Frozen At The Briscoe Center

by admin | September 29, 2017 7:32 am

AUSTIN — This is my first trip to the Briscoe Center for American History on the UT campus since its renovation, the first phase of which was completed last spring. I walked in, eager to peruse some newspaper microfilm after admiring the new gallery. After signing in, I entered the reading room. I noticed that the three employees behind the counter, who retrieve materials from the mysterious bowels of thi[1]s accclaimed repository, were dressed as if a blizzard was imminent. They wore hoodies or thick sweaters, gloves without tips to allow typing, and winter hats. It was 96 degrees outside, 60 degrees in the reading room.

I ran across one of the folks who has worked at the Briscoe forever, where I’m a familiar face after 35 years of doing research here. “Sure is cold in here,” I remarked. She explained that the contractors were revamping the heating/cooling system on the second and third floors, and while that was happening it was impossible to mix warm air with cold to regulate the temperature. I was utterly unprepared, in shorts, T-shirt and sandals. At least there was no chance of getting sleepy, though every 30 minutes I went outside to revel in the nearly three-digit temps. That does not happen very often to someone who despises summer in Texas.

I decided, at random, to start looking at microfilms of the Austin American starting on New Year’s Day of 1930. No reason, other than I woke up and decided to see what was going on in 1930.

Meanwhile, I kept going outside and stamping my feet to get circulation going. The frigid air-conditioning was not cold enough for frostbite to be a risk, but I sure wish I had brought a jacket.

Who knew?

Endnotes:
  1. [Image]: http://garyborders.com/pages/frozen-at-the-briscoe-center/briscoe-center/

Source URL: https://garyborders.com/pages/frozen-at-the-briscoe-center/