An online guide to women's history research is now available through the University of Wisconsin's library research guides. Link to it directly here
http://researchguides.library.wisc.edu/womenshistoryinarchives
Or find it under History-General and Gender/Sexuality/Women's Studies in the library research guides.
The guide is designed for new and intermediate archival researchers and includes lists of women's archives, tips for finding women's history materials in archives or online and an introduction to archival research. I created the guide as part of a practicum at the University of Wisconsin's Women's Studies Librarians' Office. My hope is that the guide will help ease the steep learning curve that accompanies the switch from libraries to archives, will promote women's archives and will help researchers find hidden women's history collections.
Please comment if you know of a women's archive I missed and feel free to link to the guide.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Friday, April 01, 2011
In 2008, the Council on Library and Information Resources awarded a grant to the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History (AARL) and Emory University to process "hidden" civil rights collections. At AARL, the collections are the Andrew J. Young Papers and the NAACP-Atlanta Branch Records. While processing the Andrew J. Young Papers, it revealed a "hidden" collection within this "hidden" collection: the papers of his wife of forty years, Jean Childs Young. Due to the content and amount of material, it became a collection separate from her husband's and is now available for research.
As the wife of a well-known minister, civil rights activist, politician, ambassador, and business leader, Jean Childs Young supported and participated in her husband's activities, but also created her own identity and career through working as an educator and activist. A few highlights of her contributions:
- She was as an elementary school teacher, coordinator of curriculum for Atlanta Public Schools, helped establish Atlanta Junior College (now Atlanta Metropolitan College), and founded the Mayor’s Task Force on Education. In the late 1960s, she worked to incorporate black studies into elementary school curriculum, twenty years before mandated by the Atlanta Public School system.
- President Jimmy Carter appointed her as Chair of the 1979 International Year of the Child, where more than 100 countries participated to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child and to raise awareness about children's rights. Her involvement with children's advocacy extended to UNICEF, the Children's Defense Fund, and she co-founded the Atlanta-Fulton Commission on Children and Youth.
- In 1970, she founded the group "Women for Andrew Young," the first local campaign geared towards women, which reconvened for her husband's four Congressional campaigns, two Atlanta mayoral campaigns, and Georgia gubernatorial campaign. She also participated in the early 1980s ERA movement, Mondale/Ferraro campaign, and the League of Women Voters.
Contributed by Cheryl Oesteicher, Project Archivist
Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History
cheryl.oestreicher@fultoncountyga.gov
**If you are interested in spotlighting a collection, project, or event related to women's collections, please email a blurb to the WCRT Steering Committee: wcrt-cmte@forums.archivists.org**
Friday, January 28, 2011
We'd like to introduce a new feature on the WCRT blog! We will be spotlighting various members' projects related to women's collections. If you have a project -- processing, exhibits, events, anything! -- that you would like to brag about, we'd love to have you submit it to share on the blog. Email WCRT co-chairs Meghan Lyon (meghan.lyon@duke.edu) or Cassie Schmitt (schmitt@uoregon.edu).
Today's inaugural spotlight comes from the Chicago History Museum:
In 2009, the Chicago History Museum (CHM) was awarded a National Historic Publications and Records Commission Basic Processing grant to reveal hidden manuscript collections. Archivists began by conducting a cataloging and assessment survey of CHM manuscript collections of 0.5 linear feet and larger. Over 1000 collections totaling nearly 20,000 linear feet were surveyed. Survey objectives included determining collections’ ideal minimal processing level; flagging found-in-collection materials lacking adequate accession information; updating MARC records; and assessing collections’ physical and intellectual access, potential research value, and conservation concerns. Survey data was then used to establish a prioritized list of collections to be processed to the series level. Among the factors considered when assessing potential research value was the relevance of a collection to gender and women's studies. Because of this effort, a number of women-related collections were processed as part of the NHPRC project. The project team is pleased to present a selection of these collections with the Women’s Collections Roundtable and larger scholarly community.
1. Alpha Gamma Pi records, 1963-1979. 1.5 linear feet.
Correspondence, meeting minutes, membership material, newspaper clippings, financial records, photographs, and other records of Alpha Gamma Pi, an African American sorority organized to recognize progressive women, serve as role models, and provide scholarships. Women were awarded for their academic and social achievements, especially those from low-income backgrounds.
