Beacon Street Diary

Lucy Stone

In honor of Women's History Month, I thought I'd talk about Lucy Stone. 

Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

A pioneer for women's rights, she is credited as being the first woman to keep her maiden name after marrying (helping pave the way for me to do the same lo these 13+ years ago), and argued vociferiously on the topics of suffrage and abolition. 

But, did you know that Ms. Stone grew up here in Massachusetts as a Congregationalist in the West Brookfield Church?** She was baptised in 1819, just shy of her first birthday:

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She joined the church in 1839, listed along with Francis and Sarah:

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If you follow the Wikipedia article*** about Ms. Stone, you will note that there was some strong disagreement in the West Brookfield community regarding the issue of slavery, women's participation in the public discussion, and the role of religious leaders in the debate. When Stone's unwavering and vocal opposition to slavery joined the public debate, her church responded by determining that Stone "engaged in a course of life evedently inconsistent with her covenant." In the same meeting, the church "voted that she no longer considered a member a member with us." 

Original text:

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In the face of opposition, Lucy Stone fought harder. In her lifetime, she saw a sea change in society where slavery was abolished and free speech finally started to include women. Sadly, she died a few decades short of women's suffrage. We salute you, Lucy Stone, who did not give up in the face of adversity. 

** The West Brookfield collection spans from 1757 through to 1929 and is open to the public for research.

***Just to prove the point you can't believe everything you read on Wikipedia, they claim that Stone's dismissal from the West Brookfield Church was 1838, which was actually the year before she joined the church. The break came in 1851. 

-Jessica

Civil Rights, Old School

One of the best things for me about our library is that the collection includes so much material that fed into modern social activism. This depository has been actively collecting pamphlets and books on the topics of education, suffrage, and slavery for almost 160 years. When we consider our collection policy, a big priority is to consider what the historical view on a topic has been over the decades.

Among the many topics within that of civil rights, those interested in learning more about its roots should consider our collections on the American Missionary Association. The AMA was formed as an abolitionist group in the mid-19th century and continued into reconstruction with the goal of educating African Americans, particularly in the South. We have an extensive microfilm collection of their reports, as well as periodicals (The American Missionary particularly), pamphlets, sermons -- so much more.

Rachel and our band of catalogers have been very conscientious over the years about adding subject headings, so researchers are more likely to find related items on topics like Civil Rights, Abolition, Antislavery Movements, Race Relations, and so on. When searching various subjects, check out the "Suggested Search" button at the top of results pages, or click on links within the catalog records. You may find the elusive niche you were looking for all along.

As ever, if you have any questions on finding what we have, do not hesitate to contact our friendly and resourceful staff.

-Jessica

 

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Image courtesy of the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University and the Louisiana Digital Library exhibit The American Missionary Association and the Promise of a Multicultural America: 1839-1954.

Civil Rights digital collections

Today we're highlighting two digital repositories -- one large and one small -- focused on the history of the American Civil Rights movement in the mid-20th century.

The Civil Rights Digital Library is based in Georgia, but it includes materials from dozens of institutions across the country. Their mission statement is to promote "an enhanced understanding of the Movement by helping users discover primary sources and other educational materials from libraries, archives, museums, public broadcasters, and others on a national scale." Their impressive multimedia collections include resources for educators, an interactive timeline, oral histories, diaries, government documents, and so much more. From the groundbreaking Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954 to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968 and beyond, these resources provide an in-depth look at the struggle for racial equality in the United States.

The Civil Rights Movement Archives is a smaller-scale project created by Queens College in New York. Using the QC Library's Special Collections archive of images and documents from the early 1960s, the students in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science created a digital repository on the Omeka platform (the same system behind our own exhibit site). It contains photographs, fliers, and original correspondence, most of it relating to the activism of Queens College students, both in the city and in southern states.

Whether you're looking for the bigger picture or more personal stories, these sites are great places to start your search.

--Robin

Save Our Libraries Day - Feb 5

The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals are trying to raise awareness about libraries in budgetary danger. The CILIP is an English organization, however I think the sentiment is an international one.

They have a nice page written up about what a person can do to raise awareness for libraries. Check it out. (Hat tip to our own Robin and to actor/writer Wil Wheaton for mentioning it.)

-Jessica

October 1st is Follow A Library Day

A group of tech-savvy librarians and library lovers from around the world have banded together for a great Twitter initiative -- Follow A Library Day. From the project's blog:

How does it work?
Participating is very simple: tweet on October 1st what your favorite twittering library (or libraries) is (or are). Use in your tweet the hashtag (or keyword) #followalibrary.

It's like the Twitter tradition of #followfriday, when people recommend other people they enjoy, but specifically for libraries. How great is that?

Of course, we'd appreciate it if you'd mention us -- @CongreLib -- but mostly we'd just like you to show some love for libraries in general. You can see other people's recommendations on Twitter itself, and watch videos from participants on the #followalibrary blog.

Even if you're not on Twitter, we encourage you to share your favorite libraries in the comments here. And you can follow people on Twitter without signing up for Twitter by using an RSS reader.

Where do you go to get your knowledge fix?

--Robin

Preservation Week

The American Library Association is getting the word out about preservation week coming up the second week of May.

We are still pulling together ideas on how we will be commemorating the week besides dedicating our blog posts. The site linked above will be reviewed for sure, though.

Preservation has always been an interest of mine and I do as much as I can to help our members and patrons do their best to keep their own treasures safe.

-Jessica

Local Activism

I attended the spring meeting for the New England Archivists this past weekend. There are two meetings a year, and this is the one in which leadership transitions. Last year I had been asked to run for the vice president position, and gratefully lost. This year I volunteered to run for representative at large and won! So over the next many months -- possibly years (it is a 3 year term), I will share some insights with how the governmental structure of a wholly volunteer organization works. So far I do not know what the reality of being a rep-at-large means, but I am quite certain it involves attending board meetings and helping make sure various committees run.

-Jessica

Archivist Activism: Take 10 minutes to help

The New England Archivists' president, Peter Carini, sent out a call for help this week regarding House bill HR 2256. This stimulus bill would provide critical funding -- $2,621,563 -- to New England's archives and millions to other states/regions.

All this money will maintain projects in dire need of support and save a number of my colleagues' jobs -- and believe me, several are already out and looking for work. The PAHR site explains what needs to be done; I wrote up my own version of their template letter after getting Peter's note. Our deadline on this is September 8, so please do write today. Let's safeguard our history and the archive community.

-Your very own archivist- Jessica.

Passing this along

What's Green and Read All Over?
The Great American Book Drive.

Ever wondered what to do with all those books collecting dust on your shelves, piling up in your closet, or hiding under your bed? On Saturday, November 8th, put them to work for the Prison Book Program and City Mission Society by participating in the launch of The Great American Book Drive. Choose to support reuse, help open doors for prisoners, and promote social justice by donating your gently used books.

Saturday, November 8th
10 am - 3 pm
Brighton-Allston Congregational Church
404 Washington Street
Brighton, MA
(directions)

Better World Books will sell them to people all over the world who will cherish them...and the Prison Book Program and the City Mission Society will benefit with every sale. It's about literacy, not landfill.

For complete information visit www.prisonbookprogram.org/bookdrive.

 

Help the Prison Book Program and City Mission Society by forwarding this email near and far...

Stop in and pick up a Red Sox bookmark

We have bookmarks in support of the Mass Mentoring Partnership and the Red Sox Mentoring Challenge. There is a shortage of volunteers to mentor thousands of kids across Massachusetts. For more information or to sign up, Step up to the Plate! Be a Mentor.