LibGuides: WMST3535: Feminist Media Praxis: Archives

Resources for using the Barnard Archives

The Barnard Archives and Special Collections collects and makes accessible materials that document campus and academic life at Barnard, as well as broader feminist histories. Here are some resources to get you started on using the archives:

Search our guides to collections, also known as finding aids, on our finding aids website.
Email archives@barnard.edu if you'd like to make an appointment to come in, letting us know when you want to come in and what collections/boxes you'd like to use. We are open Monday-Friday, 10:30 am - 5:30 pm and appreciate a couple business days notice so we can make sure to have your materials ready. More information for doing research can be found on our website.
To search over a small portion of our collections which are digitized/digital, use our digital collections website.
You can also make an appointment to meet with Martha (the archives director) to discuss your research and find resources.
Read below for more information on finding archives elsewhere.

Collections for Feminist Media Praxis

In addition to the Erin Cramer Feminists on SCUM Tapes collection, which you have access to digitally for this class, you might also be interested in these collections at Banard:

The Barnard Center for Research on Women records document the work of BCRW, including many speakers at their annual Scholar and Feminist conference. Recordings of the conference and some other records from this collection are digitized.
The BOSS records document the Barnard student group, including their 1978 Celebration of Black Womanhood, at which Florynce Kennedy was a speaker.
Barnard Center for Research on Women Historical Periodicals Collection
Barnard Center for Research on Women Feminist Ephemera Collection
Christine E. Bose Socialist, Marxist, and Second Wave Ephemera
Sonia Jaffe Robbins Women's Liberation Ephemera
Freda Leinwand Collection

And elsewhere:

Papers of Ti-Grace Atkinson and Papers of Florynce Kennedy at Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute
Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz Papers at UC Berkeley
Ultra Violet papers at Archives of American Art

What is a Finding Aid?

A finding aid is like a map to a collection. It answers the who/what/where/when/why questions about a collection. It also acts as a guide, showing you the boxes and folders you will need to look through in order to find the document for which you are searching.
An example of a finding aid for a collection held at the Barnard Archives and Special Collections is the Guide to the Ntozake Shange Papers
Not all institutions finding aids will look the same, but there are several key elements you should pay attention to on every finding aid
- Biographical/Historical Note: gives you background info about who created the collection
- Scope and Content Note: tells you what kinds of materials you might find in the collection
- Container/Box List: tells you where things are in the collection
- Index Terms or Subject Headings: provide words to use to find similar collections
When communicating with an archivist about a collection you want to see, you’ll want to reference the title of the collection, the collection’s call number (sometimes called collection number), and - if possible - the number of the box you want to see.
If you don’t know the above mentioned information, that’s okay - just be as specific as possible when talking to the archivist; e.g., instead of “I’m interested in looking at documents related to women’s higher education,” try “I want to discover how the courses offered at Barnard College between 1939 and 1945 reflected the social and political contexts of the WWII era.”

Tips and Tools for Finding Archives

Locally (Barnard Archives and Special Collections):

The Barnard Archives and Special Collections has materials related to the history of Barnard College and materials that focus on Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies, and Dance. You can see a full list of all of collections held at the Barnard Archives and Special Collections’ on our finding aids website.
Within CLIO, you can construct a search for a term and “barnard archives” to find relevant collections. For example: feminism “barnard archives”

Locally (Columbia University Archives and Special Collections):

In order to find archival collections on Columbia’s campus, within CLIO, you can click on the Archives facet on the side navigation. Search here using keyword to find archival materials related to your research.
CLIO searches seven repositories within the Columbia Libraries: Avery Library, Department of Drawings and Archives; Barnard Archives; Burke Library Archives; Columbia University Archives; Health Sciences Archives & Special Collections; Rare Book & Manuscript Library; Starr East Asian Library Rare Books and Special Collections.

Finding Other Archives' Collections:

There are a few decent databases to help you find other archival repositories and collections that might match your research question. To start, try ArchiveGrid, but you can also try WorldCat and Google.
Trace back from secondary sources: what sources are other scholars using to analyze and provide evidence for their arguments? Are these the types of materials that you are interested in utilizing?
Talk with an archivist! Archivists have knowledge about the landscape of institutional collecting and can point you in a good direction.

