>> Lara Szypszak:
Hello to everyone.
Welcome to the Manuscript
Division's Virtual
Research Orientation.
My name is Lara Szypszak.
I'm a reference librarian here
in the Manuscript Division.
And I'll start off with
the general information.
And then my colleague,
Loretta Deaver,
also a Manuscript Division
reference librarian,
will proceed into a
more focused discussion
of collections related
to LGBTQ+ topics.
Feel free to leave comments
and questions in the chat
or in the Q&A, and we'll
tackle those at the end
of the presentation slides.
Go ahead to the next
slide, please.
Okay. As I mentioned,
in this orientation,
we're going to split the
material into two components,
the first being a general
overview of the division,
its organization function
and the collection.
These items you see here listed,
this is just the key questions
that we plan to cover today
in the first part
of the orientation.
Going to explain what
the collections are,
how to access them and
how to plan a visit
to the Manuscript Reading Room.
Of course, it's important
to keep in mind that some
of our policies and procedures
are currently a bit different
given that we're in a phased
reopening after the pandemic.
We're currently operating under
a by appointment only basis,
so we try to make sure we cover
the virtual access options
as well as in person.
So starting off with
the collections,
we hope to cover what a
manuscript actually is,
how researchers use
these collections.
And we hope to make clear how
the Manuscript Reading Room is
different than other
reading rooms.
We'll explain the mission of
the Manuscript Division as well.
Next slide.
Okay. So what exactly
is a manuscript?
According to the
American Society --
or the Society of American
Archivists, excuse me,
a manuscript is a
handwritten or typed document.
This is from the Society of
American Archivists Gallery.
We consider manuscripts
to be unpublished primary source
documents including letters,
diaries, memoranda,
notes, photographs,
scrapbooks, the whole gamut.
So what you see on the
screen, we've got an example,
Robert Todd Lincoln's commission
as a Captain in the Union Army.
We've got Frederick
Douglass, a --
C.W. Foster from the
US War Department
to Frederick Douglass, directing
him to recruit colored troops
on the 13th of August, 1863.
And the final item is Thomas --
from the Thomas Jefferson
collection of 1865,
map of Washington, DC.
So the takeaway from this slide,
our manuscripts are
not always handwritten,
they're not always texts and
they're not always clear.
A book manuscript
may be one definition
such as your copyright
deposit manuscript
but not the one that we use.
Sometimes when someone is
looking for a book manuscript,
they'll need to approach the
Copyright Office for a copy
of a copyright deposit.
So the manuscript is the
basic unit of a collection.
A collection is formed
when you have one
or more manuscripts together.
The collection title
often indicates the person
or organization whose
manuscripts are contained
in that collection.
One or more manuscripts
form a collection.
So the Manuscript Division
holds approximately 12,000
collections, which I think has
already grown exponentially
at this point, including
private papers
and nongovernmental
organizations.
And the size of a collection
is measured by the number
of items they contain.
So what is an item?
An item can be a single-page
letter or a postcard,
or it can be a multi-page
diary or scrapbook.
There are approximately
60 million items processed
and many, many, many,
many more unprocessed.
The Library classified
Manuscript Reading Room is one
of these special format reading
rooms alongside the newspaper
and current periodicals,
prints and photographs,
music and the rare
book division.
So if you see a catalog
record that says 10 items,
it could be 10 of
those 100-page diaries.
So it's always good to consider
that each item is unique.
Now we're just going to talk
a little bit about the history
of the division and
how its organized,
and then we'll talk more about
access points to the material.
So the official mission of
the Manuscript Division is
that by collecting,
preserving and making available
for research use documents
of the American past,
the Manuscript Division promotes
the pursuit of knowledge
that is central to all
great civilizations.
Kind of a mouthful
but, essentially,
there's three sections of
the Manuscript Division.
The first on the far left
there is the front office,
as we call it, or the
administrative office.
This includes our
historical specialists
and our administrative staff.
They have curatorial
responsibilities,
which are divided by subject
area or by historical periods.
They also acquire collections,
maintain donor relations
and participate in
outreach and exhibits.
The second group there is
our preparation section.
This includes the
archivists and technicians
who process collections.
This means they arrange
and describe the material,
creating finding aids, shelving
and maintaining the
collections in the stack areas.