2. Black Women in the Middle West project records, 1980-1985. 4.5 linear feet.
Questionnaires, lists, agendas, announcements, and other records of a grant project supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities to collection documentation on the lives of African American women in the Middle West. Completed questionnaires contain biographical information provided by Black women in Illinois and Indiana.
3. Chicago Home Economists in Business records, 1966-1983. 2.5 linear feet.
Financial records, membership information, board meeting minutes, correspondence, newsletters, press releases, and other records of the Chicago Home Economists in Business (CHEIB), an organization that focused on the relationship between home economists, business, and consumers.
4. Chicago Woman's Musical Club records, 1895-1979 (bulk 1914-1979). 6 linear feet.
Newspaper clippings, programs, newsletters, sheet music, music periodicals, correspondence, administrative files, annual directories, scrapbooks, and other records of the Chicago Woman's Musical Club, which sponsored performances of classical music, fostered music appreciation, and awarded scholarships to young musicians and prizes.
5. The Fashion Group of Chicago records, 1950-1987. 4.75 linear feet.
Administrative records, correspondence, financial records, reports, newspaper and magazine articles, photographs, and other records of The Fashion Group of Chicago, a local chapter of the international non-profit organization, The Fashion Group. Most materials relate to fashion shows, seminars, and other events hosted by the organization, which sought to promote high-end fashion and provide educational opportunities and resources for individuals interested in the fashion industry.
6. Ann Landers papers, 1947-2002. 106 linear feet.
Scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, correspondence, photographs, and other papers of Ann Landers, primarily regarding her career as an advice columnist for the Chicago Sun Times and later for the Chicago Tribune, and in syndication to newspapers throughout the United States. Scrapbooks contain her newspaper column, "Ask Ann Landers", and other newspaper clippings, articles, photos, etc. about Landers' journalism career, social service activities, and personal matters.
7. National Council of Jewish Women, Chicago Section records, 1899-1973 (bulk 1920-1970). 8.75 linear feet.
Meeting minutes, annual reports, financial records, correspondence, periodicals, newsletters, press releases, brochures, pamphlets, directories, manuals, scripts, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, and other records of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), Chicago Section, a community service organization. Materials relate to services offered by the NCJW, both locally and nationally, such as job placement for immigrants and youth, scholarships and courses; care packages for servicemen and Jewish orphans during World War Two; and the Council Camp, a Jewish family camp in Wauconda (Ill.). Present are biographical materials pertaining to Hannah Greenebaum Solomon, founder and first president of the NCJW, and president of the Chicago Section for 12 years.
8. Lois Rosen papers, 1963-1996. 14 linear feet.
Correspondence, meeting minutes, conference notes, press releases, publications, periodicals, committee reports, legal and financial documents, newspaper clippings, flyers, and other papers of Lois Rosen, a Chicago social and civic activist from the 1960s-1990s. Most of the collection relates to Rosen's work within the Chicago Commission on Women, the Southwest Community Congress and Rosen's personal subject files. Also present are materials on the Chicago Newspaper Guild and the Chicago Tourism Council.
9. Charlotte E. Senechalle papers, 1950-200 (bulk 1950-1990). 3.75 linear feet.
Correspondence, meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, reports, and other papers of Charlotte E. Senechalle, primarily relating to her work with school improvement and the conditions of the Cook County Department of Corrections. Included are materials pertaining to Senechalle's work with the League of Women Voters (1960s), Church Women United (1990s), and the Citizens Schools Committee. Observer reports on the Chicago Board of Education (1971-1976) regarding school integration and desegregation and research files on criminal justice, penal systems, and prison conditions in Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois are also present.
10. Sister Miriam Wilson's collection on the Pontiac Brothers prison reform movement, 1978-1982. 1 linear foot.
Newspaper clippings, pamphlets, flyers, booklets, handouts, correspondence, and other documents of the Pontiac Brothers prison reform collection compiled by Sister Miriam Wilson. Materials document the response to the conviction of 31 prisoners in the 1978 Pontiac prison rebellion in Pontiac, Illinois, one of the largest prison riots in the United States. The Pontiac Prison was known for its crowded quarters and mistreatment of prisoners. 17 of the convicted prisoners were sentenced to death, which gained the attention of several local religious organizations and individuals such as Sister Miriam Wilson of St. Scholastic Priory in Chicago.
