Frequently Asked Questions about the Archives for Women in Medicine
- What is the "Archives for Women in Medicine"?
- Why do we need special funding for women's papers? Why aren't they taken care of in the same way that men's papers are collected?
- How will Harvard benefit from the Archives for Women in Medicine?
- How will people know about the Archives? If people don't know about the records, what's the point of collecting them?
- Aren't other organizations collecting women's papers? Why should we establish an Archives?
- Why would the Dept. of Rare Books and Special Collections be interested in housing the Archives?
- Why are women more important than other minorities in terms of documenting diversity? Why is the project so narrow?
What is the "Archives for Women in Medicine"?
The Archives would be a center for activities relating to the documentation of women in medicine, initially within the Harvard-Longwood community. The Archives would acquire, process, preserve, provide access to, and publicize the papers of women physicians, researchers, teachers, and administrators. Other activities include the production of exhibits, printed materials, and oral histories. The Archives would be staffed by an archivist and housed in the Manuscripts Division of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections in the Countway Library.
It is important to capture and retain the history of women in one collection to recognize the enormous changes women brought to medicine in the mid and late 20th century. To add a small number of collections to the general archives holdings would recognize outstanding individual achievements, but not the achievements and impact of the group as a whole. This collection will call attention to individuals, the social movement, and the environment in which they operated.
Why do we need special funding for women's papers? Why aren't they taken care of in the same way that men's papers are collected?
We need special attention to women's papers for two reasons. First, the documentation gap is so large that only a concerted effort can overcome it. If we continue to gather and process women's papers at the current rate, the documentation gap will persist for many generations.
Second, the first generation of women leaders in Harvard Medicine are starting to retire. With our current limited resources, only a very small portion of this first wave will be recorded for posterity. We have a unique opportunity to capture the records of many pioneers, but cannot take advantage of it with current staff. This situation is akin to being able to capture the records of all the physicians involved in a major medical breakthrough, and requires that we act now or lose the opportunity forever.
How will Harvard benefit from the Archives for Women in Medicine?
The Archives would address three very important missions: education, diversity and community.
Education: The Archives will support research both in the subject specialties of the women who donate their papers and in the history of Medicine. Medical, Dental and School of Public Health students will be able to learn from the work and achievements of their predecessors. Harvard's history of medicine students will also benefit from the new holdings, which reflect current areas of interest in the field.
Diversity: Establishment of the Archives will demonstrate to women faculty, alumnae, students, potential students, and to funders and donors, that the Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and Harvard School of Public Health are committed to recognizing the contributions of its diverse community. The Archives would be a physical manifestation of the new diversity emphasis of the school, attracting those who may have felt excluded in the past. From our discussions with interested parties, we are certain that this program appeals to women who have not previously thought to donate to Harvard.
Community: Because the Archives will collect the papers of women leaders in the Harvard-Longwood medical area, including research and clinical faculty and top administrators, it can serve as a way for the school to support and recognize the contributions to medical education made by the affiliates. Women faculty and administrators in affiliates who are not Medical, Dental or School of Public Health alumnae may not have had a strong link to the schools in the past. The Archives is a way to draw them closer to the schools and to each other, in recognition of their commonalties.
How will people know about the Archives? If people don't know about the records, what's the point of collecting them?
The point of all the work that is funneled into acquiring and processing records is access-the sharing of the information and knowledge the records contain. We will promote the Archives to scholars and those who may create records suitable for acquisition, but our goals are larger.
We would like to draw images and information from the collection for videos, web galleries, travelling and temporary exhibits, slides and text of the speeches of school officers, school publications, and other products that will help to enlighten and empower members of the Harvard Longwood medical community and our broader communities.
Aren't other organizations collecting women's papers? Why should we establish an Archives?
There are some repositories that collect women's papers, but there is no other organization in New England that actively seeks to document women in medicine. The Schlesinger Library of the Radcliffe Institute has a nationally renowned collection of records that document women and women's organizations. Its holdings have enormous breadth, but it has never sought to document a specific professional area in depth as we suggest. Moreover, it would not be appropriate to separate the papers of leaders in medicine based on gender, with those created by men only retained at the Countway Library. The papers of women and men in medicine should be retained at Countway Library, in proximity to related resources, such as archives, manuscripts and rare books, and to the community that generated and inspired them. The Harvard Business School is now taking the approach we are suggesting here: rather than transfer the papers of businesswomen to the Schlesinger, it is hiring an archivist to more fully develop access to such collections at the Baker Library.
An archives for women in medicine exists at the Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Its holdings focus on its graduates and the mid-Atlantic region. No repository is currently documenting women in medicine in New England.
Why would the Dept. of Rare Books and Special Collections be interested in housing the Archives?
Although the RBSC has a national collecting mission, it has a particular interest in Harvard medicine and the Harvard-Longwood medical community; women are an important part of that community. Moreover, the RBSC holdings are lacking in some of the most significant areas of research today. These underdocumented areas include the experiences of women and minorities as patients and health care workers. This archive could rectify that dearth of research material.
Because so many outstanding women are part of the Harvard Longwood medical community, the Archives for Women in Medicine will quickly be seen as a collection of national importance. The collections acquired in the first five years of the project will serve as a magnet, drawing funding and other collections of national importance to the Archives.
Why are women more important than other minorities in terms of documenting diversity? Why is the project so narrow?
Women aren't more important. We believe that this project takes advantage of a one-time opportunity, the retirement of the first generation of women in Harvard Medicine. This program can also serve as a first step towards a larger program to properly document all the diverse populations in our community. By beginning with the narrow focus, the Archives can set a strong foundation upon which a broader program can be built that will still retain depth and continuity.