At the Schlesinger Library, the Manuscripts Department will be documenting how and where to incorporate identity description in finding aids and to help develop language and best practices for creating or updating finding aid description.
Finding aids often include outdated or harmful terms that in some cases should not be remediated. In those instances, archivists should add a paragraph to the standard processing note to explain why these terms were left in place. The following examples are from Schlesinger collections:
The Papers of Dorothy Height: This finding aid contains the outdated term “Negro” in the names of organizations, book titles, reports, and audiovisual material. Schlesinger archivists may choose to retain outdated, offensive or harmful language in archival description under the following circumstances: 1) such language is an original term used in the archival material being described; 2) reflects historical and/or contextual value; 3) aligns with the preferences of the creator or donor and; 4) facilitates discovery and access.