Brown University’s John Hay Library acquires former U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo’s papers
Harjo’s writing drafts, correspondence, scripts and teaching materials will significantly enhance the University’s scholarly resources from Native and Indigenous writers and performers.
— News from Brown, Jenna Pelletier, July 11, 2024
Books Bound in Human Skin: An Ethical Quandary at the Library
“Some libraries that have undertaken an ethical review of their anthropodermic books have reached different conclusions. But in 2019, the library’s new director, Amanda Strauss, paused any showing of the books, while developing policies that balanced respect for human remains with the library’s research mandate.
— New York Times, Jenny Schuessler & Julia Jacobs, April 19, 2024
Archiving the ‘Voices of Mass Incarceration’ at Brown’s John Hay Library
On this episode: Dan Richards talks with two Brown archivists about this new collection, and what it’s like preserving the work of one of the most famous incarcerated people in America. Dan also speaks with a scholar at Brown who is working to collect the histories of incarcerated people about the importance of filling this gap in our nation's historical record.
— Trending Globally: Politics and Policy (podcast), Dan Richards, October 18, 2023
Three-day symposium explores history, reach of mass incarceration in America
“Voices of Mass Incarceration: A Symposium” marked the public opening of an exhibition and John Hay Library collection with conversations, performances and receptions that drew hundreds from across the region and world. Complete recordings available here.
— News from Brown, Jill Kimball, September 29, 2023
A piece composed in solitary confinement and never performed gets its world premiere at Brown
“Vampire Nation,” composed in prison in 2009 by Mumia Abu-Jamal and arranged by Brown Ph.D. student Marcus Grant, had its world premiere at a symposium focused on mass incarceration.
— News from Brown, Jill Kimball, September 29, 2023
Library exhibition on Mumia Abu-Jamal to shed light on the experience and impact of incarceration
An exhibition and symposium at Brown University will use Abu-Jamal’s writings, correspondence and creative work as the entry point into a larger conversation about the impact of the American carceral system on millions of lives.
— News from Brown, Brian Clark, September 8, 2023
John Hay hosts exhibit reflecting on history, controversy of abortion
“One of the things we think about a lot is how our collections can be used to contextualize current events,” said Amanda Strauss, associate [university] librarian for special collections and director of the Hay.
— Brown Daily Herald, May 22, 2023, Haley Sandlow
Brown University Acquires the Papers of Mumia Abu-Jamal
Abu-Jamal, convicted of the 1981 murder of a police officer, became the face of the anti-death penalty movement and a widely published commentator on the prison system.
— New York Times, Jennifer Schuessler is a culture reporter covering intellectual life and the world of ideas. She is based in New York.
A version of this article appears in print on Aug. 25, 2022, Section C, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: Preserving a Prisoner’s Collection
To advance research on incarceration, Brown acquires personal papers of prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal
The prison records, correspondence and artwork of Abu-Jamal, and related materials from advocate Johanna Fernández, will anchor a collection at the John Hay Library focused on first-person accounts of incarceration.
— News from Brown August 24, 2022, Jill Kimball
With new special collections policy, John Hay Library aims to diversify the historical canon
The John Hay Library’s new collection policy is intended to support new trends in scholarship on campus and to diversify the personal and community stories told in Brown’s archives and special collections.
— News From Brown, Jill Kimball, May 11, 2021
John Hay Library unveils transformative vision for special collections at Brown
Six dynamic and interconnected areas of focus build on current collection strengths and forge a path for building distinctive collections that support expansive and imaginative inquiry with a commitment to community engagement, environmental sustainability, and social justice.
— Brown University Library News, February 26, 2021
John Hay Library Receives Grants to Digitize Materials of Dissenting U.S. Politics
Two grants totaling $1.75M will facilitate access to astonishing materials in the Hall-Hoag Collection of Dissenting and Extremist Printed Propaganda
— Brown University Library News, September 9, 2022.
Brown Library, HBCU Library Alliance awarded grant to create library leadership program
With a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Brown’s library will partner with the HBCU Library Alliance and its member institutions to help library professionals become culturally sensitive, socially conscious leaders. Program website.
— News from Brown, Jill Kimball, November 8, 2021.
Brown is first non-HBCU invited to join national HBCU Library Alliance
The University is the newest member of a nationwide alliance dedicated to preserving and advancing the scholarly and institutional library collections of historically Black colleges and universities.
— Brown University Library News, September 9, 2022.
Brown Library, HBCU Grant to support Brown-led global oral history project on slavery’s legacy
With support from a $1.25 million grant from the Abrams Foundation, scholars at Brown are working with partners to collect personal stories that reveal how slavery and colonialism shaped societies across the globe.
