GSE alum travels the world in search of written works in or about Indigenous African languages
BY NICOLE MEHLMAN-DAVIDOW
Dorothy Woodson, MS ’76, has spent her career collecting written works in various languages from the African continent that have begun to disappear as globalization increases.
November 6, 1989. Courtesy, University Archives, University at Buffalo.
As a child, Woodson received a colorful atlas from her parents. When she saw the continent of Africa, she was mesmerized by its shape and thus began a life of interest in faraway places, geography, languages and culture.
“I am sure there were other moments that sparked my interest, but I want to give my parents credit,” joked Woodson. “At seven or eight years old, I remember that atlas distinctly, and for the rest of my education, I knew I wanted to learn more about the countries on the continent.”
This fascination became a passion, and armed with undergraduate and graduate degrees in geography, Woodson made her way to UB to develop her career as a scholar.
“I had an enjoyable path to my career through UB,” said Woodson. “I knew I wanted to enter the library and information program because it was a route to pursue my academic interests. My spouse at the time had a job at UB and that provided me a chance to study and work there.”
Training to become a librarian in the 1970s looked different when Woodson was a student. There were no computers and no Google. She and her colleagues were like detectives as they searched for leads to find written works.
“I was in the program before the internet! We were trained to find information without the use of search engines,” said Woodson. “The most challenging and fulfilling part of the job was when we would find something that had been difficult.”
After completing the program, Woodson worked at UB’s Lockwood Library for 20 years, beginning in 1977. “I was the bibliographer for social sciences, and I was responsible for buying books in those fields. As a research librarian, I helped faculty and students find materials,” said Woodson. “We didn’t have computers when I first started, and even now, much is not available online, so librarians will need that detective work skillset.”
Woodson also was a faculty member at UB, teaching classes about research methods in various subject areas. While a faculty member, Woodson also was part of the faculty senate, and she held positions as secretary and vice chair while also participating on the executive committee.
After being so involved at UB, an offer from Yale University provided Woodson a chance to truly specialize in African studies. She joined the Yale library staff in 2000.
“Yale provided me a wonderful opportunity to concentrate on what I was passionate about. I was responsible for sub-Saharan Africa, while others were also specialized based on other geographic regions,” she explained. “As the curator of African studies, I was responsible for collecting anything published or printed in various countries on the continent.”
The preservation of material written in Indigenous languages became a goal for Woodson, who believes as globalization continues, there is a risk of these languages being lost forever. “Africa is made up of 52 countries, and I think we tend to lump the continent as one country,” she explained. “The reality is that Africa has about a third of the world’s languages. Nigeria alone has 250 or so languages and dialects. At Yale, I tried to collect as many of these items as I could, so that they would be available for future generations.”
Woodson retired from Yale in 2017 and resides in Virginia. However, she still travels frequently. “Everywhere I have been around the world I love, but my heart is in Eswatini and South Africa,” she said.
When asked what advice she would give current students looking into librarianship, Woodson said: “The field offers so many opportunities for students from various disciplines. For example, language majors can become cataloguers, computer majors can work in data-related fields, and those with graduate degrees in the disciplines can specialize in areas related to their subjects."