Visiting an Archives & Typical Guidelines for Use of Archives

We recommend setting up an appointment to visit the Barnard Archives. Many other repositories require an appointment; so, make sure you research in advance whether or not you will need to schedule an appointment
Know the archives’ policies and, if they are not posted, inquire ahead of time. You may want to ask questions about protocols for ordering materials (if materials are off-site), policies on photography, and other reproductions. You may also want to ask about rules for using laptops, phones, and other devices.
It’s advised to bring a light sweater or jacket! A lot of archives are temperature controlled and can be cold.
Take a lot of notes, take pictures/make scans as permitted by the repository rules, and make sure you write down box and folder numbers associated with those notes (or take photographs of box numbers) to be able to cite materials later. Software like Tropy can be helpful for keeping track of the photos you take in archives.
Ask questions of the archivist! Archives staff are there to help you.
You may be asked to present ID and you may be asked to place your coat/bag/other items in an area separate from where you are doing your research.
Food and drink are generally not permitted.
Remember that the order of the materials is important. Use one document/folder/box at a time and return the document/folder/box back to the location from where it came.
If a collection you want to search is far away, you can always call and ask if the archivist is willing to make a scan or send digital files to you. Most archivists are very happy to do remote reference like this. Be forewarned: some institutions charge a fee!
Kelly Wooten, of Duke University, created this wonderful zine about doing research in archives. It has tips on taking notes, questions to ask an archivist, tips on planning your trip, and self-care tips for spending long hours doing research.
For more information, see the Society of American Archivists’ Using Archives: A Guide to Effective Research, Visiting an Archives and Typical Usage Guidelines

Selected Digital Archives Collections

Some of these resources represent digitized archival materials from specific institutions; others are portals to multiple institutions' digital collections or databases collocating digital archival materials on a given topic. These collections include some formats highlighted elsewhere in this guide, including newspapers, government documents, and books; in addition, they contain manuscript materials (e.g. letters, notes, drafts of publications), photographs, and more. Archives are rarely able to digitize the entirety of their holdings or the entirety of a given collection; you should look to see full descriptions of collections on an institutions' website to get more context for digitized archival materials.

Ad*Access
Presents images and database information for over 7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and magazines between 1911 and 1955.
African American Communities
Focusing predominantly on Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, New York, and towns and cities in North Carolina, this resource presents multiple aspects of African American community history through pamphlets, newspapers and periodicals, community case studies, correspondence, official records, images, reports and in-depth oral histories.
American Indian Movement and Native American Radicalism
This collection includes the extensive FBI documentation on the evolution of the American Indian Movement (AIM) as an organization of social protest. In addition, there is documentation on the 1973 Wounded Knee Stand-off. Informant reports and materials collected by the Extremist Intelligence Section of the FBI provide unparalleled insight into the motives, actions, and leadership of AIM and the development of Native American radicalism.
American Indian Histories and Cultures
A wide-ranging digital resource presenting a unique insight into interactions between American Indians and Europeans from their earliest contact, continuing through the turbulence of the American Civil War, the on-going repercussions of government legislation, right up to the civil rights movement of the mid-twentieth century. This resource contains material from the Newberry Library's extensive Edward E. Ayer Collection. Includes manuscripts, artwork and rare printed books, photographs and newspapers. Browse through a wide range of rare and original documents from treaties, speeches and diaries, to historic maps and travel journals.
Black Abolitionist Papers
Black Abolitionist Papers gathers and makes accessible primary sources created African Americans actively involved in the movement to end slavery in the United States between 1830 and 1865. Content includes letters, speeches, editorials, articles, sermons, and essays.
Border and Migration Studies Online
This collection of primary source documents, archives, films, and ephemera relate to significant border areas and events from the 19th to 21st centuries. It offers historical context and resources, from both personal and institutional perspectives, to the growing fields of border(land) studies and migration studies, as well as history, law, politics, diplomacy, area and global studies, anthropology, medicine, the arts, and more. Includes text, video, and images. Materials in the collection are organized around fundamental themes of Border Identities, Border Enforcement and Control, Border Disputes, Border Criminologies, Maritime Borders, Human Trafficking, Sea Migration, Undocumented and Unauthorized Migration, and Global Governance of Migration.
Digital Library of the Caribbean
The Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC) provides access to digitized versions of Caribbean cultural, historical and research materials currently held in archives, libraries, and private collections. Sources include photographs, maps, newspapers, legal materials, and more.

Digital Public Library of America
A portal to the digitized collections of various institutions across the nation, including millions of photographs, documents, books, audio materials, and moving images.

Gale Primary Sources
Provides an interactive research environment that allows researchers to cross-search multiple Gale collections, including Archives Unbound, Archives of Sexuality & Gender, Associated Press Collections Online, Brazilian and Portuguese History and Culture, British Library Newspapers, the Indigenous Peoples: North America database, Nineteenth Century Collections Online, The Making of Modern Law, U.S. Declassified Documents Online, U.S. Supreme Court Records and Briefs, 1832-1978, and the Women's Studies Archive.
Gerritsen Women's History Collection of Aletta H. Jacobs
Covers years 1543-1945, bulk is 1880-1920, with monographs and serials from the U.S., the U.K., Canada, New Zealand, and continental Europe. The collection is especially rich in women's journals, scholarly medical and sociological studies, and housekeeping and advice manuals.
The Gilded Age and Progressive Era
Explores America's transformative age of industrialization, expanding wealth, inequality, and social change through personal collections, business records, and visual content. The bulk of the material ranges from 1870-1920, with some personal collections continuing later in the twentieth century. Collections range from papers of key industrial corporations, charities, influential families, and cultural institutions to visual content in the form of political cartoons, photographs, and ephemera.

Historypin
Historypin is a digital, user-generated archive of historical photos, videos, audio recordings and personal recollections.
Library of Congress Search
Search across digitized materials from the Library of Congress, including materials previously included in American Memory. Facet on date and location to narrow down.

