My fellowship at Schlesinger Library has been going well. Now
that I have learned my role as a processing archivist I'm working on mastering
those skills and branching out into other areas. Last week a group of Harvard
undergraduate fellows visited Schlesinger Library for an introduction to
archival research. We highlighted our unique focus on women's history and the
research possibilities that exist in our collections for students of all
disciplines.
Visiting an archive can be intimidating for those unfamiliar
with their procedures so our goal was to make the library accessible to the
fellows by explaining registration and reading room practices, providing an
opportunity to examine archival materials, and offering a glimpse of the varied
behind-the-scenes work done by our staff's librarians, archivists, and
conservator. Our hope was that the fellows would feel welcomed and excited to
return to do research.
I represented the library's Manuscripts Department and presented
on processing archival collections. I explained how the library acquires new
collections, how they are accessioned, and what processing a collection means.
I discussed physical arrangement of collections but emphasized the intellectual
work that goes into describing collections and creating finding aids.
After the presentation, the fellows participated in an activity
where they broke into small groups and processed a small collection on their
own. In my experience, processing and its challenges make much more sense after
trying it yourself so I created a hands-on activity. I used an assortment of
materials from the Papers
of Julia Hamilton Smith, an African American woman teacher and community
activist, and students were instructed to "organize materials in a way
that would be helpful to researchers." After the activity the group
reconvened to review discussion questions about their arrangements and what
they learned. The students were interested and engaged in the activity and all
groups had good questions.
Prior to this event I had limited teaching experience, but I now
feel more confident teaching and leading discussions. My presentation and
activity will be used in future educational events at the library. Overall, the
visit was a great success!
This collection primarily consists of correspondence between Saxon, her
family, and friends and provides an interesting window into the daily life,
challenges, and relationships of working-class African Americans in Connecticut
and New York.
When I'm not helping out with visitors and presentations, my
primary duty is processing African American collections. In recent months, I
finished processing and creating finding aids for three unique collections.
Kilson was a history professor and Massachusetts native. She
graduated from Harvard University (AB 1983, AM 1984, PhD 1990) and taught at a
number of institutions including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Bryn
Mawr College, the University of Texas at Austin, and Northeastern University.
Her academic areas of interest included African American history, gender
history, European imperialism and colonialism, and British history. In 1994, Kilson
co-organized the conference "Black Women in the Academy: Defending Our
Name, 1894-1994" aimed This was the first conference of its kind provided
a forum for black women professors of all ranks and disciplines to discuss
scholarship and challenges they faced in their personal and professional lives.
This was the first collection I worked with that contained
digital files (emails, word documents, videos, photos, etc.). Processing them
was an interesting challenge. The digital files will eventually be available
online through the finding aid.
Under the auspices of the Schlesinger Library, the Black Women
Oral History Project interviewed 72 African American women between 1976 and
1981. The project recorded a cross section of women who had made significant
contributions to American society in the first half of the twentieth century.
Many interviewees had professional careers in fields such as education,
government, the arts, business, medicine, law, and social work. Others combined
care for their families with volunteer work at the local, regional, or national
level.
The biographical files of the project consist of additional
research information collected on the backgrounds and histories of
interviewees. Processing this collection required locating library records and
combining multiple accessions.
Hortense Carter Saxon was an African American woman who worked
as a servant and housekeeper in New York and Connecticut during the 1920s.
While working in New York City, Hortense Carter Saxon sent money, clothing, and
other goods to support her mother, who was the primary caretaker of her son
until the 1930s. She also supported her young cousin Roland Ellis, who boarded
with her mother in Hartford, Connecticut.
Jehan Sinclair
Visiting Archivist for African American Collections
Schlesinger Library | Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Harvard University
Pronouns: she, her, hers
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