Seven Books Every Girl Scout Historian Should Have

Intended for repositories with far larger budgets than most Girl Scout archives, but the basic info on exhibit design will benefit any reader. Extensive illustrations and examples.

Expensive; look for used copies.  

Excellent go-to reference book. Provides clear instructions and succinct definitions for the amateur archivist. A standard work for “Intro to Archives” courses. Also expensive. Look for used copies.  

Bonus Points: Clever title

The back cover says it all: “A comprehensive handbook for those interested in investigating the history of communities, families, local institutions, and cultural artifacts.”  Great tips on how to plug Girl Scouts into local history.

This 2005 book from the Smithsonian Institution can be difficult to locate, but it’s worth the effort. There are few things that the book does not cover. Need to preserve macaroni art? It’s in here. Also covers fundamentals of storage such as light and temperature.

Take the dolls chapter out of the Collector’s Guide and quadruple it in length and the result is this comprehensive guide. Extensive color photos make identification quick, and the book includes licensed dolls not necessarily available from the Girl Scout catalog. The book was published in 2003, so the estimated values are not realistic.

Bonus Points: Published in my home town, Paducah, KY

Covers 100 years of Girl Scouting in the Washington DC area. Also includes Girl Scout basics and GSUSA events and buildings in the capital city. More than just a pictorial history, the captions provide detailed information about programs, camps, and more.

Bonus Points: Yes, I wrote it.

This book is the primary reference work for Girl Scout historians, with detailed information about uniforms, badges, publications, and more. My copy is full of comments, notes, and post-it flags. Unfortunately, the most recent edition was published in 2005. There is no 3rd edition.

Did history stop in 2005? Hardly. What has happened since 2005? The Girl Scout Leadership Experience program, journeys, an entirely new series of badges, troop crests, and handbooks. Two CEOs, three national presidents, five conventions, and our 100^th birthday. Realignment, anyone?  

A girl born when the most recent Guide was published would now be on the brink of bridging to the Ambassador level. But wait, there’s no mention of Ambassadors in the Guide because that level was only created in 2008. 

The Collector’s Guide never hit the best-seller lists, but its value to the movement should not be dismissed. A new volume could be subsidized, grant-funded, or perhaps live online.

Girl Scouts are supposed to use resources wisely. Hopefully these reference works will provide some guidance for the women (and men) tasked with preserving our past.

©2019 Ann Robertson