At AIHP, we believe our people are at the heart of everything we do. Today, we’re delighted to introduce you to Hannah Dillemuth, our Archivist, whose dedication and expertise have been instrumental in preserving and enhancing access to our collections.
Hannah oversees all aspects of our archival materials, including arrangement and description, preservation, collection development, and reference services. She earned her Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and previously worked with the university’s Department of Special Collections and University Archives, where she focused on processing hidden collections and improving accessibility.
Since joining AIHP, Hannah has been deeply involved in flood recovery efforts, having started just before a major flooding event impacted our archives. She is currently leading the transition from 60+ year old filing cabinets to archival grade shelving and is processing materials as she goes—ensuring our collections are both protected and accessible for future research.
What excites you about joining AIHP?
I’m excited to be working with an archive as unique as AIHP’s. There are a multitude of different formats and materials, like photographs and herbariums and audio/visual recordings. I love being able to explore history through these different formats and do my part to preserve them for future researchers.
What is special to you about our current collections projects?
It feels like beginning the collection from the beginning in some ways. There was a lot of upheaval when I started so that gave us the opportunity to reevaluate the archive as a whole. Our current projects will allow us to align more with archival standards and better preserve pharmacy history. Being able to see that project start is really special and I know that it will be exciting to see where it will lead us.
The AIHP is over eighty years old, and you can still see the traces of people who have contributed time and effort to its mission. What mark do you hope to leave on the Institute?
I would hope to leave the Institute more accessible to our members, patrons, and the public. My goal is to understand what materials we have and how they can best be arranged so that anyone can come and use the materials. This will also help us understand what materials we have so we can collect materials that we don’t have.
