Sandrine Guérin, Archivist

Sandrine, archivist for the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, joined the library in August 2021 and is responsible for organizing and describing Modern European collections that document artistic and social movements as well as social thought and cultural criticism, with a focus on postwar Europe. 

 

She has a background in social science and her extensive experience in the cultural sector, and diversity, equity, and inclusion have remained core values in her personal and professional life. Sandrine has consistently applied a critical lens to examine and challenge institutional systems and structures. During her time in New York, she actively supported grassroots efforts that addressed social needs within the local community, including immigrants’ rights. 

 

She currently serves on the library’s Reparative Archival Description Working Group (RAD) which makes recommendations for more intentionally using and centering community-approved terminology to increase inclusion, representation, and equitable access to collections. She also serves on the Staff Climate Survey Task Force, which has provided great opportunities to reflect on belonging with her colleagues, with whom she aims to measure employees’ perceptions of and experiences with the library’s organizational culture relating to DEI. Sandrine feels that “listening closely to the experience of employees is a way to identify manifestations of inequity, bias, or exclusion,” and is eager to build staff members’ confidence that sharing their feedback will help drive real change in our organization.  

 

Sandrine feels that is “our personal and professional responsibility to engage critically with processes and culture, continuously assess and seek clarity, apply ethical intentionality, and imagine new models that affirm equity, inclusion, and care at all levels of operations and interpersonal relationships.”