— News from Brown, Jill Kimball, June 6, 2022.
John Hay Library Acquires Archive of Spiderwoman Theater
Archive of legendary Indigenous theater furthers distinction and depth of Brown’s holdings in multiple interdisciplinary areas of study.
— Brown University Library News, February 24, 2022.
John Hay Library acquires Puerto Rican playwright’s personal papers
A new collection of drafts, notes and correspondence from playwright José Rivera gives scholars a window into one artist’s process and provides new perspective on the lived experiences of Latin Americans.
— News from Brown, Jill Kimball, May 11, 2022.
Schlesinger Library Awarded Grant to Create Comprehensive Digital Media Archive of #metoo
Funding from Harvard Library's S.T. Lee Innovation Grant will support a large-scale project to document the #metoo movement. Project website.
— Radcliffe Communications, June 25, 2018.
#MeToo: A Glimpse into the Digital Vault
The digital footprint of #MeToo in the past year measures more than 19 million English-language Twitter posts and thousands of news articles and personal testimonials.
— Radcliffe Institute, Amanda Strauss, January 11, 2019.
Archivists are cataloguing every tweet, article and spreadsheet the #MeToo movement has ever produced
Harvard University's Schlesinger Library is preserving the history in case it disappears from the internet.
— CBC Day 6 radio interview, March 29, 2019.
Mellon Foundation Grant to Radcliffe's Schlesinger Library Will Catalyze New Scholarship on American Women's Suffrage and the Still-Unrealized Promise of Female Citizenship
The grant of $870,000 from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will support fellowships and programming centered on the 2020 centennial of the 19th Amendment. Amanda Strauss co-author of grant.
— Radcliffe Communications, April 27, 2018.
Activism in the Archives
Vital pieces of history are discarded every day — especially the artifacts from the lives of people of color, underrepresented in the archives of educational institutions. Presentation part of A More Complete Record: The Case for Archival Partnerships.
— Harvard Library News, Kaitlin Buckley, May 1, 2018.
Harvard Radcliffe Institute Renovating Schlesinger Library To Increase Use of Collections
Harvard is renovating its Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute in an effort to drive increased engagement with the library's extensive collection of documents vital to the history of women in America.
— Harvard Crimson, Liana E. Chow and Ema R. Schumer, November 19, 2018.
Blended voices, each with a personal charge
Performance accompanies Radcliffe showcase of feminist poetry, “A Language to Hear Myself: Feminist Poets Speak” co-curated by Amanda Strauss and Laura Peimer. Performance photographs.
— The Harvard Gazette, Sarah Sweeney, February 25, 2016.
Schlesinger Library Hosts Zine-Making Event
The Schlesinger Library offered students the opportunity to learn about zines and gain experience in the feminist tradition of zine-making in an event on Thursday evening.
— Harvard Crimson, Kabir K. Gandhi and Beth Young, October 23, 2015.
Primary sources: Teaching humanity in history
Catherine Brekus, Charles Warren Professor of the History of Religion in America, worked with Schlesinger Research Librarian Amanda Strauss this semester to design a session for her freshman seminar on Christianity and slavery: “When I arrived for our meeting, there was a table full of materials for me to look at—Amanda did so much work.”
— Harvard Office for the Vice Provost for Advances in Learning, 2016.
Inside a Wikipedia edit-a-thon: Strong Voices Indigenous Women
Native and indigenous women are currently underrepresented in Wikipedia entries. Join us as as we celebrate the artistic, political, and professional contributions of indigenous women by writing new entries and enhancing current entries.
— You are here from WERS, April 7, 2016
A Reflection on Mindful Research: A Workshop for Feminist Scholars
On Sunday, June 7, 2015 I had the great pleasure of teaching an online workshop titled “Mindful Research: A Workshop for Feminist Scholars.” The workshop was sponsored by HASTAC & the Feminist Digital Scholars Workshop, and it attracted almost 70 feminist scholars who spent a fruitful hour discussing and practicing self-care.
— Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory (HASTAC) blog, Amanda Strauss , July 18, 2015.
Harvard Library staff participate in 40th annual archivists meeting
Fifteen Harvard archivists presented at or helped to organize the 40th annual meeting of the New England Archivists (NEA)—a number University Archivist Megan Sniffin-Marinoff said may have represented the largest Harvard presence she had seen since she became involved with the organization more than 20 years ago.
— Harvard Gazette, Lizzie Hedrick, June 26, 2013.
SAA 2012: archives and social justice
Of all the sessions I attended at this year's annual meeting of the Society of American Archivists, “In Pursuit of the Moral Imperative: Exploring Social Justice and Archives” was the most thought-provoking and satisfying..
— l'Archivista, August 13, 2012