Manuscript Women's Letters and Diaries
Previously unpublished letters and diaries of women of the 18th, 19th, and 20th century. The women wrote from the many places throughout the U.S. in which they lived, traveled, worked, studied, and observed the lives and historical events around them--including John Brown's raid; the activities of the Ku Klux Klan; numerous wars; experiences in a Colorado mining camp, through Nancy Colburn Hartford's log of her time there; frontier conditions in Florida in 1830, as lived and described by Julia Ann Draper Lazelle; World War I Army training camps and the American Expeditionary Forces in France, through Lizzie Bliss Dewey's correspondence with friends in service; charitable work in the South, documented by the Chase sisters' writings of their experiences.
North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries, and Oral Histories
North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and Oral Histories provides a unique and personal view of what it meant to immigrate to America and Canada between 1800 and 1950. Composed of contemporaneous letters and diaries, oral histories, interviews, and other personal narratives, the series provides a rich source for scholars in a wide range of disciplines. In selected cases, users will be able to hear the actual audio voices of the immigrants.
North American Indian Thought and Culture
North American Indian thought and culture contains biographies, auto-biographies, personal narratives, speeches, diaries, letters, and oral histories. Biographies include works on Quanah Parker, Dennis Banks, Susan La Flesche Picotte, Cochise, Jim Thorpe, Crowfoot, Peter Pitchlynn, Sacajawea, Geronimo, Hosteen Klah, Black Elk, Pocahontas, George Washington Grayson, Standing Buffalo, and many more.
North American Women's Letters and Diaries
North American Women's Letters and Diaries (NAWLD) includes the immediate experiences of 107 women, as revealed in more than 9,000 pages of iaries and letters. Particular care has been taken to index this material so that it can be searched more thoroughly than ever before. When complete, the collection will include more than 150,000 pages of primary material spanning more than 300 years.

NYPL Digital Collections
Digitized materials from New York Public Library's archival collections.

Oxford African American Studies Center
Comprehensive collection of scholarship focused on the lives and events which have shaped African American and African history and culture, coupled with precise search and browse capabilities. Features over 7,500 articles from Oxford's reference works, approximately 100 primary sources with specially written commentaries, over 1,000 images, over 100 maps, over 200 charts and tables, timelines to guide researchers through the history of African Americans and over 6,000 biographies.
Popular Culture in Britain and America, 1950-1975
This resource contains digitizations of popular culture collections from the U.S. and U.K. between 1950 to 1975. These original archival materials are from various libraries and archives. Topics include student protests, civil rights, consumerism, and the Vietnam War. The collection includes pamphlets, letters, government files, eye witness accounts, underground magazines, visual and video materials and ephemera and memorabilia. Part II contains additional material, such as music, press kits, mail order catalogues, advertising proofs, additional photos from the Mirrorpix archives, and documents on student unrest and the Troubles in Northern Ireland from the National Archives.
History Vault: Slavery & the Law
Provides access to primary source, cross-searchable, full-text, full-image documents on widely studied topics in 19th and 20th-century American history. Content is applicable to research in history, African American studies, women's studies, political science, social sciences, sociology, and international studies. Contents include NAACP Papers' Southern Life and African American History, 1775-1915, Plantations Records; Vietnam War and American Foreign Policy, 1960-1975; Confidential U.S. State Department Central Files, Africa and Middle East, 1960-1969; Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) records, 1880-1930; and more.
Public Health Archives : Public Health in Modern America, 1890-1970
documents the rise of the twentieth-century public health system in the United States through correspondence, reports, pamphlets, ephemera, and more. For scholars in the fields of American history, American studies, history of science and medicine, public health studies, sociology, political science, psychology, and economics, it documents through primary sources that record the evolution and impact of public health legislation, policies, and campaigns at the local, national, and federal levels, opening for researchers a new window on the roles played by key organizations and individuals to advance public health practices and outcomes.
Slavery & Anti-slavery: A Transnational Archive
Slavery and Anti-Slavery includes documents from the United States and Europe, as well as other parts of the world. In addition to newspaper collections and books published in the antebellum era, Slavery and Anti-Slavery contains documents from several archives originally available only on microfilm.
War Department and Indian Affairs, 1800-1824
This collection consists of the letters received by and letters sent to the War Department, including correspondence from Indian superintendents and agents, factors of trading posts, Territorial and State governors, military commanders, Indians, missionaries, treaty and other commissioners, Treasury Department officials, and persons having commercial dealings with the War Department, and other public and private individuals. In addition, attachments include vouchers, receipts, requisitions, abstracts and financial statements, certificates of deposit, depositions, contracts, newspapers, copies of speeches to Indians, proceedings of conferences with Indians in Washington, licenses of traders, passports for travel in the Indian country, appointments, and instructions to commissioners, superintendents, agents, and other officials.

Umbra Search
Umbra Search brings together hundreds of thousands digitized materials related to African American history from over 1,000 libraries and archives across the country.