Newsletter | Jan/Feb 2015
Honor Your Achievements - IAWA by Inge Horton Recently, I was asked by an OWA member to put together information about donating drawings and other records of work for donation to the International Archive of Women in Architecture (IAWA) at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA. I was a little surprised as I often wrote articles for the OWA newsletter urging OWA members to donate documents of their work to the IAWA. I gladly comply with the request since more and more of our early members are retiring or dissolving their offices. And since I sent six large boxes of files from my own research of early women architects to IAWA, I now know firsthand of the emotional difficulty of letting go of something that is dear to one’s heart. However, I feel that it is important and necessary to do as I have heard many stories about drawings and files being destroyed by the children or executors of a deceased woman architect. They often did not know what to do with the records or are overwhelmed with other tasks related to the inheritance. One of the horror stories is that of a prominent woman architect in San Francisco who, about twenty years ago, had all her drawings destroyed in a rage after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Please do not follow this sad example, honor your professional legacy, fill a gap in architectural history, and proudly promote yourself by donating records of your work to the IAWA or any other archive such as the Environmental Design Archives at UCBerkeley or at another alma mater. At the IAWA, you will be in the good company of women who reviewed their work and selected projects for donation. At the end of this article you can review a list of Bay Area architects who already donated documents to the IAWA. Or visit their website and you will see a display of truly international colleagues. Before I focus on frequently asked questions and repeat the text of my previous article, I will share a letter from Aaron Purcell, Director, Special Collections, University Libraries, Virginia Tech, with the newest developments of the IAWA. He wrote that the IAWA has new collections archivist, Samantha Winn, (540) 231-7486 or her email at specref@vt.edu, who will be our contact person. |
![]() Wendy Bertrand at IAWA (Inge Horton) "Regarding the drop-off site for electronic records, we recently set up a small website to transfer materials. We request that donors who are interested in submitting digital files contact us first so that we can discuss the details of transfer and long-term care. After we have met with the donor, we will be happy to share the URL for the drop-off site and the access code required to upload files. Alternatively, we are able to receive electronic files stored on optical media, thumb drives, external hard drives, etc. Electronic records have very specific archival concerns, and the department is exploring how we can meet those needs in the future. As an example of one obstacle presented by electronic records, I have a small number of architectural drawings from a drafting class in high school. It would be quite a feat to view them today since they were created in AutoCAD 2000 (a program I no longer have) and stored on floppy disks (which my computer cannot even read!) This truly is a new frontier for archivists. For the past few years, our staff have been working with other archivists at the national level to tackle some of these challenges - it is an area that I am particularly passionate about. With respect to transferring physical records, we are often willing to travel to the donor to review the records in person (depending upon our availability). Donors may choose to request a site visit if there are serious concerns about the condition of the records, but in the vast majority of cases it is not necessary." |
Please use sturdy boxes in good condition and use heavy-duty strapping tape. Keep the records in the order in which they were used in your office and document or record this order (collating files into boxes and sequential numbering of the boxes is an easy way to record this original order). It is helpful to make a list of the box contents, with dates. When you need to find something later, this list will be invaluable. Place the list in each box and also mail them separately to the IAWA. Note the presence of any sensitive material (i.e. SSN’s, personnel information, confidential information, or any other type of sensitive information you or your organization may work with). Leave a little wiggle room in the boxes; don't overstuff them. Be sure the folders are standing upright and that they are not bowed or flopped-over. Please send your collection to the following address and include a copy of the address also on the inside of each package: Special Collections MC 0434 Newman Library 560 Drillfield Drive Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 24061 Carriers of your mailing: From my recent experience of sending six boxes to the IAWA I recommend that you research potential carriers such as the US Post Office (which seemed to be the most affordable), FedEx, UPS or others and select the one you feel most comfortable with. You are sending irreplaceable materials unless you made copies before packing them. As a minimum safety provision, obtain a “Track and Confirm” number or better insure your packages. The IAWA has limited funds available to reimburse you for the shipping cost but will appreciate any donation for shipping or accessioning of your collection.
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![]() Milka Blizankov, founder of IAWA at Milk'a' house. She is on the left. Wendy Bertrand is seated, and the other person is unknown to the Editor (photo by Inge Horton)
AULENTI, GAE, (Asian Art Museum) BERTRAND, WENDY, BRAGSTAD, SUSAN, CHADEAYNE, OLIVE, CROLEY, NAN, CRUISE, KATHLEEN T, DUNCOMBE, A. JANE , EMMONS, AUDREY, GOTTLIEB, LOIS DAVIDSON, HANSEN, FANI DANADJIEVA, HORTON, INGE S., HOUSE, STEVEN AND CATHI, JANSONE, VERA, LALEYAN, MARIE-LOUISE, MENDELSOHN, LOUISE, RUPP, SIGRID LORENZEN, SIMON, CATHY J., STAN, SALLY WALDNER BOULD, STEINMESCH, H. MAY, WATKIN, REBECCA WOOD, WILLIS, BEVERLY, WOODWARD, BARBARA, ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN IN ARCHITECTURE, LOS ANGELES, RECORDS, 1928-1992, CALIFORNIA WOMEN IN ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN (CWED) RECORDS, 1990-1994, ORGANIZATION OF WOMEN ARCHITECTS AND DESIGN PROFESSIONALS, RECORDS, 1965-2005. |
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