The Women in the Archives LibGuide is intended to bring women's voices to the forefront of Archives and Special Collections (ASC) at the Montana State University Library. As Jan and I put it, we don't enjoy seeing the archives populated exclusively by "old, dead white men." Instead, we want to bring dynamic diversity to the library and surrounding community.
This LibGuide contains dozens upon dozens of collections that preserve women's thoughts, feelings, and experiences over a long period of Western American history. The guide contains photographs, diaries, letters, literary productions, drawings, and many other materials that illustrate the courses of women's lives. It's an invaluable resource to learn about women and their stories in the archives.
To explore the guide, click on the tabs above and use the drop-down menus to select subjects in which you are interested. Through these menus, you can discover more about certain historical themes and areas populated by women. To find more information, feel free to click on the finding aid link below each collection to explore the listings for each item within the collection as well as how to access them within the MSU Library.
Overall, this guide is intended to increase the visibility of women within a primarily white, male-dominated section of the library. Through this guide, we hope to provide both scholarly information and materials as well as empowering stories of our incredible extraordinary ordinary women to inspire the next generation. Happy researching!
- Quincy Balius, ASC employee and MSU student
Unless otherwise noted the content on this LibGuide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.