Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library

Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library
Name	Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library
Location	Cambridge, Massachusetts
Established	1943
Type	Research library
Collection size	Manuscripts, archives, photographs, personal papers
Director	Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study (Harvard University)

Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library is a research library on the history of women and gender-related social movements housed at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It specializes in personal papers, organizational archives, and audiovisual materials documenting activists, politicians, scholars, and cultural figures spanning the 19th through 21st centuries. The library supports scholarship in American history, biography, and social change and serves students, faculty, journalists, and independent researchers.

History

Founded in 1943 as a collection emphasizing the papers of prominent figures, the library expanded during the mid-20th century under influences from scholars such as Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. and Elizabeth Bancroft Schlesinger while interacting with institutions including Radcliffe College, Harvard College, and the Schlesinger Library Advisory Committee. Its growth reflects archival trends following the work of historians like Barbara Tuchman, John Hope Franklin, and Richard Hofstadter, and it absorbed notable deposits linked to movements associated with figures such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Alice Paul. The library navigated changing archival practices influenced by entities such as the Library of Congress, Society of American Archivists, and the National Archives and Records Administration.

Collections and Holdings

The library's holdings encompass manuscript collections from activists and public figures including Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, and Dolores Huerta; organizational records from groups like the National Organization for Women, the League of Women Voters, and the Young Women's Christian Association; and audiovisual materials connected to producers such as Ken Burns and broadcasters like NPR. Holdings feature correspondence, diaries, scrapbooks, photographs linked to artists and writers such as Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, and Maya Angelou, as well as political materials connected to leaders like John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Gerald R. Ford, and Barack Obama. The library also preserves papers of scholars and public intellectuals such as Betty Friedan, Joan Wallach Scott, C. Vann Woodward, and Raymond Williams.

Facilities and Access

Situated within the Radcliffe Yard complex near Harvard Yard, the reading rooms and conservation labs are staffed by archivists trained in standards promoted by the Society of American Archivists and the Conservation Center. Researchers request materials via an online catalog interoperable with systems used by the Digital Public Library of America and the WorldCat network. Access policies align with institutional practices at Harvard University and require readers to follow handling procedures similar to those at the Library of Congress, with digitization projects guided by organizations such as the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Research and Public Programs

The library hosts fellowships and seminars involving scholars associated with the Radcliffe Institute and departments like Harvard History Department, fostering work by historians such as Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Jill Lepore, Nancy Cott, and Hannah Arendt scholars. Public programming includes panels, exhibitions, and oral history initiatives in collaboration with cultural partners including the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. It supports digital humanities projects funded by entities like the National Endowment for the Humanities and foundations such as the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Notable Manuscripts and Donors

Significant manuscript groups include the papers of Eleanor Roosevelt, the organizational archives of the National Organization for Women, and the personal papers of journalists and activists like Gloria Steinem and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Donors have ranged from private individuals—families of figures such as John F. Kennedy and Martha Graham—to institutional transfers from repositories including the Schomburg Center, the Library of Congress, and university archives at Yale University and Columbia University. Collections also document legal and policy records related to cases and statutes involving figures like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sandra Day O'Connor, and legislators including Tip O'Neill and Pat Schroeder.

Governance and Funding

Governance is integrated with the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study administration and benefits from advisory boards composed of scholars, librarians, and public figures tied to organizations such as Harvard University and philanthropic partners like the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Funding derives from endowments, grants from agencies including the National Endowment for the Humanities and private gifts from families and foundations associated with donors such as Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.'s circle, alongside institutional support from Harvard University.

Impact and Legacy

The library has shaped scholarship on figures from Susan B. Anthony to Gloria Steinem and influenced exhibitions at institutions like the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution. Its archives underpin monographs by historians including Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Jill Lepore, and Doris Kearns Goodwin, and inform documentary projects by filmmakers such as Ken Burns and journalists affiliated with The New York Times and The Washington Post. By preserving primary sources linked to social movements, political leaders, and cultural creators, the library remains central to research on American public life and memory.

Category:Libraries in Massachusetts