The 32nd Gertrude P. Smith Trustees Award will be presented on Wednesday, April 3 at 6:30 P.M. The event will take place in the Coolidge Museum on the second floor of the Forbes Library. The award presentation will be followed by an illustrated talk about First Lady and longtime Northampton resident, Grace Anna Goodhue Coolidge, by the library’s archivist Julie Bartlett Nelson followed by a reception in the gallery. The public is cordially invited to attend.
The Gertrude P. Smith Award is bestowed by the Trustees of Forbes Library on community members who have given exceptional volunteer service to the library. This year’s recipients, Daria D’Arienzo and Dr. George Snook, served for many years on the library’s Coolidge Museum advisory board and both shared their expertise and passion for local history through countless hours of volunteer service.
Daria D’Arienzo served as archivist at Amherst College from 1984 to 2007 and in that role became involved in the Coolidge Advisory Committee at Forbes in the early 1990s. Following retirement from Amherst, she has been the archivist at Meekins Library in Williamsburg and done partner projects with Meekins and the Williamsburg Historical Society. She has been a trainer and teacher of archival practices on a national level as an active member of the Society of American Archivists since 1982 and became a SAA distinguished fellow in 2010. She has assisted at Forbes with training and expertise in archival policies, procedures, preservation and best practices. Daria was instrumental in guiding staff with collections care and clean up after the 2014 arson fire.
Dr. George Snook will be honored posthumously for his many years of service to Forbes Library and Northampton history. Dr. Snook was an orthopedic surgeon for over 40 years at Cooley Dickinson Hospital and served as sports team physician for UMASS Amherst and Northampton High School. He had a lifelong passion for learning, teaching and sharing history, especially of the Pioneer Valley. In retirement, Dr. Snook served as chair of the Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum advisory committee from 1999 to 2016 and also as a trustee of Historic Northampton.