Margaret Schaus

Margaret Schaus serves as the Lead Research and Instruction Librarian at Haverford College, where she oversees academic support for undergraduate research and library operations. She earned a Master’s in Medieval Studies from the University of Toronto and a Master’s in Library and Information Science from UC Berkeley. Her work centers on medieval women’s history and gender studies, exemplified through the Feminae database she founded in 1996, which catalogs over 44,000 records on medieval women and gender topics.

Her office features notable artifacts including a Renaissance-era St. Sebastian painting and a 19th-century nursery rhyme pressed glass set gifted by Professor Sue Stuard. Schaus actively mentors students, particularly those conducting senior theses in history, political science, and classics. She emphasizes the importance of adaptability in research, as seen in Meaghan Ryan’s thesis on Venetian female poets and visual culture.

Her scholarly contributions include encyclopedic works like Women and Gender in Medieval Europe and articles exploring research practices in literature and languages. She has supervised over 70 students through internships and research assistantships, maintaining the Feminae database with their assistance.

Family memorabilia in her office reflects her personal history, including photos of her daughter Amelia (a Ph.D. student at Penn studying classical reception) and son Anselm (a Tokyo-based translator).