You know, they arrange
and describe the
collections that come through.
The third group would be
us here, Loretta and I,
which are part of
the reference staff.
We serve the collections
in the reading room.
We answer your questions about
the collections in person,
over the phone, letter, email.
We stopped taking smoke signals
at this point; and, more often,
through Ask a Librarian.
We also work through the
tutorial stuff frequently
on displays and to
provide specialized service
to patrons who require it.
So next slide there.
Just several pictures
of our specialists here,
our historical specialists.
We have eight at this point.
The manuscripts are unique,
and deciding what the
Manuscript Division can keep
and what it can't
is an important
and sometimes difficult
decision.
Our specialists are experts
in their field of study,
and they work with the Library's
collection development team,
library administration and the
donors to make these decisions.
There are several other
specialists who do a variety
of jobs, including
displays, publishing articles,
providing special assistance to
researchers, acquiring material
and curating our collections.
And they correspond with donors
and make public appearances,
including on C-SPAN.
So you might recognize
some of these spaces
if you're a C-SPAN
junkie yourself.
We also consult our specialists
regarding collections
that reference staff
can't tackle.
So this includes issues of
provenance, donor relations,
access to originals when
surrogates aren't available
or when access just requires
additional attention.
So moving on to processing,
most of the time will be
actually receive the material we
bought or gifted.
This is what it looks like,
how it comes in to us.
The materials in this
suitcase actually belong
to actress Eva Le Gallienne.
Le Gallienne was an accomplished
20th century actress,
also a lesbian.
The Division also
holds a collection
of actress Alla Nazimova's
papers, who Le Gallienne was
in a romantic relationship with.
So this is how they roll in.
Archivists have an equally
important job, determining how
to arrange and describe
the collection
so that the researchers
of the future can
access what they need.
You can tell no one wanted to
be in this photograph here.
There are about 30-plus,
close to 40 staff
at this point working
in the prep section,
and they just popped
out of sight there not
to be on the camera.
So once the archivists
have done their work,
this is generally
what they look like.
So you might think there's --
these are books in
the foreground.
These are actually just bound
volumes of correspondence,
which is the older method
of storing material.
But currently now we're
using acid free boxes
and folders and such.
Moving on to our reference
staff, this is where you,
the researcher, interact
with the material as well
as the reference staff,
guides and other resources.
It may not be as glorious but
to act as the main reading room,
but there is treasure in here.
Our reading room is very busy,
receiving over 10,000
researchers per year.
Just imagine it during
a weekday,
of course not during
the pandemic,
but with one researcher
looking at the papers
of J. Robert Oppenheimer,
sitting next to someone looking
at the architectural drawing
from the Eames' papers
[phonetic],
sitting behind someone
looking for a relative
in the NAACP papers, widely
diverse and really caters
to just any type of
researcher doing a lot
of different searches.
So the Library began acquiring
manuscripts as early as 1815
when Thomas Jefferson sold his
personal library to Congress
to replace books burned by the
British during the War of 1812.
You can see the image here
of when the Manuscript
Reading Room was
in the Jefferson Building.
We moved to the Madison
building in the '80s
after its reconstruction or
its construction to begin with.
A major acquisition happened
in 1867 was the purchase
of Peter Force's
collection of Americana.
Force was an editor,
collector and Mayor of DC
and amassed a large collection
of manuscripts, transcripts,
clippings, books, everything
documenting the American
Revolutionary period.
It's a very popular
collection for those interested
in DC history as well.
In the 19th century, the
State Department had custody
of important historical
collections such as the papers
of George Washington
and Thomas Jefferson.
But, in 1903, President
Theodore Roosevelt
and Congress took action to
transfer them to the Library.
So we now have the
papers of 23 US presidents
up through Calvin Coolidge,
and after that the practice
of creating separate
presidential libraries began.
For those pre-presidential
library collections
that the Manuscript Division
does have, the papers of John
and John Quincy Adams, Millard
Fillmore -- Fillmore, excuse me,
James Buchanan, Rutherford
B. Hayes, Warren G. Harding.
The division has
obtained microfilm copies,
with the result that scholars
can consult in our reading room
in one format or another,
a virtually unbroken line
of papers through
the administration
of George Washington
to Calvin Coolidge.
