Table of Contents
Introduction
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As an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota he had a polio-like illness that required the use of a wheelchair. (Robert A. Good papers, processed by Bryan Sutherland and Christina M. Thompson, "required the use of a wheelchair" replaces the term "wheelchair-bound")
The subseries also contains records of people in custody and correspondence related to their activities and evaluations. (Albert Warren Stearns papers, processed by Bryan Sutherland; "people in custody" replaces the term "inmates")
In narrative description fields, do not use personal titles like Dr./Mr./Mrs./Ms./Mx., unless it would clarify the identity of someone whose first name is unknown. Please refer to the Style Guide for full Center practice on folder titles that include personal titles.
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It is the Center's standard descriptive practice to include historical medical terminology along with any equivalent contemporary terms in archival description of collections in order to support researcher discovery. However, given the [harmful, racist, etc] nature of the term "[XXXX]", the archivist has chosen to omit this term from the archival description in favor of the contemporary preferred term "[XXXX]". Please note that the term "[XXXX]" will appear in creator-supplied folder titles transcribed in this finding aid and in the papers themselves to refer to [list parallel terms]. Please contact chm@hms.harvard.edu with any questions or concerns.
Example:
From Biographical Note: His research interests included Down syndrome, congenital hypothyroidism, intellectual disabilities, neuropathology, and existential psychology and psychiatry. (Clemens E. Benda papers, revised by Charlotte Lellman)
In Processing Note: It is the Center's standard descriptive practice to include historical medical terminology along with any equivalent contemporary terms in archival description of collections in order to support researcher discovery. However, given the racist and ableist nature of the terms "mongolism," "cretinism," and "mental retardation," the archivist has chosen to omit these terms from the archival description in favor of the contemporary preferred terms "Down syndrome," "congenital hypothyroidism," and "intellectual disabilities," respectively. Please note that the terms "mongolism," "cretinism," and "mental retardation" will appear in creator-supplied folder titles transcribed in this finding aid and in the papers themselves to refer to Down syndrome, congenital hypothyroidism, and intellectual disabilities, respectively. Please contact chm@hms.harvard.edu with any questions or concerns.
Exceptions to this practice:
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November 01, 2022: Added guidelines for reporting harmful terminology to SACO and the SACO EDIBA Task Group. Also added subsections to the end of "Outdated and Harmful Medical Terminology": "Subject access and alternatives to LCSH," and "Reporting harmful and outdated medical terminology." Moved two sentences from further up in the same section into the "Subject access..." subsection, due to related content.
May 303, 2024: Annual review completed. Created "contributors" subsection. Added guidelines for using non-Latin characters and for describing trans individuals. (Note that this guidance was developed following the 2023 annual review).
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For biographical notes: “In this note, archivists often write massive memorials and monuments to wealthy, white, cisgendered and heterosexual men, including selective details about the creator that have minimal bearing on the records, and instead serve to valorize and venerate white western masculinity.”
References: Lyons, Bertram. “Writing Archives / Crafting Order: A critique on the longstanding archival practices of arrangement and description.” 2009. https://lccn.loc.gov/2011655403.
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Edwards, Brenna. “SAA Session Recaps: 101: Toward Culturally Competent Archival (Re)Description of Marginalized Histories.” SNAP Section, 11 Sept. 2018, https://snaproundtable.wordpress.com/2018/09/11/saa-session-recaps-101-toward-culturally-competent-archival-redescription-of-marginalized-histories/.
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Work with communities re archival holdings related to Native Americans
Work with communities re terminology, LCSH, etc.
Explain any derogatory terms that are used
Be open to non-Western ideas about access, use, and ownership
Rinn, Meghan. “Nineteenth-Century Depictions of Disabilities and Modern Metadata: A Consideration of Material in the P. T. Barnum Digital Collection.” Journal of Contemporary Archival Studies: Vol. 5 (2018), Article 1, https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/jcas/vol5/iss1/1.
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“Reflect the preference of living communities”
People-first language (when preferred)
Provide historical context
Include notes re terminology choice—makes clear that “due diligence” was involved and “awareness that for some the final standards may not be ideal”
Robinson-Sweet, Anna. (2019, November). Record Making for Reparations: A Call to Action in the Archive. Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project Workshop Series, Northeastern University.
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