Dorothy Allison Papers Arrive at Duke

After a nearly twenty year period of considering this momentous decision, Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard Out of Carolina and renowned activist in the LGBTQ community, has selected the Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture, part of the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library at Duke University, to be the repository for her papers. Bingham Center and literary curatorial staff collaborated on the initial acquisition of nearly 60 boxes of Allison's papers, including drafts of her writings, extensive correspondence and research files, personal journals documenting her life and creative process, and more. Read the whole story on the Special Collections blog: http://dukelibrariesrbmscl.blogspot.com/2010/09/dorothy-allison-papers-arrive-at-duke.html

Another blog post about Allison: http://dukelibrariesrbmscl.blogspot.com/2010/09/my-rbmscl-reading-dorothy-allison.html

Finding aid: http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/rbmscl/allisondorothy/inv/

Categories: new collections, repositories

Minutes from SAA 2010

Below are the minutes from our Roundtable Meeting at SAA in Washington, DC.

Women’s Collections Roundtable Annual Meeting

August 11, 2010, Washington, DC

Meeting Minutes

Co-chairs: Danelle Moon and Kelly Wooten

Wonderful presentations by:

• Allida Black, Research Professor of History and International Affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs, will speak about her work as the project director of The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers
• Stephen Rhind-Tutt, president, Alexander Street Press, will highlight the press's women's history databases

WCRT website/Blog:

Our updated website is moving over to the drupal format

Discussion of blog found at:

http://wcrt-saa.blogspot.com/

We encourage anyone with updates, announcements, new digital collections, anything related to women's collections to send us their information to share on the blog.

WCRT Membership:

Discussion of increased participation was on the agenda. Due to the number of members (377) and high participation at this mtg it was decided we didn't need to discuss this at this time.

Reminder that members need to opt in to the roundtable listserve

News from the Archives for Women and Social Movements database/journal

Please send any updates/announcements to Tanya Belcher-Zanish at tzanish [at] iastate [dot] edu

Women’s archives reader

draft articles coming in now, moving forward

Panels/speaker ideas for Chicago 2011 mtg:

MPLP primarily with regard to women’s collections

· Membership lists in women’s organizations

Outreach using social media to nontraditional women’s groups/activists as researchers

· Actively communicating with other groups

Uncovering hidden collection

Combining outreach with budget constraints

Continuing to serve women’s collections and user populations

Blasting stereotypes of women through women’s collections

· how you go about doing this and promoting the materials

· Promoting women’s influence on pop culture

· Girls band from 80s

· Zines as archival collections

Catholic women, nuns, getting materials out to the public

Designing programming.

• Designed for younger groups

Jane Addams, Chicago Hull House as potential ideas for Roundtable program

• Outreach, organization for children
• Social services, health issues
• Pursue this for either a topic or our roundtable mtg
• Or arts/crafts period from mid-western schools

Elections:

Next year we will move to online elections as other sections/roundtables did this year.

Meghan Lyon and Cassie Schmitt, co-vice chairs are the next years co-chairs.

Elections for vice chair, nominations from the floor, voting, both approved

Welcome Kathy Hertel-Baker and Virginia Corvid as the new co-vice chairs!

Program Committee report:

Everything fits the theme!

See announcement: here

Council Report:

Donna McCrea reports on council's mtg included proposed dues increase and financial status of SAA.

Diversity Committee:

Kelly Wooten is the representative for "women" including the memberships of both the Women's Collections Roundtable and the Women's Archivists Roundtable. Kelly reports as posted on blog: SAA's Diversity Committee Report

