Current Exhibit

Stepping Stones for New Americans

Stepping Stones for New Americans

April 15, 2013 to September 18, 2013

This exhibit features material from collections in the Schlesinger Library of four Boston-area organizations founded to support immigrant groups, showcasing the diversity of the immigrant experience in the city and the changing socio-political context in which the groups operated.

Inside the Collections

Fireweed cover image_courtesy of Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University]

A Pioneer in Women’s History, Gerda Lerner (1920–2013)

The Schlesinger Library's Gerda Lerner papers focus primarily on her life in the United States and on her professional life as a historian and activist, but in interviews in the collection and in her powerful memoir Fireweed, Lerner opens a window onto the early years that shaped the woman she became.

Picks & Finds

[Fourth National Women’s Music Festival program cover, 1977]

Getting In Tune: Women's Summer Music Festivals

Summer can evoke images of friends, music, freedom, and the outdoors. Although people don’t generally associate libraries with music and the outdoors, some collections of personal papers currently held by the Schlesinger Library contain materials from open-air events, such as women’s music festivals.  Many of these music festivals began in the 1970s, and women who attended them often experienced them as a form of fellowship. The events provided a supportive community for those who may have felt isolated in the larger society.

[Radcliffe College Commencement, 1958. Photo by George M. Cushing. Courtesy of Schlesinger Library]

Radcliffe Day, May 31, 2013

Radcliffe Day is a time of celebration—a time especially to celebrate Radcliffe College alumnae. In tribute, we highlight some of the popular digital resources from the Radcliffe College Archives. Over time the Library has digitized thousands of photographs and hundreds of publications, making the material accessible online to be enjoyed by alumnae and scholars alike. These sources provide important historical documentation of college administration, student life, and alumnae activity.