms – on to Virginia Van Brunt, Librarian, National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
PAMBulletin1-1-Sept1973Download