LibGuides: Women's History: Archives & Oral History

Discovering Archives, Historical Information, and Oral Histories

Sarah Lawrence College Library Catalog:

The Library Catalog connects you to materials available through Sarah Lawrence College, and beyond. Use the Advanced Search to limit the format to Archival Materials to discover archival collections at Libraries Worldwide.

ArchiveGrid:

"ArchiveGrid includes over four million records describing archival materials, bringing together information about historical documents, personal papers, family histories, and more. With over 1,000 different archival institutions represented, ArchiveGrid helps researchers looking for primary source materials held in archives, libraries, museums and historical societies."

See below to search ArchivesGrid

Librarian Tip:

Search for the individual library, special collection, or archive for more information about how to access collections, and to see if there are any restrictions on their use. Looking for coverage of an event, group, or area? Collections are not always described by the general information, sometimes you will need to parse out specifics and look for archives, papers, or coverage of that information. For instance, are you researching a group? Find out key people in the group and search for them (one of them might have donated their papers to an archive).

Oral History - Books to Consider

Handbook of Oral History

Oral History and Digital Humanities

The Oral History Reader

Understanding and Teaching U. S. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History

Women's Words

Archival Collections at Sarah Lawrence College

The Sarah Lawrence College Archives collects, preserves, and makes accessible materials documenting the history of Sarah Lawrence College from its conception in 1924 to the present. The history of the college as a whole is tied to Women's History, which makes the entire College Archives a valuable resource! Learn more about the Sarah Lawrence College Archives, and their collections, here.

The College Archives is home to the Women's History Program Records (RG 3.5.4) as well as the following collections relating to Women's History:

Early History Collection* – documents the efforts to found the College including correspondence from the founder, William Van Duzer Lawrence, and his Letter of Instruction dictating what he wanted the College to represent.
National Women’s History Week Papers* – documentation from the women who spearheaded the creation of National Women’s History Week, later to become National Women’s History Month.
One Woman, One Vote Papers* – documentation from the U.S. women's suffrage movement collected by NEH-funded researchers (including Sarah Lawrence alumna Ruth Pollak) for the documentary One Woman, One Vote (1995).

Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonials (Yale University) This link opens in a new window Yale University Library’s Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies currently holds more than 4,400 testimonies comprising 12,000 recorded hours of videotape. As a partner site, current Sarah Lawrence College students, staff, and faculty have access to the testimonies after logging in using a MySLC login and passwoRD.

*Please contact the College Archives for more information about these collections

Using the Archives: Vocabulary

Each archive and/or special collection is unique in nature, and so is the vocabulary you use to access those materials. Some of the key terms you may encounter include:

For more information about key archival terms, see the full glossary from The Society of American Archivists (SAA).

What to Know Before You Visit

Before you visit an archives and/or special collections...:

What do you want to see? Use the finding for the collection, or ask an archivist about the specific materials in the collection you are interested in researching
When can you visit? Check the hours of operation for the library and/or institution that has the collection
Can you make an appointment? If you're planning a visit to a small archives and/or collection, full-time archivists may not be readily available - you will want to check to see if you can schedule an appointment to view materials
Can you use all the material you want to see? Be sure to check if there are any access or copyright restrictions on the collection
Are there any special rules or regulations? Archives are home to rare and unique material, and certain rules - like using only pencil, not pen to take notes - may apply

Have questions about your research visit? Ask the archivist!

Archival Collections Beyond Sarah Lawrence

Discovering American Women's History Online This database provides access to digital collections of primary sources (photos, letters, diaries, artifacts, etc.) that document the history of women in the United States.
Archives on Black Women - a list of collections
National Archives : Archives Library Information Center (ALIC) The struggle for women to gain acceptance, recognition and equal rights in society has been a long process. In recognition of the contributions of American women, ALIC presents a listing of web sites relevant to women in the United States.
The Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College An internationally recognized repository of manuscripts, archives, photographs, periodicals and other primary sources in women's history.
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, Digital Collections The Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division collects, preserves, and makes available for research purposes rare, unique, and primary materials that document the history and culture of people of African descent throughout the world, with a concentration on the Americas and the Caribbean.
Feminist Theory Archive Established in 2003, the Feminist Theory Archive documents the work of influential feminist theorists and scholars of difference who have examined sex and gender at the center of theoretical study.
African American Women's History Resources at Rubenstein Library Duke University's online archival collection containing primary Internet sources, manuscripts, and women's studies resources. Full text versions of diaries, letters, and newspapers offer insight into life for African American women in the South.
The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America Documents the lives of women of the past and present for the future and furthers the Radcliffe Institute's commitment to women, gender, and society.
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives is the oldest active Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning (LGBTQ) organization in the United States and the largest repository of LGBTQ materials in the world. Founded in 1952, ONE Archives currently houses over two million archival items including periodicals, books, film, video and audio recordings, photographs, artworks, organizational records and personal papers. A small subset of this material has been digitized and is available online.
Lesbian Herstory Archives Volunteer-run organization devoted to preserving and digitizing documents, photographs, audio and video materials and accounts of lesbian lives and contributions to culture. Audre Lorde digital audio recordings are included in the digital archives.
Women of Protest: Photographs from the Records of the National Woman's Party This Library of Congress web site "presents images that depict the tactics used by the militant wing of the suffrage movement in the United States - including picketing, petitioning, pageants, parades and demonstrations, hunger strikes and imprisonment - as well as individual portraits of organization leaders and members."
Home Economics Archive: Research, Tradition and History (HEARTH) HEARTH is a core electronic collection of books and journals in Home Economics and related disciplines. Titles published between 1850 and 1950 were selected and ranked by teams of scholars for their great historical importance. The first phase of this project focused on books published between 1850 and 1925 and a small number of journals. Future phases of the project will include books published between 1926 and 1950, as well as additional journals. The full text of these materials, as well as bibliographies and essays on the wide array of subjects relating to Home Economics, are all freely accessible on this site. This is the first time a collection of this scale and scope has been made available.

Oral History Collections

Voices of Feminism Oral History Project "The Voices of Feminism Oral History Project documents the persistence and diversity of organizing for women in the United States in the latter half of the 20th century."
Herstories: Audio/Visual Collections from the Lesbian Herstory Archives The Lesbian Herstory Archives (LHA) is home to the world's largest collection of materials by and about lesbians and their communities. “LHA Herstories: Audio/Visual Collections” contains digitized copies of some of the 3,000 oral history cassettes in the Archives' Spoken Word Collection and 950 videotapes in the Video Collection
Black Women Oral History Project Interviews, 1976–1981 "The Black Women Oral History Project interviewed 72 African American women between 1976 and 1981. With support from the Schlesinger Library, the project recorded a cross section of women who had made significant contributions to American society during the first half of the 20th century."
Sisterhood and After, British Library From the British Library, the Sisterhood and After allows you to listen to the voices of feminists who were at the forefront of the Women’s Liberation Movement in the 1970s and 80s.

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