Brenda Lawson, Vice President for Collections

Brenda Lawson, the Vice President for Collections, joined the MHS in 1988 as a manuscript cataloger in a one-year, grant-funded position. She currently oversees the processing and cataloging of manuscript and photograph collections, digital projects, preservation, conservation, and web development, and has supervisory responsibility for the library’s reader services department.  She is also responsible for donor relations and acquisitions and has written and managed numerous federal, state, and private grants.  She received her BA in psychology from Williams College and is a graduate of the Dual Degree Program in Archives Management at Simmons College with an MSLIS in library and information science and an MA in history.  She is active in the archival profession and has served on the Board of New England Archivists and as a member of the Council and Executive Committee of the Society of American Archivists.  She currently serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Northeast Document Conservation Center.  She is a fellow of the MHS and the Colonial Society of Massachusetts.