...
In the Jennifer Finney Boylan papers, the description in the biographical note and the scope and content note uses Boylan’s pronoun, “she.” However, within the collection there are folder entries, specifically for photographs of Boylan before she transitioned from male to female, which uses her former name. While Boylan reviewed the finding aid prior to its publication, it may be beneficial for the archivist to specifically point out to the creator about these particular decisions related to naming to further ensure that this was the correct decision.
When to describe
There are situations where a collection doesn’t contain directly related content about the creator’s sexual or gender identity but the individual does identify under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. Is identity description warranted in biography or in LCSH?
Example: Angela Davis [do we want to revisit that call about not including her sexuality in bio note?]This could be one of those questions that we might want more staff feedback on but we can include it here. Personally I think we should add that identity to the bio note even if the collection doesn’t have anything about her sexuality, assuming she is on board with it. But others might feel differently.
Recommendations and guidelines
- Solicit input about identity from creator/donor of archival collections when possible.
...