The project team consisted of archivists Peter Alter, Sarah Dorpinghaus, Jennifer Fowle, and Rachel Juris; collection and registration technician Christine McNulty; and project manager M. Alison Eisendrath. For more information about collections at the Chicago History Museum, please visit the CHM Research Center website.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Women in the Archives: Organizing Knowledge
April 15-16, 2011
Brown University
Papers are now being invited for Women in the Archives, a two-day conference co-sponsored by the Women Writers Project and the Sarah Doyle Women's Center at Brown University.
Women in the Archives explores the use of archival materials in the study of women's writing, and the construction of disciplinary practices in archival research and pedagogy. This year our theme is "Organizing Knowledge", focusing on systems of knowledge representation in relation to different kinds of archival practice. Papers might address themes such as the following:
* how do knowledge representation/management systems operate in the archive, and how do they instantiate or intervene in the legibility of archival materials?
* how can we read the gender politics of knowledge organization systems in the archive?
* how do pedagogical practices shape our interaction with such systems?
* what would it mean to read against the grain of archival systems of organization?
* how does discipline shape our understanding and use of the archive?
The larger concerns of the Women in the Archives series as a whole include:
* pedagogy and interdisciplinary pedagogies
* issues of gender in the construction of archival spaces
* material modes of textuality across disciplines
* technologies of research and teaching, and the impact of digital media on the archive
* new directions in archival research
* editing archival materials
This year, in addition to regular paper sessions, we are experimenting with
two new kinds of presentations:
1. A pecha-kucha-style session of short, fast-paced presentations that will
let participants present work in progress in a vivid and memorable form. The
session promises to be both entertaining and provocative.
2. Poster presentations, which will be mounted in the conference space for
attention during breaks
For more information about these formats please see
http://www.wwp.brown.edu/
To submit a pecha-kucha proposal, please send a one-page statement which
includes:
--one question your research is trying to answer
--two people whose work stimulated your current project
--three people whose work you hope your project will influence
--four questions you think your project raises that you'd like to pose to the audience
--the five most interesting sources you're consulting (archival or critical) with a brief quote from each
--a brief paragraph in which you supply any other detail you think will be helpful to us
To submit a paper or poster proposal, please send an abstract of not more
than 300 words.
Please send all proposals to WWP@brown.edu by January 15, 2011.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Call for Student Paper and Poster Presentations
The 2011 Student Program Subcommittee is accepting proposals for two special sessions dedicated to student scholarship during the Midwest Archives Conference's (MAC) Annual Meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota from April 28 – 30, 2011. Work from both master's and doctoral students will be considered. Students must be currently enrolled or have graduated no earlier than December 2010. Proposals must be received no later than February 11, 2011.
Graduate Student Paper Session
The work of three archives students will be selected for presentation during a traditional session format. Each speaker will be allotted 15 minutes to present a paper. Thirty minutes will be reserved for audience questions and discussion. Proposals may relate to the student's research interests as well as research pertinent to the profession. Participant selection will be based on the quality of proposals submitted.
Graduate Student Poster Session
The Graduate Student Poster Session will showcase the work of both individual students and student chapters.
Individual posters may describe applied or theoretical research that is completed or underway; discuss interesting collections with which students have worked; or report on archives and records projects in which students have participated (e.g., development of finding aids, public outreach, database construction, etc.). Submissions should focus on research or activities conducted recently.
Student Chapter posters may describe chapter activities, events, and/or other involvement with the archives and records professions. One person should coordinate the submission of each student chapter proposal.
Submission Form and Deadlines
Proposals must be received no later than February 11, 2011. The form will ask for the following information:
- Name
- School/Degree Program (MA, MILS, PhD, etc.)
- Address
- Phone Number
- Type of proposal (Paper/Individual Poster/Chapter Poster)
- Poster or Paper Abstract (200 words or less)
- Affirmation of Attendance (a sentence indicating your commitment to attend MAC 2011 and present your paper/poster in person if selected)\
Monday, November 15, 2010
Call for Presentations!