Attendance

Jonathan Ponder, JSTOR	Alison Gaim, NARA
Erin Townsend, NARA	Virginia Corvid, WHS/UW-Madison
Susan Woodland, Hadassah Archives	Lora Davis, University of Delaware
Rebecca Johsnon Melvin, University of Delaware	Taronda Spencer, Spelman College
Andrea Sheehan, QVC, Inc.	Tanya Zanish-Belcher, Iowa State University
Kathy Hertel-Baker, Sisters of Charity of Nazareth	Colleen Mahoney, Simmons
Lori Satter, Simmons	Janice E. Ruth, Library of Congress Manuscript Division
Lisa Mangiatico, Soroptimist International of the Americas	Brenda Correia,
Lucinda Manminz	Mary Samouelian, Duke University
Kim Sims, Duke University	Sherrie Bowser, Virginia Tech
Jessica Sedgwick, Harvard Medical School	Cat Holbrook, Schlesinger Library
Johanna Carll, Schlesinger Library	Elizabeth Norarra, University of Maryland
Doris Malkmus, Penn State	Fernanda Peucne, Rutgers
Meghan Lyon, Duke University	Cassie Schmitt, University of Oregon
Kelly Wooten, Duke University

Categories: SAA 2010

Session Ideas for Archives 360: Chicago 2011

Happy Day After Labor Day All!

This is a reminder that proposals for SAA are due October 1. A few great ideas have already been thrown out. See the blog post:

Session Ideas for Archives 360: Chicago 2011

We would love to help you get your proposals together and submitted. If you are working on a proposal and need another panelist, a moderator, or have general questions, please let us know and we will do our best to find other members to fill in your panel.

You can view the call for proposals here. The program committee reminds all that every idea should fit the theme, so don't be shy!

Also, the SAA Program Committee allows 2 panel endorsements for each roundtable, which are taken into account when deciding which panels get selected for the conference. Therefore, if you would like to submit your proposal to WCRT Leadership for an endorsement, please do so by Oct. 1 so that we can forward our endorsements to the Program Committee.

Categories: SAA 2011

SAA's Diversity Committee

At the Women's Collections Roundtable meeting, I reported that I am now the Diversity Committee representative from WCRT as well as the Women Archivists Roundtable. My role is to report out from the Diversity Committee to the women's roundtables and facilitate communication between the groups.

At the Diversity Committee meeting, we discussed many issues, but these are the highlights most relevant to this audience:

• SAA is planning to implement demographic tracking in their membership database to assess the makeup of SAA for diversity factors, including gender, race/ethnicity, and age. This will help to evaluate the diversity of membership, leadership, participation in committees and other groups, as well as of speakers at annual meetings.
• Debra Kimok reported on the background of the AMRT/RMRT Joint Working on Diversity. The group conducted a survey and developed a best practices document, “Best Practices for Working with Researchers/Archives Employees with Disabilities,” which were just endorsed by the Council at its meeting on Aug 9, 2010.
• The Diversity Committee may develop a survey jointly with the Membership Committee to assess what SAA members believe to be the most important issues that the Diversity Committee should address.
  
• Participation in SAA for members who can't attend annual meetings: The DC would like to address ways to enable people to contribute to discussions without being physically present at meetings via technology such as live streaming of sessions or setting up phone conferences for committee meetings.
• SAA Council charged the DC to develop a proposal for Council on what the Mosaic Scholarship could be, and develop a plan for implementing the proposal for recruitment and retention of minority students.
  

Do you have ideas about diversity issues you'd like to see addressed, particularly concerning gender? No need to wait for a survey or for next year's meeting! Email kelly.wooten at duke.edu with your thoughts and ideas.

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Session Ideas for Archives 360: Chicago 2011

Here are 3 session ideas that have been floated on the listserv. If you have a paper you could present that fits into these topics, a speaker to suggest, or another idea entirely, please let us know in the comments or by email. Call for Program Proposals and submission forms are posted on the SAA website.