So the Manuscript Division
collecting interest has evolved
since its early concentration on
American political and military
and diplomatic history.
Since World War II, the
division has collected material
documenting cultural
history, history of science,
archives of nongovernmental
organizations;
but we do still focus
on American history.
Our holdings are rich
in the private papers
of other governmental officials,
dating from the founding
era to the present.
They include secretaries
of state, cabinet officers,
presidential secretaries,
assistants, diplomats
and other members of Congress.
So here we've got
one of our treasures,
one of our prized possessions.
This is the original
rough draft from June 1776
of the Declaration
of Independence,
written by Thomas Jefferson.
It includes 86 changes
to Jefferson's text made
by John Adams, Ben
Franklin and other members
of the committee appointed
to draft the document
and by Congress.
This slide here also gives
you a little bit of a taste
of our diverse holdings
if you didn't already
get that impression.
So manuscripts are not only
special because they're unique
and irreplaceable
documents written
by famous people in
American history.
But in fact, many of our
collections are not related
to quote, unquote,
famous historical figures.
But they seek to document
important moments in history
from a variety of perspectives,
including science, literature,
art, architecture and politics.
They let the authors speak
for themselves and allow you,
the researcher, the
opportunity to make connections
to compare the private and
public lives as an individual
or even discover something new.
The researchers who do
come to the reading room do
so for all kinds of reasons:
to research a dissertation,
to discover material for an
exhibit, track down evidence
to back up an argument
or hypothesis
or just find a relative or
even looking for inspiration
for musical composition.
That's kind of a
general overview.
I'm going to go ahead and
turn it over to Loretta,
and she's going to dig into
some specifics for you.
>> Loretta Deaver:
Thanks, Laura.
We're excited to
celebrate Pride Month,
and we'll be sharing
some additional links
to presentations and resources
that the Library has put
together in the chat.
So watch out for those.
I want to briefly highlight
some collections held
in the Manuscript Division
that contain materials
relevant to LGBTQ+ topics.
These collections are also
described in a LibGuide,
which includes links to the
catalog records, finding aids
and any digital materials
that may be available.
So Lara's just added
that in the chat for you.
There we go.
The Manuscript Division holds
the papers of Dr. Frank Kameny,
US veteran turned astronomer
turned activist turned
personal counsel.
So he has a very
interesting range of papers.
In 1957, Kameny was dismissed
from his federal position
as an astronomer on
charges that he was gay.
And he fought his dismissal --
dismissal and for his right to
work for the federal government
for years, eventually seeking
review from the Supreme Court.
Though he lost his appeal,
this experience propelled
a lifelong fight --
fight for justice
and equal rights.
Here we see a dapper
photo of Kameny in 1948.
We have a button,
Equality For Homosexuals,
from Kameny's papers, as well as
the petition that he submitted
to the Supreme Court for review.
Kameny argued not only
that being gay is not wrong
but that it was good and moral.
Here's an article
Kameny wrote on the left
about the slogan he
coined, Gay As Good,
and a photo of him picketing
with a sign sporting the slogan.
The Manuscript Division
also holds a collection
of the papers of Lilli Vincenz.
Vincenz was dismissed from
the Women's Army Corps in 1963
because of her sexual
orientation
and quickly became
involved with Frank Kameny
and the group he founded,
the Mattachine Society
of Washington.
Vincenz was the first lesbian
member of the group and marched
with other members at
the White House in 1965.
Here's an image of Vincenz
on the cover of the magazine,
The Ladder, and a letter
concerning her documentary Gay
and Proud about the first
Christopher Street Liberation
Day Parade.
And that documentary
is also available
on the Library's website.
We also hold several collections
of US Supreme Court Justices,
Associate Justices and
lawyers involved in cases
such as Michigan v. New
York, Bowers v. Hardwick
and Romer v. Evans,
among others.
Bowers v. Hardwick was a
1986 Supreme Court case.
In a landmark decision, the
divided 5 to 4 court ruled
that there is no constitutional
protection preventing a state
from criminalizing sexual
conduct involving same
sex couples.
Here we have a copy of Associate
Justice Harry A. Blackmun's
dissent on the case in which
he writes, This case is
about the most comprehensive of
rights and the right most valued
by civilized men, namely,
the right to be left alone.
