Collections

This collection contains administrative files, correspondence, newsletters, subject files and meeting minutes from the Capital Area Council of Churches, an organization designed to promote cooperation between different religious institutions in the Albany, N.Y. area.

The collection documents the City Club of Albany and primarily contains organizational records from 1957-1959, mainly concerned with issues of the Citizen's Platform. The collection is composed chiefly of files retained by Harriet D. Adams as vice president of the club when it was particularly interested in urban planning.

Subject files largely consisting of retained records of local organizations dedicated to preserving Albany, New York historic neighborhoods and architecture as well as the Pine Bush.

The John Wolcott Papers document the revival of the historic Pinxter Festival in Albany, New York between 1972-1992.

The Joseph L. Norton Papers include notes, correspondence, memoranda, newsletters, publications, and other materials documenting Norton's work as a SUNY Albany professor, a counselor, a teacher, and an activist in the gay community.

This collection details the social activism of Malcolm Willison in New York State's Capital Region. As an active board member of several local groups, his papers contain minutes, financial statements and budgets, programming ideas, brochures, planning notes, articles and reports, and clippings that detail the evolution of the various organizations contained in the collection. Organizational newsletters and event flyers, course and conference information planned by Willison in his capacity on executive boards, and vast amounts of correspondence about any number of events and issues are also part of the scope of the collection.

The Pine Hills Fortnightly Club was founded by Miss Mary M. Shaw in 1898 as a woman's literary and social club. According to the Club's earliest Constitution, "Its object shall be the study of history, literature and art and the literary and social entertainment of its members."

The Women's Building collection records the formation and day-to-day administrative and programming activities of the Women's Building and its predecessor, the Tri-City Women's Center. The organization provided a safe space for community groups to meet and organize, and informational and educational programming to support the women of the Capital District. Inspired by a feminist perspective and driven by a commitment to social justice, the Women's Building provided physical meeting and office space to local organizations and programming and informational services on financial planning, legal issues, parenthood, childbirth, and women's health. The collection includes administrative records and programming material from the organization's inception in the early 1970s until 2000.

The collection documents the history of the YWCA of Albany, which was founded in 1888 by a group of women led by Mrs. Acors Rathbun in order to provide housing and recreational activities for young women searching for work. Through the years, the organization expanded to include classes, childcare, athletics, essay contests, teen issue programs, and an annual awards dinner honoring women. Strengths include the extensive photographic material and meeting minutes from the board of trustees and directors. The collection is weakest at the beginning and end of the YWCA of Albany's existence.