Jim Atkinson, M.D. is Like a Resident Grandpa

Jim Atkinson, M.D. is a retired Radiologist who has volunteered in the Western History and Genealogy Department for over twenty years. Jim has contributed to the overall enhancement of the collection through his work with the map, mining and ephemera materials. Jim began his volunteer activities by organizing and making accessible the Wheeler Expedition maps which came from an exploration of lands west of the 100 meridian.

Jim was recruited by his best friend and college fraternity buddy Bob Heapes in volunteering to work in Western History. Together they enhanced the security of the priceless Map Collection by tattle taping the open stack maps in the William H. Jackson area, vault items and Sixth Level closed stacks. Next they rearranged the maps in their drawers, and relabeled the cabinets. This was a Herculean task as there were over 8,000 historic maps to shift. Jim tackled the work necessary to get the Mining Collection ready for processing and cataloging, thus saving the library thousands of dollars in staff time.

Jim Atkinson, an avid stamp collector, is described by the WHG staff as a reliable mainstay who is a wonderful guy to work around. He has brought his professional skills to his volunteer experience and we are the recipients of this bounty. His activities in the Western History Collection have enhanced accessibility to the map, mining and ephemera materials.