Holdings
Archival Collections
Printed Primary Sources
Other
The Social Welfare History Archives has acquired over 200 collections of organizational records or personal papers. The collections chronicle the development of a broad range of activities. Included are the classic social services offered to particularly vulnerable classes of persons, e. g., the economically dependent, recent immigrants, migrants and refugees, unwed mothers, abused and abandoned children, the aged, and the developmentally or physically challenged. Beyond these are causes and services aimed at the broader community, many of them not traditionally included in a narrow definition of social welfare: child-rearing advice for parents, recreation programs, community planning, arts programs, preventive health, and family planning. Because of the problem-solving mindset of the service field, the collection as a whole tends to stress times of crises. Coverage is richest in--but not limited to--times of war, depression, or other types of social and economic dislocation. » more
Archival Collections
Collection Summaries
Collection summaries provide a brief overview of almost every collection in the archives. New collections are added periodically. Most summaries include the title, collection number, extent, and dates of the records; a short historical or biographical note; a brief scope and content note on the types of materials in the records and the subjects that they document; a list of subject terms for the records; and a note on whether any access restrictions apply to the records. The summaries are not comprehensive and are intended only to guide researchers to possible sources.
More detailed information is available about the contents of most collections, often in paper finding aids created before the internet era. The archives is gradually converting older detailed finding aids, as well as creating new ones, to make the information accessible online. These are noted on the list of collection titles on the Summaries page and are also listed on a separate Detailed Finding Aids section of this page. Patrons should contact the archives to speak with an archivist to inquire about collections where full online detailed information is not available.
» Link to summaries page.
Collections By Type
The collections have been catagorized into the following groups. Select a collection type to view its respective collections or view the descriptions of each category.
- Personal papers
- Planning and coordination organizations
- Service-provider
- Professional organizations
- Consumer-centered groups
- Projects records
- Publishers
- Oral history collections
Detailed Finding Aids
The Social Welfare History Archives is creating EAD (Encoded Archival Description) finding aids to provide the full detail of the descriptive inventories online. As a temporary measure, these inventories will be listed here as they become available. These are also noted in the list of collection titles on the Collection Summaries page.
- AFL-CIO Department of Community Service Records
- American Public Welfare Association Records
- American Social Health Association Records
- Association of Junior Leagues of America Records
- Association for Voluntary Sterilization Records
- Baden Street Settlement Records
- Bartlett, Harriett, Papers
- Berry, Margaret, Papers
- Big Brothers of America Records
- Bondy, Robert, Papers
- Child Study Association of America Records
- Child Welfare League of America Records
- Dunn, Loula, Papers
- Downtown Welfare Advocacy Center Records
- Family Service of St. Paul Records
- Five Towns Community House Records
- Florence Crittenton Collection
- Hall, Helen, Papers
- Hartley House Records
- Hathway, Marion, Papers
- Henry Street Settlement Records
- Hoehler, Fred, Papers
- Hopkirk, Howard, Papers
- International Social Service American Branch Records
- Kellogg, Paul U., Papers
- Kendall, Katherine, Papers
- Kennedy, Albert J., Papers
- Minneapolis Family and Children's Service Records
- Minneapolis Red Cross Records -
- Minneapolis YWCA Records
- National Conference of Christians and Jews Records
- National Council on Family Relations Records
- National Federation of Settlements and Neighborhood Centers Records
- National Recreation Association Records
- National Youthworker Education Project Records
- Planned Parenthood of Minnesota Records
- Project Girl Records
- Survey Associates Records
- Travelers Aid Society of Minneapolis Records
- United Neighborhood Houses of New York
- United Way of Minneapolis Records
- Youngdahl, Benjamin, Papers
Search Online Finding Aids
A new Search Online Finding Aids web page provides the capability to search across the finding aids of all University of Minnesota Libraries Archives and Special Collections units. Searches can be focused exclusively on Social Welfare History Archives or can include other archives units as well. Please understand that search results are limited to collections whose finding aids have been mounted online. Please consult the Search Tips and the Finding Aids FAQ tabs on the search page for additional information.
Printed Primary Sources
Introduction to Published Resources and Reference Materials
A wide variety of published sources are available to provide an excellent starting point for research in the history of social work and social welfare. In general, these sources are the best starting point for familiarizing oneself with the historical landscape before digging in to unpublished archival sources. Three types of sources are listed: the professional literature of social work; published documentary editions; and reference works focusing on the history of social work and social welfare. In each case, the sources availability at the University of Minnesota is listed - in the Social Welfare History Archives' noncirculating collections and/or in the general, circulating collections of Walter or Wilson Libraries.
» Link to published resources and reference materials.
Pamphlets
Pamphlets, newsletters, and other print/near-print publications constitute an important source of information to supplement the unpublished archival materials on one hand and more formally published books and journals on the other. The Social Work Pamphlets Collection comprises more than 500 linear feet, arranged by publishing agency or organization. Many of the organizations with records in SWHA are also represented in the Pamphlet Collection, as are hundreds of other agencies, to a lesser extent. Titles and authors of selected parts of the collection are listed in an in-house database.
Books and Periodicals
The Social Welfare History Archives maintains a modest reference collection of the core books and journals in the social work field, particularly those written or published by individuals and organizations whose papers and records are held in the archives. This historical professional literature, comprising more than 1,000 books and more than 100 periodical titles, is cataloged in MNCAT, the University of Minnesota's online catalog. To search it go to the U of M Library home page, and select the MNCAT option. An "advanced search" will allow you to restrict your search to SWHA holdings.
Other
Gender Collection
The Gender Collection, formerly known as the Feminist Collection, is a special collection that was developed to gather materials pertaining to the feminist movement, especially during the 1970s. To a lesser extent it documents the men's movement as well. It includes more than 250 periodical titles, ranging from professional journals to newsletters of local groups. The holdings are cataloged cataloged in MNCAT, the University of Minnesota's online catalog. To search it go to the U of M Library home page, and select the MNCAT option. An "advanced search" will allow you to restrict your search to SWHA holdings.
Prohibition and Temperance Collection
The collection consists of a wide variety of published material on temperance, sobriety, the duty of the church, and social and moral issues related to the use of alcohol. The large majority of the 815 pamphlets (1786-ca. 1950) and the 110 books (1827-1960) were published in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A searchable index of titles and authors is available in SWHA.
Digital Images Online
IMAGES is the online digital resource maintained by the University of Minnesota Libraries Digital Collections Unit. It includes selected visual resources from the Libraries' archives and special collections units. At present, the Social Welfare History Archives is represented by its set of social hygiene posters, drawn from the American Social Health Association records.
Digital Images Database (Social Hygiene Posters)