"Hidden in Plain Sight: How Changing Our Priorities Can Reveal Underrepresented Demographics in Special Collections," a Mudd Library symposium on Jan. 24

"Hidden in Plain Sight: How Changing Our Priorities Can Reveal Underrepresented Demographics in Special Collections"
Symposium
Harlan Room, Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, Princeton University
January 24, 2020, noon to 4 p.m.

The Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library is home to the University Archives and a collection of 20th-century Public Policy Papers. The current exhibition, “On Display: The Public Lives of 20th-Century American Women,” commemorates the centennial of women’s suffrage. This exhibition focuses beyond the primary descriptions and original purpose of the Public Policy Papers to highlight the role of women. On Jan. 24, Mudd Library will host a symposium to explore the lessons learned from the exhibition’s curation and larger contexts for utilizing existing resources in fresh ways. A lunch will be provided at noon. If you plan to attend the lunch, please RSVP to mudd@princeton.edu by Jan. 17. Attend the meeting via zoom here. 

SCHEDULE
12:00 - 12:45 p.m.
Lunch buffet and self-guided exhibition tour
12:45 - 1:45 p.m.
Conversation with curators
1:45 - 2:00 p.m.
Coffee and snack break
2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Panel discussion
3:30 - 4:00 p.m.
Closing discussions and networking

CURATORS
 April C. Armstrong, Special Collections Assistant for Public Services
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library
April C. Armstrong is a Special Collections Assistant at Mudd Library, where she manages the social media, edits the blog, works on outreach and exhibitions, coordinates library events, and assists researchers in finding material for their own projects. In addition to her frequent contributions to the Mudd blog and social media platforms, she has written several essays for the Princeton and Slavery website and various other publications and is the co-coordinator of the Reading Rainbow discussion group for Special Collections at the Princeton University Library. She holds an M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University and a B.A. from the University of Oklahoma. Uncovering hidden histories in special collections material is one of her favorite parts of working at Mudd.

 Amanda Ferrara, Public Services Project Archivist
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library
Amanda Ferrara is the Public Services Project Archivist at Mudd Library. She holds an M.A. in Library Science and a specialization in Archives and Records Management from Indiana University, Bloomington. Her everyday work includes in-person and remote reference interactions, instruction to groups on- and off-campus, outreach of various forms, and special projects. She is interested in increasing the diversity of and outreach to underrepresented groups in special collections. She brings this interest into her work by holistically critiquing policies and procedures, encouraging mindful conversations about the impact of said policies on researchers, and working with academic, archival, and research communities to suggest and enact ethical solutions.

PANELISTS
Iliyah Coles, Class of 2022
English, Princeton University
Iliyah Coles is a sophomore at Princeton, currently pursuing an A.B. degree in English with interests in creative writing and pre-law. Iliyah has been working as a Blogging and Social Media Assistant at Mudd Library since the Fall of 2018 and has made several contributions to the Mudd Library blog. In Summer 2019, Iliyah was acknowledged as the first place co-winner for the Ward Mathis prize of best short story and the first place co-winner of the Morris W. Croll Poetry Prize for her collection of poems. A strong believer in uncovering truths in the archives, Iliyah enjoys conducting research and finding interesting details in the most unlikely of places. Her other hobbies include singing on the Christian Union Nova Worship Team and playing rugby on the women’s club team at Princeton.

Emma Sarconi, Reference Professional for Special Collections
Harvey S. Firestone Library
Emma Sarconi is the Reference Professional for Special Collections at Princeton University Library. She holds a master's in library science with a concentration in rare books and special collections from Long Island University and a master's in English literature from New York University. In addition to reference support and instruction design, within her role at Princeton, Sarconi is the co-director and founder of the Archival Silences Working Group, a co-curator of the "In Pursuit of the Picturesque" exhibition (opening January 2020), and leader of the Her Book at Princeton project. Sarconi is the co-director and founder of the Archival Silences Working Group, a co-curator of the In Pursuit of the Picturesque exhibit (opening January 2020) and leader of the Her Book at Princeton project.

Shelby Sinclair, Graduate Student
History and African American Studies, Princeton University
Shelby Sinclair is a doctoral student in Princeton's departments of History and African American Studies focusing on 19th- and 20th-century Black women’s history. Her research interests include U.S. empire, sexual violence against black women, and labor in the post-Reconstruction period. Shelby earned her B.A. with honors from Stanford University where she was a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow. Her honors thesis, “Our Silence Will Not Protect Us: The Black Feminist Voice on Sexual Violence” earned high university honors including the George M. Frederickson Award for Excellence in Honors Research. Her doctoral work is a social and intellectual history that aims to uncover how the development of U.S. imperial strategy prior to the Spanish American War created race and gender.a

Sophia Sotilleo, Associate Professor and Access Services Librarian, Langston Hughes Memorial Library, Lincoln University
Sophia Sotilleo is an Associate Professor and the Access Services Librarian at the Langston Hughes Memorial Library at Lincoln University. Prof. Sotilleo also serves as an advisor and instructor for first-year students. She is a seasoned academic librarian with experience and strengths in programming, project management, assessment, and information literacy instruction. Her current area of research and interest are embedded librarianship, special collections digitization projects, archives advocacy, and leadership. She is a reviewer and grants project director for National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Preservation Assistance grants, National Park Service State, Tribal, Local, Plans & Grants Division, and the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts (CCAHA) grants. Grants received have been used to establish community archive projects and develop strategic plans for the digitization and preservation of special collections. Prof. Sotilleo enjoys working on projects that empower, educate, and encourage women to explore different ways to enhance and reach the goals they desire.

MODERATOR
Sara Howard, Librarian for Gender & Sexuality Studies and Student Engagement
Princeton University Library
Sara A. Howard is the Librarian for Gender & Sexuality Studies and Student Engagement at Princeton University Library. In her work, Sara focuses on the importance of self-care for librarian and researcher alike and seeks to transform research services for traditionally underserved populations. Prior to Princeton, Sara held positions at Wesleyan University and Queens College. When outside of the library, Sara enjoys cooking with way too much garlic, swimming in all bodies of water, and hanging with her pup, Rosie!

Media contact: Barbara Valenza, Director of Library Communications