3 Dear Diary: Discovering the Potential in the Personal

Diaries provide readers with an intimate look into the thoughts, feelings, and day-to-day lives of individuals. A diary’s potential for use in research is not limited to the personal, however. Depending on the original creators’ choices, diaries may also document historic details of a time period as well as events, organizations, and communities from a given era, geographic area, or culture. This general overview introduces readers to the versatility of diaries as resources and provides questions and techniques to help use diaries in research more effectively.

Getting Started

When working with diaries, inspecting and skimming the diary can provide important information and insight right from the start before conducting a thorough read of the contents. During an initial examination consider these questions:

What is the format of the diary?

Typically, diaries are notebooks full of pages for the owner to fill with information. Some are created specifically to be diaries; they may be bound with a lock for privacy, include dated pages for the entries, and feature cover designs that label the book as a “diary” explicitly. However, with advancements in technology, diaries are not always handwritten documents anymore. They could be typed or even audiovisual in nature. The format of the diary might seem inconsequential, but all of the particulars about the diary could be useful for determining details such as the date of creation or information about the creator, especially if records related to the diary are minimal.

What types of content does the diary include?

Did the creator only write in the diary or were other elements incorporated? Are there drawings or photographs? Did the creator cut out newspaper clippings and add them to the diary? All of this is important visual information to consider and could provide missing details for the researcher about not only the creator but also their home, family, friends, hobbies, and much more.         

When and where was the diary created?

Researchers may have this information before ever encountering the diary if it is recorded in a library catalog record or finding aid. However, an archival collection could contain multiple diaries from one creator that are from different years and could document the creator’s life in different parts of the world. Often a quick glance at a few pages is enough to establish the date; if not, it can be useful to look for diary entries on major holidays. For example, did the creator mention the year in the entry for New Year’s Even or New Year’s Day? Determining where the diary was created could be more challenging, however. A good tip is to look for noted locations: not just towns and cities but also names of landmarks, universities, museums, and other prominent institutions.

Who was the original owner and creator?

Again, a library catalog record may have this information readily available for researchers. If not, information about the creator’s identity can be ascertained in other ways. Does the creator mention a vocation? Is there information about a significant other, children, or other family members? Are there any descriptions of clothing or accessories worn by the creator? All of these details help build a picture of the person writing, and the information could be used to make an educated guess about unknown aspects as well.

Going Deeper

After a cursory examination of the diary, it is time to start reading and dive into the world of the creator more thoroughly. While reading, it is helpful to consider:

• Is there additional information emerging about the who, when, and where of the diary?
• How do new details change or confirm early theories about the creator and their environment?
• What questions persist? Are there new questions forming?

This step of careful, thoughtful reading is where the diary can become more than a resource for an individual. The creator’s documentation choices impact what information is available, but paying attention to certain details can provide important insights about communities and beyond.

Community Connections

People are rarely completely isolated. In addition to family and friends, the creator may describe the community around them. Does the creator write about their community? Are there entries in the diary that mention local businesses, social groups, charitable organizations, churches, or schools? Does the creator write about attending community gatherings and events such as dinners, sporting events, parades, or festivals? Did notable visitors like speakers, politicians, or activists come to the area? Was the community a stop for a touring musician, band, or theater company? All this and more might be documented by someone writing about their day-to-day life.

Changing Times

Society is constantly evolving, creating, and exploring. While it may not be the first resource to come to mind, a diary can provide information about some of these developments such as reactions to historical events, changing technologies and their adoption, and what was going in and out of style in fashion, at least on a small scale. Does the diary have information about the political climate of the time, such as an entry about recent legislation or an election? Was the diary created during a time of war or a significant social movement? Is there information about transportation being used by the creator: a car versus a horse and buggy, for instance? Does the creator write about lacing a corset or wearing hoops under a skirt, indicating these are fashionable items? While an individual is not representative of an entire community, these details provide insight into available technologies and styles as well as their adoption in different areas.

Get Stuck?

While they are useful documents, diaries are not without their challenges which may discourage some researchers from using these resources and seeing their full potential as a source for information. Some common hurdles are considered below.