Also tucked among
Blackmun's papers
about this case is
this amusing cartoon
of a couple finding their
bed in the courtroom watched
over closely by a judge.
The decision was later
overruled in Lawrence v. Texas.
Following his decision to
join the dissenting opinion
of Bowers v. Hardwick, Associate
Justice Thurgood Marshall
received this letter
of gratitude
from James Bluesun [phonetic],
President of DC Catholic LGBTQ
group, Dignity, he writes,
While your opinion was in the
minority, its precise reasoning,
discussion of all the
issues and declaration
that the majority has
distorted the question
in this case gives a
basis in the future
for reversing this
hideous opinion.
One influence on Marshall
in this case was
his close friendship
with activist Bayard Rustin.
The Manuscript Division
holds Bayard Rustin's papers,
as well as Tom Kahn's,
who assisted Rustin
in organizing the 1963
March on Washington.
The two were also in a
long-term relationship.
Here's an article from his
papers dated in October 1985,
following Rustin's keynote
address at the fifth anniversary
of Black and White
Men Together, DC.
Rustin laughed as he
told the group the story
of how he was brought
out back in 1963
by Senator Strom Thurmond, a
Republican from South Carolina
on the floor of the Senate.
Ruston said he's glad to
be out of the closet now
but that he wasn't laughing then
when his homosexuality
was reported
in newspapers the
following morning.
The Manuscript Division holds
a number of collections related
to poet Walt Whitman, some
of which have been digitized
and are freely accessible
on the Library's website.
This photograph was taken in
1877 and has been said to say --
and has been said to be
Whitman's favorite of himself.
Apparently, he claimed
that the butterfly
in the photograph was real;
but it is, in fact, cardboard
and contained in the Library's
Harned Whitman Collection.
This 1865 photo of Whitman
and Peter Doyle is the
earliest existing photo
of Whitman with another person.
And it has been much studied due
to the intimate details
and the unusual pose.
Correspondence between
Whitman and Doyle has also been
of great interest
to researchers.
Here in this note,
Whitman writes,
I think of you very
often, dearest comrade,
and with more calmness
than when I was there.
I find it first rate
to think of you, Pete,
and to know that you
are there, all right
and that I shall return and
we will be together again.
I don't know what I should
do if I hadn't you to think
of and look forward to.
The Manuscript Division
holds two collections
of materials related to
popular 20th century poet
and author Edna St.
Vincent Millay or Vincent,
as known by her family
and friends.
The letters and diaries
in Millay's collection
of personal papers are
dramatic and entertaining,
and she was adored by
both men and women alike.
Here's a postcard from Ella
Somerville from March 1912.
There has been no sun since
you left, only a state
of partial darkness, like
gloomy twilight all day long.
And now this has merged
into heavy clouds, darkness
and total obscurity, broken
only by heavy peals of thunder,
which I'm hoping will clear
the atmosphere before morning.
Love, E. PS, 'tis better
to have loved and lost
than never to have loved at all.
I never realized the truth
of that saying before.
You can see what I
mean by dramatic.
Let's talk about how
to find materials
in the Manuscript Division using
the Library's Online Catalog,
website and other resources.
We're adding links to the chat
to the Manuscript Reading Room
homepage, the Online Catalog
and Finding Aids Database.
These are all great tools
to begin your research.
Every collection held
in the Manuscript Division
is represented by a record
in the Library of
Congress Online Catalog.
Each catalog record includes
information on the following:
the title or creator of the
collection; size, dates and type
of material; data about the
person or organization featured
in the collection;
a brief summary
of the collection's scope and
content; controlled listing
of the principal subjects
and people represented.
You can confine your search
results to materials held
by the Manuscript Division by
selecting the manuscript option
in the location in the Library
list in the Advanced Search.
It's important to note
that a catalog record cannot
describe the entire scope
and diversity of the
creator's experiences,
nor can it identify
all of the people,
events or subjects represented
in a given collection.
Even when a search of the
catalog is unpromising,
a follow-up search of collection
finding aids may yield
different results.
Finding aids are sometimes
called inventories or registers
and describe the
content and arrangement
of material in a collection.
They're guides created
by division archivists
in the course of
processing a collection.
They really describe every
item individually but break
down collections by box
number and folder title.
The finding aid tells you other
important information including
how the collection was acquired
and its size and extent.
Special service conditions
are noted, including terms
under which the collection
may be accessed or copied.
Links to -- links are provided
to digitized content
when available.
Here's an image of the
Manuscript Reading Room homepage
with an arrow pointing
to the link you can click
to view those findings that
have been made available online.
Note that not all finding
aids are listed here,
and not all collections
have finding aids.
You'll find links to both HTML
and PDF versions of
the finding aids.
Let's take a quick look
at the PDF finding aid
to the Library's collection
of Truman Capote's papers.
Here you see a brief summary
listing the span dates
of materials in the collection,
birth and death dates,
number of items and
number of boxes and a list
of subject headings which
describe the collection.
The administrative
information here lists a number
of important details,
provenance,
transfer of materials such
as to the Library's Prints
and Photographs Division,
collections of note
in the Library or in other
repositories, copyright
and restrictions information
and citation information.
Next you see a biographical
timeline
and scope and content note.
I urge you to read the
entire scope and content note
in the finding aids for those
collections of interest to you.
They describe how the collection
is arranged and any nuances
to the collection
in great detail.
Finally, you will
find a container list
which lists the box numbers
or microfilm real
numbers and folder titles.
If you're looking for
something specific,
such as the interviews
Capote used
for In Cold Blood you
see listed here in Box 4,
you can also perform a
keyword search using Ctrl F
or the search bar in the
HTML version of the finding.
When a collection has been
digitized in whole or in part,
there are links to the
content in the finding aid.
You can also find
digital collections
from the Manuscript Division
on the Library's homepage.
You can also explore
Digital Collections
on mobile using the
LOC Collections app.
And here's what it
looks like to download.
The Library has just moved
into a limited phased
reopening this week,
and the Manuscript
Reading Room is one
of the reading rooms
open for appointment.
You can call the reading
room at 202-707-5387,
and that's on our homepage.
Or you can send an
email at mss@loc.gov
or contact via Ask a Librarian.
Even under normal circumstances,
it's very important
to contact us before visiting.
A collection may have
donor-imposed access
restrictions such as the Kameny
papers and the Vincenz papers.
You want to contact
ahead of time to arrange
to sign an access agreement.
The collection may
be stored off site,
and advanced notice is
required to retrieve boxes.
It may have classified
documents in the collection,
or you may want to
request ADA accommodation
for which you'll want to
request five days in advance.
We're adding some links
to LGBTQ+ resources
that are now available
on the Library's website.
There's a webinar from
Prints and Photographs coming
up next Tuesday on June 8
on commemorating Pride Month
with LGBTQ+ images and a few
more events coming up in June.
I want to stress
that we are eager
to help you with your research.
Please don't hesitate
to contact us.
If you have any questions,
please use the Q&A function
and we will answer live.
>> Lara Szypszak:
Loretta, we have a question
from Olivia asking if we have
any materials specifically by
or about bisexual people or
people who may have been bi.
I'm not sure if you have
a good answer off the top
of your head there.
>> Loretta Deaver: Yeah.
I would say to check
out the LGBTQ+ LibGuide.
I'll have Laura add that
link to the chat again.
We do have some materials
related to Oscar Wilde
and also those Edna St.
Vincent Millay collections
that I mentioned.
There's a few more that may
be less well-known individuals
that you'll find
in the LibGuide.
>> Lara Szypszak: Okay.
So we have another question.
Does the Library of Congress
have any primary source
information pertaining to the
LGBTQ community in the military
who came from the DC area,
specifically, the circumstances
or first-hand accounts of the
Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy
and what it meant to them.
>> Loretta Deaver: Yeah.
I would definitely recommend
the Frank Kameny papers.
Frank Kameny, you know, when
he became personal counsel,
he worked for a lot of
individuals who were part
of the military and
had been dismissed
or had some other issue
going on in their employment.
So that would be a great
collection to check out.
We also have a number of
Congress people, politicians,
lawyers; so I would
definitely suggest writing in
and Ask a Librarian,
checking out that LibGuide.
And I'm sure we have more
materials off the top
of my head.
Elizabeth is saying
in the chat, yeah.
