The Women's Studies Interest Group scheduled two programs during the 2002-2003 fiscal year.
Shaker Library at Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, May 9, 2003.
Light rain did not deter 20 WSIG members and their guests from four New England states from driving to New Gloucester, Maine to attend the WSIG spring program at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Library on Friday, May 9, 2003. Leonard Brooks, Director of the Shaker Library, gave us a history of the library itself and, using materials from the library's collections, talked about Sister Aurelia Gay Mace (1835-1910) and her published and unpublished works. Librarian/archivist Tina Agren began her presentation with a tour of the vault, which contains the print and archival collections of the library. Materials include works by and about the United Society of Shakers, with an emphasis on the Sabbathday Lake, Gorham and Alfred communities in Maine. There is also a special collection of materials on other radical sects, including Freewill Baptists, Quakers, and Hutterites. The heart of Ms. Agren's talk was a deconstruction of the previous presentation by Leonard Brooks. Ms. Agren described the articles, manuscripts and books used by Mr. Brooks in his presentation and passed around file folders, manuscripts, books and other materials to each of the three tables of WSIG attendees. At the conclusion of the library program, Mr. Brooks took participants on a tour of the Village. We entered the 1794 Shaker Meetinghouse, where we learned about the contemporary Shaker worship service conducted by the four members of the Shaker community and which is open to visitors. On the second floor of the meetinghouse, we saw a bedroom furnished in primitive Shaker style. Next door, in the 1839 Ministry's Shop, we saw a bedroom furnished in Victorian style, and a workroom depicting the manufacture of Dorothy cloaks (made famous by Grover Cleveland's wife, who bought one to wear at the inauguration) and poplarware items for the world's people. Mr. Brooks then took us across busy Rte 26 (which is to be relocated) and through the village, pointing out the history and uses of the various buildings on the opposite side of the road, including the Brick Dwelling, Girls' Shop, Sisters' Shop, Herb House, Boys' Shop/Museum Reception Center, and Spin House.
Mary Baker Eddy Library, Boston, February 21, 2003.
On Friday, February 21, 2003, thirteen Women's Studies Interest Group members visited the new Mary Baker Eddy Library in Boston. The Library, which opened to the public in September of 2002, houses Mary Baker Eddy's published and previously unpublished writings, including thousands of pages of manuscripts and correspondence, her personal library, photographs, and artifacts. This is one of the largest library collections by and about an American woman. The Reference Room, housed on the 3rd floor of 200 Massachusetts Avenue, is free and open to the public Tuesdays through Sundays. It is built to house 17,000 volumes, and currently holds over 10,000 books, and many periodical subscriptions. Eventually, it will also include multimedia materials. The Library's collections are organized by themes, including: the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, women in leadership, the quest for spirituality, spirituality and health, the power of ideas, and the publishing world. The 4th floor houses the Research Room. This area is also free to the public but access to the elevator and Research Room requires use of a badge. Mike Davis and staff in the Research Room demonstrated PC-Docs, the computer program that accesses some 30,000 Mary Baker Eddy documents, 9,000 photographs, and 9,000 images of artifacts. The temperature and humidity controlled stacks house books, artifacts, photographs, and manuscripts. There is also a conservation lab. In addition to the library tour, we also went on the general tour, seeing the Hall of Ideas, the Mapparium, the Quest Gallery and [Christian Science] Monitor Gallery. There is an admission fee to the Galleries and Mapparium. The building also houses a café and gift shop. The Mary Baker Eddy Library offers a book club, a Friends of the Library program, and a variety of special activities and events. The Library's Website is: http://www.marybakereddylibrary.org
Future Plans:
One member is investigating possibilities for a fall program in New Hampshire, a state in which no WSIG programs have yet been held. Chris Smith has been the ongoing Chair of the WSIG since 1996, and could continue into the future as Chair, but would like to have the option soon to move on (after a year's transition period).
The URL for the Women's Studies Interest Group web page is: http://www.acrlnec.org/sigs/wsig/wsig.shtml. It includes annual reports of activities, detailed reports of recent programs, announcements for any upcoming programs, and information on how to join the WSIG e-mail distribution list.
Chris Smith, Chair