September 3rd saw a sad and yet happy event at the Oriental Institute: a farewell party for our lovely Deputy Librarian, Dawn Vaux, who has left us for pastures antipodean. The party was well-attended, a fitting tribute to a popular and sympathetic member of staff who has weathered many library storms over her almost-eleven-year tenure at OIL.
Dawn first came to work at OIL when Martyn Minty was the Librarian, in 2004, and has seen many library colleagues come and go. When the closure of the New Bodleian Library in 2010 necessitated the restructuring of the Oriental provision within the libraries, Dawn was gracious in welcoming the staff (your humble blogger included) who had previously worked in the Oriental Reading Room and the New Bodleian Reading Room, and making us feel a part of the team.
In her own words, Dawn has described the Oriental Institute Library as “the most interesting and diverse library to work in at Oxford” and said that she feels “very lucky to have had such a great experience”, although at times the larger team – which developed due to various job-shares and the addition of Bodleian staff – was sometimes a bit difficult to keep track of!
Dawn has left the Library to move to Sydney, Australia, with her husband, who has accepted a job there. We are variously jealous, sad, and pleased for them to have this wonderful opportunity.