Also the Veterans History
Project will have tons
of oral histories and lots of
primary source materials having
to do with Don't
Ask, Don't Tell.
>> Lara Szypszak: In recent
years, DC has had some
of the highest rates of
HIV diagnosis in the US.
Does the LOC have any
information about the history
and treatment of
HIV in the DC area?
>> Loretta Deaver: I know that
our collections of Patsy Mink,
Congresswoman Patsy Mink
and Daniel Moynahan includes
some information about HIV AIDS.
I don't know that
it's local to DC.
But those would be a couple
collections worth checking out.
And there may be others.
Again, I would definitely
suggest writing
in and Ask a Librarian.
We can dig deeper into it.
Any other questions?
Please don't hesitate.
We have plenty of time
if anyone has a question.
>> Lara Szypszak: If anyone
has a general question
about just doing research and
not even specific questions --
or collections, we're also
happy to answer those.
Anything having to do with
our collections or access,
we're at your disposal.
>> Guest: From Holcomb, Kansas.
>> Lara Szypszak: Welcome, Amy.
>> Guest: So settings for In
Cold Blood so love Capote.
Yes, absolutely.
However, I'm attending today
as a historic preservationist
in Fairfax County, and I'm
starting the process of adding
to our knowledge of
LGBTQ or LGBT history.
But most of quote,
unquote, our folks seem
to have organized in DC.
Are you aware of any Fairfax
County, Virginia, folks?
>> Loretta Deaver: Hmm.
That's a good question.
I live in Fairfax County
myself, and I don't know
of any off the top of my head.
But that doesn't mean
they're not there.
A couple other resources
you might think about, too,
if you haven't already
contacted them,
there's the Rainbow History
Project is incredible and,
of course, the DC
History Center.
So if we don't have the
personal collection,
it might be at a
smaller repository.
But definitely feel
free to write in.
And we'll do some
searching together and see
if we can find somebody.
So thanks, Christine [phonetic].
She's saying that Arlington Gay
and Lesbian Alliance
is worth a look.
Absolutely.
>> Lara Szypszak: Absolutely.
Yeah. And Christine is also
saying, how about talking
about local organizations?
Christine, do you mean in
response to that question,
or are you curious about
our holdings in terms
of local organizations?
Give you a chance
to respond to that.
So in terms of LOC's collecting
and processing what
qualifies, what's the threshold?
That's a good question.
We do have collection policies.
And they've thought long
and hard about what can fit
into the collection and what
complements other holdings
or what's missing,
where the holes are.
But our specialists have
extensive documentation helping
them figure out what fits.
Loretta, do you have
anything to add to that?
>> Loretta Deaver: No.
I think you -- I
think you've got it.
>> Lara Szypszak: Okay.
Amy says, Oh, yes.
On it with the Rainbow
History folks.
That -- yes.
Absolutely.
>> Loretta Deaver: What
has been your favorite
or most impactful item or
collection you've worked with.
Lara?
>> Lara Szypszak: Oh, I
am absolutely obsessed
with Vladimir Nabokov's
passport [phonetic].
That is, I can't stop
showing that to people.
>> Loretta Deaver: Yeah.
I also really love to show
Walt Whitman's walking stick,
which we have in this division.
Strangely, it's not
a manuscript.
But it did come with one of
his collections of papers,
and it's very cool looking.
There's a photo available
of it on the website.
We also have a ceremonial copy
of the Thirteenth Amendment
from Abraham Lincoln's papers.
And I really love to show
that when we have folks
come for a tour as well.
>> Lara Szypszak: And
you're correct recommending
Washingtonian collection
in the DC Public Library
for DC LGBT collections
[phonetic].
It's a fantastic
collection of material.
Absolutely.
Christine, I see your response
about what is available.
So for DC stuff, we do actually
have a Washington, DC LibGuide,
which I'll go ahead and put
the link in the chat for that.
But that, you know,
when it comes to local,
DC Public Library is really
trumps up in every year
or the first day, they
best us in every factor.
But we do have them,
and I'll put the link
to that guide in there.
Loretta, do you want
to tackle a question?
>> Loretta Deaver: Sure.
Let's see.
Oh, Logan.
Hi. Nice to see you here.
Will the Manuscript
Division consist collections
of both white and person of
color transgender activists?