Tradition and Innovation: New Ideas for Old Stuff
Northwest Archivists Conference
Helena, Montana
April 20-23, 2011
The Northwest Archivists are pleased to announce their 2011 Conference in Helena, Montana.
This year’s theme highlights our professional paradox of caring for archival collections representing our collective memory and actions, while navigating and interacting with contemporary audiences, expectations and technology. In order to fulfill our mission, we cannot embrace one without the other. So how do we walk the line between tradition and innovation? How do we interact with an ever changing present when we are representing the past? Not only does this dichotomy effect our interactions with researchers, it also directs our dealings with the media, policy makers, donors and the general population.
In keeping with this year’s theme, the conference will consist of two tracks: a traditional panel session track and a track devoted to non-traditional sessions. We’re all familiar with the usual chaired sessions with two or more presenters, but what makes a non-traditional session? The Program Committee is open to any session format idea that you may come up with, and here are some examples to spark your imagination:
• Open themed sessions: these are sessions focused on a theme but the audience drives the discussion. Facilitators will guide and encourage the audience, but this is an opportunity for us to talk to each other about specific topics.
• “Lightning Talks” or Pecha Kucha: Last year’s Pecha Kucha session was well-attended and involved a selection of diverse topics presented in short time frames.
• Other formats that encourage participation or look at innovative ways to convey information and engage the membership.
If you’ve ever sat in a session and thought that you’d like to share information in another way, this is your chance!
The Program Committee for the 2011 meeting in Helena, Montana, invites you to submit proposals for sessions and individual presentations that explore our grounding in the traditions of our profession and collections and the necessity of bridging the gap to a contemporary world. If you have a great idea for a topic but can’t find co-presenters, please submit a proposal anyway; there may be opportunities to match presenters or to work topics together in some of the non-traditional sessions. Sessions that engage the membership in non-traditional ways are particularly encouraged.
Submission Guidelines: Submissions can involve an entire session or an individual presentation. All proposals must include: title, description (no more than 250 words), A/V requirements (laptop, projector, screen, etc), presenter name, professional affiliation, address, email, phone number and a brief resume.
Session proposals must include all of the above for each presenter, plus: session title, session description (250 words maximum), contact information for the panel organizer, including email address and phone number. Submissions should also include a description of the type of session proposed (panel discussion, paper, non-traditional). We assume that everyone listed in a session proposal has agreed to participate. Electronic submissions only, please. Attach proposals as a Word or PDF file.
All submissions must be received no later than December 31, 2010.
Click Here for the submission form
Submit proposals to:
Diana Banning, Program Committee Chair, 2011 NWA Conference
City of Portland Archives and Records Center
Diana.Banning@portlandoregon.gov
503-865-4110
Monday, November 15, 2010
The new digital archive, “Women and Social Movements International-- 1840 to Present,” will be available for library subscription from Alexander Street Press in December or January. The first 25,000 pages of the archive will appear at that time and the entire archive of 150,000 pages will be online in late 2011. Kathryn Kish Sklar and Thomas Dublin are co-editing the resource with support from an international editorial advisory board.
At the AHA (American Historical Association) the archive will be considered as a research tool in a session, “New Research in the History of Women’s Transnational and International Social Movements.” That session will take place on Friday, Jan. 7, 9:30-11:30 in the Arlington Room of the Boston Marriot Copley Place and will have screen shots of the Beta version of the archive. Participants will include Francisca de Haan of Central European University, Tiffany Ruby Patterson of Vanderbilt University, Megan Threlkeld of Denison University, Barbara Reeves Ellington of Siena College and Kitty Sklar.
There will also be a luncheon on Friday, Jan. 7 at 12:15 in the Vineyard Room of the Boston Marriot Copley Place to unveil WASM International. There we will describe the archive in a slide presentation. Please contact tdublin[at]binghamton[dot]edu to reserve a place. The luncheon is free, but seats are limited.
We hope to see you at the AHA.
Kitty Sklar & Tom Dublin
Thomas Dublin
Distinguished Professor of History
State University of New York at Binghamton
Binghamton, NY 13902-6000
607-777-2854
FAX: 717-214-4415
Posts
