{{Short description|American archivist}}{{Infobox person | name = Mary Givens Bryan | birth_name = Mary Eugenia Givens | birth_date = September 3, 1910 | birth_place = LaGrange, Georgia, U.S. | death_date = July 28, 1964 | death_place = Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | occupation = Archivist, lobbyist }} '''Mary Eugenia Givens Bryan''' (September 3, 1910 – July 28, 1964) was an American archivist and the director of the [[Georgia Archives|Georgia Department of Archives and History]] from 1951 to 1964. She was president of the [[Society of American Archivists]] from 1959 to 1960.
== Early life and education == Bryan was born in [[La Grange, Georgia]] in 1910, the daughter of Young Clyde Givens and Janie Lou Cox Givens.<ref name="GAWomen" /> She was raised in [[Decatur, Georgia|Decatur]], outside of Atlanta.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=H. G.|title=In Memoriam Mary Givens Bryan, 1910-1964|journal=American Archivist|date=October 1964|volume=27|issue=4|page=505|doi=10.17723/aarc.27.4.k8257nx455568059|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Groover |first=Robert L. |date=1967 |title=Protector of Georgia Heritage: The Story of Mary Givens Bryan |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40578872 |journal=The Georgia Historical Quarterly |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=1–14 |issn=0016-8297}}</ref> She attended [[Mount de Sales Academy (Georgia)|Mount de Sales Academy]], [[Emory University]] and the [[Georgia College & State University|Women's College of Georgia]]. She earned diplomas in archival administration and records management from [[American University]] in the 1950s.<ref name="GAWomen" />
== Career == Bryan joined the staff of the Department of Archives and History in 1934, She worked her way from the position of clerk to director and state archivist over the course of a thirty-year career.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Martin|first1=Harold H.|title=Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events, 1940s-1970s|date=2011|publisher=Atlanta Historical Society|location=Atlanta|isbn=978-0-8203-3906-1|page=414}}</ref> During her tenure as director she worked towards preserving records on microfiche to save space, and advocated for the construction of a state archives building,<ref name=":1" /> She spoke to community groups throughout the state and on radio and television programs about the need for modern facilities to house the state's historical records. She sometimes brought along papers from the archives that had been damaged by water leaks and squirrels, to demonstrate the current unsuitable conditions.<ref name=":0" /> The new state archives building was completed a year after her death in October 1965.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Carmicheal|first1=David W.|title=Building on the Past: Construction of the New Georgia Archives|journal=Provenance, Journal of the Society of Georgia Archivists|date=January 2005|volume=23|issue=1|pages=9–10|url=http://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1073&context=provenance|accessdate=2016-08-02}}</ref>
Bryan was an active member of the Society of American Archivists, serving as a member of Council from 1957 to 1958, and as president of the organization from 1959 to 1960.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of SAA Leadership|url=http://www2.archivists.org/history/leaders|publisher=Society of American Archivists|accessdate=2016-08-02}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pacifico |first=Michele |date=1987-07-01 |title=Founding Mothers: Women in the Society of American Archivists, 1936-1972 |url=https://american-archivist.kglmeridian.com/view/journals/aarc/50/3/article-p370.xml |journal=The American Archivist |language=en |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=370–389 |doi=10.17723/aarc.50.3.n755rh1061409085 |issn=0360-9081}}</ref> She was a witness in the trial of Robert Bradford Murphy, who was convicted of possessing documents stolen from the [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]] in 1964.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harrell |first=Bob |date=1968-02-21 |title=History Caught Up With 'Dr. Murphy' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-history-caught/197322018/ |access-date=2026-05-11 |work=The Atlanta Constitution |pages=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
== Publications ==
* ''A report on archival, historical and museum activities in Georgia on the State and local level'' (1955)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bryan |first=Mary Givens |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/102685169 |title=A report on archival, historical and museum activities in Georgia on the State and local level |last2= |first2= |date=1955 |location=Atlanta |via=HathiTrust}}</ref> * "Trends of Organization in State Archives" (1958)<ref>Bryan, Mary. [https://american-archivist.kglmeridian.com/meridian/americanarchivist/published/rest/pdf-watermark/v1/journals/aarc/21/1/article-p31.pdf/watermark-pdf/ "Trends of organization in State archives."] ''The American Archivist'' 21, no. 1 (1958): 31-36.</ref> * ''Passports issued by governors of Georgia, 1785 to 1809'' (1959)<ref>Bryan, Mary Givens. ''Passports Issued by Governors of Georgia, 1785 to 1809''. No. 21. National Genealogical Society, 1959.</ref>
== Personal life and legacy == Givens married history professor T. Conn Bryan in 1948; they divorced in 1951. She died from [[Nephritic syndrome|acute nephritis]] in 1964, at the age of 53, in Atlanta.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1964-07-29 |title=Rites Set for Archives Director Mrs. Bryan |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-journal-rites-set-for-archiv/197322385/ |access-date=2026-05-11 |work=The Atlanta Journal |pages=44 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> In 2021 Bryan was inducted into the [[Georgia Women of Achievement]] Hall of Fame.<ref name="GAWomen">{{cite web|title=Mary Givens Bryan|url=https://www.georgiawomen.org/bryan-mary-givens|publisher=Georgia Women of Achievement|access-date=2021-01-22 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122232208/https://www.georgiawomen.org/bryan-mary-givens|archive-date=2021-01-22}}</ref> Besides a collection at the Georgia Archives,<ref>[https://georgiaarchives.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/2/resources/840 Mary Givens Bryan Memorial Correspondence], Georgia Archives.</ref> there is a collection of her papers in the Bryan-Lang Archives in [[Camden County, Georgia|Camden County]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Collection: Mary Givens Bryan papers |url=https://bla.libraryhost.com/repositories/2/resources/3 |access-date=2026-05-11 |website=Bryan-Lang Archives}}</ref> There is also a folder of correspondence from Bryan in the Special Collections Library at the [[University of Georgia]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mary Givens Bryan Georgia State Archives collection, 1953-1966 - Arclight |url=https://sclfind.libs.uga.edu/catalog/ms701 |access-date=2026-05-11 |website=Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Authority control}} {{Georgia Women of Achievement}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Mary G.}} [[Category:1910 births]] [[Category:1964 deaths]] [[Category:Emory University alumni]] [[Category:American archivists]] [[Category:American women archivists]] [[Category:Presidents of the Society of American Archivists]] [[Category:20th-century American archivists]]