In fall 2020, Princeton University Library (PUL)’s Inclusive Description Working Group (IDWG) sought to identify 82 unnamed women in the Latin America manuscripts collections.
Processing Archivist Chloe Pfendler and Manuscripts Division Archival Resident Carolina Meneses led the research on these women who had been referred to by only their husband’s name or some other familial association. Meneses scoured the archive itself, genealogical sites, and various sources, such as the NYT obituary, to ultimately identify and secure a place in history for 14 women.
“Even though these unnamed women were erased from history, I found it really interesting that we could find them later through various associations,” says Meneses. “I enjoyed the opportunity to do that work.”
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