That's a good question.
We don't have a lot
of collections
of transgender people.
In fact, I can't think of
any off the top of my head.
But we do have a wonderful
historian who is --
specializes in 20th
century materials,
and this is definitely
something he's interested
in growing our collection with.
This is a good question.
What would you recommend to
someone interested in learning
about manuscripts,
archival work, etc.,
as a hobby and career?
Any resources that the
LOC offers or mentorship?
Well, the great thing
about wanting to get
into librarianship
and archival work is
that librarians love to help.
So you can certainly find
opportunities to volunteer
at your local library.
There's lots of, you know,
opportunities available
remotely right now.
And as far as the Library goes,
if you spend some time looking
around the website,
there's lots of resources
from preservation
advice to information
about archival processing
and cataloging.
So the Library does make
that material available
to the public.
And a good way to get there is
to go to the -- there's a --
on the Library's main webpage,
there's a section
for librarians.
So I will put that in the chat.
>> Lara Szypszak: I'm just
going to speak up a little bit,
just made a very good
suggestion for DC HIV history.
Whitman Walker has
an archive as well.
So thank you for
sharing that, Elizabeth.
Will there be any
LOC internships
for students coming this fall?
Oh, we sure hope so.
But we don't know yet.
We're kind of playing it by ear
when it comes to what we're able
to facilitate through
the pandemic.
Even our junior fellows
this summer has been
completely virtual.
So we're still -- we're still
waiting to find out about that.
But the internship webpage
is generally up to date.
Or you can always
email us and check
in to see the status of those.
I have a student working
on an oral history
project of queer elders.
Does the collection, LOC
collection have recordings
or other manuscripts
to get a sense
of what has been done already.
Good question.
>> Loretta Deaver: We don't have
many or possibly any recordings
in the Manuscript Division.
But I would suggest contacting
both the Veterans History
Project and the Library's
recorded sound division.
And you can get there by going
to the Library's main web page
and checking out the
researchers area.
I'm sure they'll have lots
to direct your student to.
>> Lara Szypszak: Hannah asks,
Do you know if there's anything
on LGBTQ industrialists
around the Gilded Age
or progressive area?
I'm sure there's something,
but just off the top
of your head right now.
That's all you, Loretta.
>> Loretta Deaver: That is
kind of a toughy off the top
of my head [laughing], I don't
have anything off the top
of my head, you know,
for industrialists.
Yeah. I'm not sure.
But do send an Ask a Librarian,
and we'll do some
searching together.
I hope that we do have something
but industrial list specifically
who were LGBTQ+, that'll be --
it'll be a good bit of research.
We'll dig into it.
>> Lara Szypszak:
Christine suggests look
into rich women whose
daddies opened doors.
Okay. Let's see.
Does the Library of Congress
have collections about members
of the LGBTQ DC Latina,
Latinx community at large?
Are there many collections
about the local DC community?
>> Loretta Deaver: The Kameny
papers that I mentioned,
you know, there's a fair
bit of information in there
about the Mattachine Society of
Washington, like I mentioned.
And then the Vincenz papers
also include materials
on DC local groups.
Otherwise, we do have, you
know, we have materials
in other divisions,
too, you know.
So DC local's a little tough.
I can't think of anything.
Oh, you know, we do
have a new collection,
but I don't know the
title off the top
of my head, unfortunately.
But if you send off an email
to us or an Ask a Librarian,
I'll be sure to get it to you.
It's brand new, and processing
has been put on the back burner
since we were working remotely.
But hopefully it'll
be available soon.
>> Lara Szypszak:
Besides Bayard Rustin,
are there any other
materials from queer people
of color that the Library has?
>> Loretta Deaver: In
the Manuscript Division,
I'm sorry to say I
can't think of any.
But, again, we could
do some searching.
Across the Library, I'm sure,
you know, in the many divisions
and the millions and
millions of items,
that we have lots and lots.
>> Lara Szypszak: From --
message from Sarah from
Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
So glad to have people coming
from all over the place,
the best part of this
virtual orientation.
So my name is Sarah.
I'm currently in the
project archivist
for LGBT History Project
of Central Pennsylvania.
I was wondering, do you have
any processing procedures
that are specific to LGBT
items or collections,
or do they get processed like
regular manuscript collections?
