Judith Arcana Papers, 1960s-2022

Contents and Arrangement

Expanded View

Only show material containing online material

Collection Overview

Title:

Judith Arcana Papers

Repository:

Manuscripts Division

Permanent URL:

http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dcn296xc49f

Dates:

1960s-2022

Size:

10.29 linear feet, in 21 boxes, 169 digital files, 21.41 GB

Storage Note:

Firestone Library (scamss): Boxes B-002270 to B-002290

Language:

English

Abstract: Consists of the working documents spanning the 1960s to 2020s regarding various aspects of Judith Arcana's life, from her work as a writer, teacher, and activist for reproductive justice.

Collection Description & Creator Information

Scope and Contents

Consists of the working documents spanning the various aspects of Judith Arcana's life, from her work as a writer, teacher, and activist for reproductive justice. The collection documents Arcana's involvement with the Janes; the proceedings and other materials related to Niles Township High School hearings regarding her dismissal in 1970; extensive Grace Paley research and manuscripts for Arcana's biography of Grace Paley; materials related to classes and workshops she taught, and speaking engagements she had; as well as materials related to her writing. Materials include research files, interviews, transcripts, legal documents, correspondence, photographs, writings, publications, and extensive notes from throughout Arcana's life, career, and feminist activism.

Arrangement

Description provided by the dealer indicated intellectual groupings which have been collapsed into the current arrangement: Activism, Grace Paley Research, Teaching, and Writing. Materials are arranged in the order in which they were received, with correspondence from Jane member, Peaches, shifted into the Activism grouping. While the arrangement splits materials into these groupings, there is some overlap between each, as Arcana's work as a writer expands into her activism and teaching life, her activism into teaching, and so on.

Collection Creator Biography:

Arcana, Judith (1943-2025)

Judith Arcana was a writer, teacher, and activist for reproductive justice. She was a member of the Abortion Counseling Service of Women's Liberation (later known as the "Janes" or the Jane Collective), Chicago's underground abortion service, from 1970-1972.

Collection History

Acquisition:

Purchased from Fugitive Materials in April 2025 (AM 2025-090).

Appraisal

Out-of-scope physical and digital materials were removed from the collection, including mass-produced publications; commercially available DVDs and audiocassette tapes; and empty directories and system files.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Amy C. Vo in October 2025. Finding aid written by Amy C. Vo in October 2025. A dealer-provided inventory was used to create the majority of the container list for the collection. Folders with unclear descriptions and folders that were not described in the dealer-provided inventory were provided with archivist-supplied titles and descriptions.

During processing, Post-it notes that were used to relabel folders were moved onto the inside of the folder in order to retain this description and prevent separation of the Post-it from its folder. These folders also still have original folder labels written on them, which may not reflect their actual contents.

Redacted copies of items containing personally identifiable information were made, and the originals were separated and restricted during 2025 processing.

The born-digital materials in this collection have been processed according to Princeton University Library's Born-Digital Processing Workflows. For more information on the workflow, please read our full Born-Digital Processing Information Note.

Restrictions were removed and original materials interfiled and reintegrated into the collection by Faith Charlton in January 2026.

Access & Use

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

This collection contains digital files, which may require specific software or hardware for access. Refer to our Tips on Accessing Born-Digital Content for information on how to render these file formats.

Credit this material: