As Women’s History Month comes to a close, there’s still time for one more event celebrating females throughout history from both the University’s campus and around the world. 
The LSU Libraries’ Special Collections is holding it’s monthly series, Afternoon in the Archives, where it will feature various works of female writers and explore women’s history in Hill Memorial Library’s McIlhenny Room today from 1-4 p.m. 
Hill Memorial Library rare book curator and history subject librarian Michael Taylor said Special Collections began holding the monthly series in December in an effort to provide a more hands-on experience for students, rather than having them view exhibits strictly inside a case. 
“If you look at something in a case, you can’t turn the pages,” Taylor said. “Even though these books are very old, books are designed to be touched, and of course, you want to flip through them.” 
Staff members will be on hand during the event to answer any questions about how to integrate these materials into research or teaching, while also
guiding students. 
The collection includes a little bit of everything, from 16th century to more modern-day works. Those in attendance will explore books, periodicals and manuscripts either written by women, for them or both, which comprises the bulk of material on display. Among these selections are early editions of the University’s yearbook, Gumbo, from 1906, when women were first admitted into the University.
Jennifer Mitchell, head of manuscripts and processing at Hill Memorial Library, also dug up a popular University periodical from the early 1900s titled “The Giggler,” which she said was written by and for the female students on campus and included short stories and illustrations. 
“I wanted to pull stuff like this for students,” Mitchell said. “The issues concerned LSU students of the day, including fashion advice on how to dress for class.” 
Taylor and Mitchell said the collection on display also will include books from female British authors, the scrapbook of Doris Kent, who was a reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, and about 100 reproductions of medieval manuscripts chronicling women’s lives during the Middle Ages. 
Mitchell said this particular event is geared toward giving individuals a taste of the materials available on their own campus. She encourages all students to make use of the variety of sources, even if they aren’t serious researchers. Though there’s only a few tables worth of materials on display, it’s just the beginning of what the library has to offer regarding women’s history. 
“LSU sells itself short sometimes, but we have good things here that people don’t know about,” Taylor said. “That’s one of the reasons we do this — so people can know about what all we have here.” 
Women’s history can often be overshadowed, and many of the collections’ materials are listed under the names of these women’s husbands, Mitchell said. This way, the accomplishments of women can be highlighted during the month devoted to celebrating their contributions to society. 
Both Taylor and Mitchell said they are excited to be hosting today’s events and hope students and the general public make a point to visit the library, not only to attend the event, but to discover a new research tool. 
“I think it’s really a way to spark the interest of students and give them an introduction to the collections that we have,” Mitchell said. “Once they know more, they can learn more and go deeper into what we have.”
You can reach Greta Jines on Twitter @TheGretaJines.

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