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Overview

Historically womens names in some collections hidden from historical record; one example of this can be found in some collections Due to 19th to mid-20th century naming conventions, womens' names are often subsumed in documentation under that of their spouse, if recorded at all. Examples of this practice can be seen in various architectural drawings records in the Alexander Architectural Archives (AAA).

In 2022, a pilot program was run by Katie Pierce Meyer, Stephanie Tiedeken, Beth Dodd, and Nancy Sparrow created by AAA staff to find unattributed female clients' names within architectural drawings and add them to their records (contributor and title field.) This work was conducted with students from the Intro to Metadata course taught by Dr. Albert Palacios, job title. INF 385S Digital Libraries course. The workflow below is adapted from these individuals' work as well as initial research by Devon Murphy, Metadata Analyst. The workflow is meant to be adaptable to any metadata schema.

Info

For general questions about the workflow, please contact Devon Murphy at devon.murphy@austin.utexas.edu

For a tutorial on how to use Census records and city directories, please contact Katie Pierce Meyer at katiepiercemeyer@austin.utexas.edu



Workflow

Identify what fields contain name data that you would like to change:

  • Track this information in a spreadsheet. Common data points include contributors/creators, subject names, titles, and descriptions.

Identify name appellationsprefixes/prefixespatterns:

  • create Create a list of all variations of names; some names may be in full form, some not
  • you can use location and dates to triangulate
  • name prefixes in your data. These could be variations on Mr./Mrs./Sra./Señora, etc. 

Verify and disambiguate individuals' names:

  • Can do this with Search name authorities if the person is well-known, or has a presence in name authorities.
  • Can do this with Search Census records, city directories, or genealogical resources if the person is lesser known/not in name authorities.
  • Review birth/death dates, occupations, and residences to ensure correct namesGood idea to record these in spreadsheet format.

Make your changes:

  • Utilize tools like OpenRefine, regex, or Python to make global changes across datasets. 
  • Ensure changes are tracked on original name prefixes spreadsheet.



Table of Contents

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Works Cited

https://guides.library.yale.edu/c.php?g=1140330&p=8319100

Pierce Meyer, Katie. 2022. Drawings Metadata Workflow . Alexander Architectural Archives.

Brewer, Celeste. 2020. “Eleanor Roosevelt Speaks for Herself: Identifying 1,257 Married Women by Their Full Names.” News from Columbia’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Columbia University Libraries. 2020. https://blogs.cul.columbia.edu/rbml/2020/09/09/eleanor-roosevelt-speaks-for-herself-identifying-1257-married-women-by-their-full-names/.

Carpenter, Brian. 2019. “Finding Mrs. Mahone and Other Indigenous Experts in the Archives.” Blog APS Library. American Philosophical Society. 2019. https://www.amphilsoc.org/blog/finding-mrs-mahone-and-other-indigenous-experts-archives.

Wilson Special Collections Library. “A Guide to Conscious Editing at Wilson Special Collections Library.” UNC Libraries, 2022. https://library.unc.edu/2022/06/conscious-editing-guide/ specifically the section "Revealing the Woman Behind Mrs. Husband's Name"

AAA Drawings Metadata Workflow 2022

Wilson Special Collections Library. “A Guide to Conscious Editing at Wilson Special Collections Library.” UNC Libraries, 2022. Yale Library. 2022. “Reparative Archival Description Working Group: ArchivesSpace Agents Reparative Task Force for Women’s Names.” Yale University Library Research Guides. Yale Library. 2022. https://guides.library.uncyale.edu/2022/06/conscious-editing-guide/ c.php?g=1140330&p=8319100.