Breaking Stereotypes
At the Women’s Collections Roundtable meeting in Washington, DC, Professor Allida Black spoke to us about the Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project, dedicated to bringing Eleanor Roosevelt's writings (and radio and television appearances) on democracy and human rights before an audience as diverse as the ones she addressed. Despite her great influence on American politics, the United Nations, and the struggle for human rights, many people don’t know much about Eleanor’s life and work beyond her role as First Lady. Archives have the power to let people tell their own stories through the historical record of their own writings and documentation without any filter, and reveal the depth and nuances of their characters beyond the surface. Famous women, ordinary housewives, and even nuns have this in common: the historical record reveals a much richer portrait than the history books can tell. Have you worked with a women’s history collection that unveiled a hidden story that breaks stereotypes? Contact Kathy Hertel-Baker (khertelbaker at scnky.org).

History of Archives and/or International Archives
Rachel Miller at the Center for Jewish History is interested in presenting a comparative analysis of the World Center for Women's Archives project and the International Archives of the Women's Movement in 1935 and 1936. This topic relates to both the historical context of the “SAA at 75” theme and to the international theme they are looking for in this coming year's proposals. Do you have a topic that might relate? Contact Rachel Miller (rcmiller at cjh.org).

MPLP and Privacy Concerns for Women’s History Collections
Danelle Moon just finished a two-year project implementing MPLP across collections, and would glad to work on a proposal. The proposal could be a combo presentation on challenges implementing MPLP, degree of less process on women's collections, and privacy issues. There has been considerable work to uncover women's history, what impact does MPLP have on making women's collection accessible, are they more hidden, or more accessible as result of having basic records. The other aspect on privacy or confidential information, is problematic using the MPLP approach. Contact Danelle Moon (Danelle.Moon at sjsu.edu).

Categories: SAA 2011

DC, Here we come!

We haven't quite packed our bags yet, but we are already getting ready for the 2010 SAA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. We're excited about our program for the Women's Collections Roundtable, as well as the panel we are sponsoring: Beyond the Ivory Tower: Archival Collaboration, Community Partnerships, and Access Issues in Building Women's Collections. We hope you will attend our roundtable meeting and bring your ideas about programming related to women's collections for the 2011 conference and energy to get involved with WCRT through our leadership or by contributing to our blog.

*Please note updated order of events- presentations from speakers will be first, followed by the business meeting.

Women's Collections Roundtable Meeting Agenda
3:15-5:15pm, August 11, 2010
Washington, DC
Meeting Room: Virginia AB

3:15: Welcome and introductions
Co-Chairs: Danelle Moon and Kelly Wooten; Vice-Chairs: Cassie Schmitt and Meghan Lyon

3:30: Presentations

• Allida Black, Research Professor of History and International Affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs, will speak about her work as the project director of The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers
• Stephen Rhind-Tutt, president, Alexander Street Press, will highlight the press's women's history databases

4:30: Business Meeting

• Report on WCRT Blog- call for submissions
• Discuss building WCRT membership- recruitment strategies
• Chicago 2011- Ideas for panels for WCRT endorsement or speakers for our meeting (Proposals due October 1!)- Hidden women’s collections (Newberry Library)?
• Election of new leadership and discussion of online elections for 2011 (Want to nominate someone, including yourself? Email wcrt.saa at gmail dot com!)
• Report from SAA 2011 Program Committee Representative
• Report from SAA Council Liaison
  

Light refreshments will be served, generously sponsored by Alexander Street Press.

Categories: SAA 2010

Grant Update from San Jose State University

San Jose State University has completed a two-year grant project, funded by the NHPRC, to catalog and process our backlog of university records and manuscript collections. We have posted 73 new collection inventories on the Online Archives of California. Many of the collections document the diverse history of women in the region, including the women who attended the early Normal School from 1862 to early 20th century. Other collections that tie to women's experience include the Glenna Matthews Oral History Collection and the South Bay Second Wave Feminist Oral History Collection.

SJSU also received a detailed processing grant from the NHPRC, which will result in detailed collection inventories for the John C. Gordon Photographic Collection and the Ted Sahl Photographic Collection. Both document local history from the early 20th century to the present. The Sahl collection includes rich photographic essays of the Farm Workers Strikes in California, Anti-Nuclear Protest at Livermore Lab, and the LGBTQ community in San Jose.

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