So Little Time, So Much to Do

Unlike other resources, diaries do not have a table of contents or index to guide researchers to specific information within their pages. Working with diaries requires time and careful reading to discover the details which means planning ahead when it comes to research.

If an instructor is introducing a diary in a classroom setting, consider selecting certain diary entries or creating a transcription for students to review since time will be limited. This requires significant time and preparation by the instructor but enables easier and faster access in class.

Size and Stability

Often diaries are quite compact. While this feature is handy for portability and handling, the size can make reading a diary difficult. Small size means limited page space so entries may be compressed, have sentences running off the edge of a page, or even overlap in parts. If the diary’s content is too small to read, it can be helpful to grab a magnifying glass or even take a photograph to enable zooming in on specific details (if photographs are allowed).

Additionally, working with the original diary is not always an option due to the item’s condition. With age and use comes fragility, so researchers may need to rely on a digitized facsimile or transcription. However, these stand-in options are not always readily available for researchers as digitization and transcriptions take significant time to produce.

How can you read this?

A creator’s penmanship can challenge researchers as well. Not everyone has legible handwriting and older diaries are often faded or discolored due to age and use, adding further difficulties. When unsure of a word, it helps to look at the rest of the content. Are there similarities in the shape of certain letters in a known word? Also consider what is happening in the diary entry. Does the creator mention a specific activity? Is there a recognizable vocabulary related to this activity? This contextual information may provide clarity.

Additionally, writing practices such as the use of cursive may create readability issues for researchers who are less familiar with these techniques. Guides for writing in cursive can help researchers by providing examples of the formation of different letters (as well as any variations that may exist). This is another area where considering the contextual information mentioned previously may help as well.

While discussing different writing practices throughout history, it is also important to note that spelling conventions in the past were not always what they are now in terms of standardization. Words in diary entries may appear misspelled or a researcher may notice multiple spellings for the same word. In these instances, researchers may reach certain conclusions about the education or intelligence of the creator based on these perceived mistakes. However, those apparent errors and inconsistencies could be merely a product of the time period when the diary was created, an example of why the historical context is important to consider and understand.

Private! Keep out!

Someone keeping a diary probably did not intend for their words to be read, especially not by researchers many years later. As a result, the diary may contain abbreviations and notations that are unknown to and indecipherable for present-day readers. Once again, context clues are helpful. Do other aspects of what is being recorded give you some ideas? Does an earlier entry include the full name of a person or organization that matches the abbreviation? Are any of the abbreviations used by well-known organizations?

Another helpful tip for these moments of confusion is to make a list of names and abbreviations occurring in the diary. Having a list handy makes it easier to refer back to people, places, and events that were mentioned; a list also serves as a place to keep track of questions and where further research is necessary to answer them.

A note on further research: It is important to remember that diaries are not impartial accounts. These items were intended for private use; how the creator conveys information and what they choose to share and emphasize is their experience and interpretation of events. While a diary can provide interesting and helpful insight, it is important to remember that corroborating information through other sources is necessary due to biases in individual recollections.

The intended privacy of a diary does not just make readability a challenge; it also presents questions about the ethics surrounding research use. If a diary was donated to a library or archive, a donor may ask for the diary to be restricted for a period of time or for access to be granted under certain conditions or with certain permissions. These measures help protect the privacy of not only the diary’s creator but also people mentioned in the diary, especially those still living. However, it is common for there to be few to no restrictions when it comes to access or use. In that case, are the contents of the diary open for use? Legally, yes, with the correct attributions, but is it ethically appropriate to share the private thoughts and experiences of someone, particularly someone long ago deceased who can no longer consent? This is a gray area in many ways and, as such, should be approached thoughtfully.

Diaries are resources full of possibility as well as challenges. While far from exhaustive in terms of all the information and insight researchers may find helpful, hopefully this overview provides a starting point for those looking to discover the potential in the personal.

Additional Readings

Caswell, Michelle, and Marika Cifor. 2016. “From Human Rights to Feminist Ethics: Radical Empathy in the Archives”. Archivaria 81 (May), 23-43. https://archivaria.ca/index.php/archivaria/article/view/13557., archived September 9, 2024, at https://web.archive.org/web/20240909153134/https://archivaria.ca/index.php/archivaria/article/view/13557.