The Women's Studies Interest Group scheduled two programs during the 2004-2005 fiscal year.
Women Working, 1870-1930, April 22, 2005.
On April 22, 2005, 57 librarians attended WSIG's Spring program at Harvard University. Held at the Gutman Conference Center, the program had two components: an overview of the “Women Working, 1870-1930” Open Collections Project, and a tour of the newly renovated Schlesinger Library. The goal of the Open Collections Project is to increase the availability and use of historical resources from Harvard's libraries, archives, and museums for teaching, learning, and research. Selected materials are digitized and made available through the World Wide Web and Harvard's library catalogs. The first Open Collections Project, Women Working, 1870-1930, explores via digitized materials women's roles in the U.S. economy between the Civil War and the Great Depression. Working conditions, conditions in the home and workplace, costs of living, recreation, health and hygiene, conduct of life, policies and regulations governing the workplace, and social issues are among the topics covered. Thomas J. Michalak, Director of the Open Collections Program, Christine M. Madsen, Manager of the Open Collections Program, and Megan Hurst, Outreach and Evaluation Coordinator, Open Collections Program, were main presenters.
Following the Women Working presentation, participants toured the newly renovated Schlesinger Library. Participants saw behind the scenes areas like technical services, the vault, and stacks. Newly renovated public areas provide more comfortable seating and study areas. Stacks are now closed, with many items stored off-site. For this reason, visitors are encouraged to call ahead to discuss availability of materials. See http://www.radcliffe.edu/schles/ for more information on the library.
American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, October 15, 2004.
On Friday, October 15, 2004, eighteen Women's Studies Interest Group members from four New England states gathered at the Goddard-Daniels house of the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts. WSIG members and AAS Library staff Gigi Barnhill (Curator of Graphic Arts) and Laura Wasowicz (Curator of Children's Literature) got acquainted over coffee and pastries. We then walked across the street to the AAS Library, an independent, internationally known research library with incomparable collections in American history and culture.
The Women's Studies Interest Group was especially interested in learning about the collections as they pertained to women and girls. The curators gathered materials in their respective areas (periodicals, graphic arts, books, manuscripts, etc.) representing materials by or about women and girls and gave presentations illustrating the range of materials available for the study of women and girls in the AAS Library.
Future Plans:
We will be holding a two-day retreat on July 21-22, 2005 at Colby College Special Collections and the Margaret Chase Smith Library, Skowhegan, Maine.
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.
Nancy Dennis, Co-Chair
Chris Smith, Co-Chair