Lesbian Alumnae of Radcliffe College collection of Eleanor Batchelder, 1980-2006
Overview
Correspondence, meeting reports, mailing lists, and other materials documenting the Lesbian Alumnae of Radcliffe College's founding and administration.
Dates
- Creation: 1980-2006
Creator
- Batchelder, Eleanor (Person)
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright. Copyright in the collection created by Eleanor Batchelder are held by Eleanor Batchelder. Copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.
Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.
Extent
.21 linear feet (1/2 file box)The Lesbian Alumnae of Radcliffe College collection of Eleanor Batchelder includes correspondence, meeting reports, mailing lists, and other materials documenting LARC's founding and administration. Correspondence contains information to be included in the newsletter Notes from the LARC, including activities undertaken by LARC subgroups such as efforts to increase representation of lesbians in the Radcliffe Quarterly through the submission of articles and reports for the class notes section; advocacy for Radcliffe and Harvard non-discrimination policies; and efforts to raise funds to purchase lesbian-themed books for Harvard Library's book collection. Files also include correspondence, newsletters, and printed materials documenting LARC's work with other gay and lesbian advocacy groups including Harvard University Gays (HUG), the Lesbian Herstory Archives, and the West Coast Lesbian Collections. Frequent correspondents include Radcliffe alumnae Peggy Anderson, Barbara Hoffman, Cynthia Rich, and Renee Watkins, as well as Diane Hamer, an administrative assistant at Radcliffe's Schlesinger Library.
BIOGRAPHY
Eleanor Olds Batchelder, daughter of Victoria and Dr. Edward Bosworth Olds, attended Radcliffe College (Class of 1961) from 1957 to 1959 and received a BA in mathematics and statistics from Hunter College in 1973 and a PhD in linguistics from City University of New York in 1997. She held several positions as a computer programmer, database administrator, consultant, and researcher in New York City between 1971 and her retirement in 2007. From 1975 to 1980, she was the co-owner and co-manager of Womanbooks, a woman's bookstore in New York City. In 1960, she married William Henry Batchelder; they had three children and later divorced. In 1974, she began to openly identify as a lesbian feminist. In the late 1970s, she joined and served as the newsletter editor for the Lesbian Alumnae of Radcliffe College, an organization that fostered connections among and aimed to increase the visibility and acceptance of lesbian-identifying members of the Radcliffe community.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession number: 2016-M200
The Lesbian Alumnae of Radcliffe College collection of Eleanor Batchelder was given to the Schlesinger Library by Eleanor Batchelder in 2016.
Processing Information
Processed: May 2023
By: Johanna Carll
Portions of this collection were previously cataloged as B/L623.
The Schlesinger Library attempts to provide a basic level of preservation and access for all collections, and does more extensive processing of higher priority collections as time and resources permit. Finding aids may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
- Title
- Batchelder, Eleanor. Lesbian Alumnae of Radcliffe College collection of Eleanor Batchelder, 1980-2006: A Finding Aid
- Author
- Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
- Language of description
- eng
- Sponsor
- Processing of this collection was made possible by the Alice Jeannette Ward Fund.
- EAD ID
- sch02217
Repository Details
Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository
The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.