>> Loretta Deaver:
We can process just
like everything else.
But we do have -- our
preparations section and team
of archivists have a group that
writes inclusive description,
and that's kind of a new group.
So they're working on making
sure that any terms are included
in the finding aids and
that they're easier to find
and that the description of
individuals is, you know,
keeping up with the
times and everything.
So that's a really
interesting project
and something you
might want to hear more
about as an archivist yourself.
So, again, feel free to
send an email, and I'd love
to connect you with that group.
>> Lara Szypszak: And that goes
along with Jesse's question,
how does staff catalog materials
were one's orientation is
unclear or purposely obscured
despite indications they were
likely LGBT?
>> Loretta Deaver: That's a
great question, Jeff [phonetic].
And we -- a lot of times
researchers will alert us
to something they find
in the collection.
Maybe it wasn't something
that the individual whose
collection it is wrote
or it came from someone
who is a known member
of the LGBTQ+ community.
But if it's not known, it's
generally not cataloged
in a way that's easily findable.
So that's a really
great question.
It's a hunt is the short answer.
But, you know, that's
why our researchers here
at the Library are so valuable
because they're doing this
important work to bring light
to people's identities
and really dig
into these collections in a way
that we often don't get a chance
to do because we
have so much to do.
But, yes. We invite
you to come and dig in.
>> Lara Szypszak: Valerie,
I see, has a question,
that can unprocessed
papers be accessed?
They can. They just require
working with the specialist
and the archivist who is
currently processing it
or has yet to process it.
It's just that's one of those
instances where the specialists
and historians step in and
help researchers one on one.
But it is possible.
The only restriction to
keep in mind in addition
to them not being processed
are if the donors have not
yet released them to the public.
So every collection
has its own rules.
Let's see.
Christine has a few questions.
I helped put the
Vincenz' collection
in LOC any needs now [phonetic].
That's super awesome.
Thank you so much for that.
I'm sure we always I think are
happy to build the collections.
But feel free to email Loretta
or the MSS account or myself.
I'll put our email address
back in the chat again.
But that's, again,
the specialists.
That's their -- that's
their wheelhouse.
Do you have Daughters of
Bilitis newsletters --
hope I pronounced that
correctly -- in the archives?
>> Loretta Deaver: Yes.
There are some included
in the Vincenz papers.
And then we do have as --
I believe we have some
cataloged separately in the --
either in the general
collection or in the newspaper
and current periodicals
division.
But if you have any
trouble finding it,
feel free to send in
a Ask a Librarian.
We'll link you to it.
>> Lara Szypszak:
And Olivia mentioned
that New York Public
Library has a big collection
of LGBT periodicals.
They certainly do.
And their collect --
their online catalog
is fantastic as well.
I guess a more general
question for us.
What brought you
both to do this work,
if you don't mind responding?
What interested you and
helped you in your path?
Loretta, do you want
to go first?
>> Loretta Deaver: Oh, sure.
Well, I just love libraries
is the short answer of it.
And I always knew I
wanted to be a librarian.
I had a fantastic
school librarian
who would bring authors in
to read to us and sign books.
And I've had a really
wonderful experience,
like I said to the
hopeful archivist,
who asked a question either
librarians are the most helpful
group that you'll meet and
they're not shy about teaching.
And then when I got into
libraries and started looking
at manuscripts, I found
that those were my very
favorite materials.
So I was lucky enough
to land here
in this wonderful collection.
>> Lara Szypszak:
And similar for me.
I mean, I had very informative
librarians in the past
but especially from
working in institutions
and museums and galleries.
But the librarian at the US
Holocaust Memorial Museum is
really one of my
biggest inspirations
and doing amazing
work, kind of in more
of an archival museum setting.
So very grateful to be
in the Manuscript Division
doing this kind of work.
All right.
Looks like we tackled
all of our questions.
Give everyone a minute
to fill in any last ones
or any questions in the chat.
Hopefully, we've
done a decent job
of answering all
of your questions.
But, again, feel free to send
us an email and Ask a Librarian
or call and we'll help answer
or dig deeper into some
of your research questions.
>> Loretta Deaver: Thank you all
so much attending
-- for attending.
And, again, don't hesitate
to send us questions.