Collections

The papers of Joseph Persico focus on his careers as a full-time author and as a political speechwriter for New York State Commissioner of Health, Hollis Ingraham, and New York State Governor, Nelson Rockefeller.

The collection includes materials related to the women's issues with a particular emphasis on the University at Albany, SUNY. Records of particular interest are those of Albany Women Against Rape, Capital District Women, and the Caucus on Women's Rights at SUNY. Also included are issues of the publication The Spokeswoman (1971-1981).

The records of the League of Women Voters of Albany County (LWVAC), include material produced by the LWVAC as well as material that was produced by the League of Women Voters of New York State and the League of Women Voters of the United States. The most comprehensive series in the collection is the Administrative Files. There are meeting minutes, annual reports, and Board of Directors lists from 1940-2001. A large portion of the LWVAC collection relates to the two main purposes of the organization: voter service and "study and action." Records relating to voter service include pamphlets with information about candidates and citizen voting rights published by the LWVAC and material used to increase voter participation. Records related to "study and action" include material used by the LWVAC to inform citizens about public policy issues locally, statewide, and nationally. A strength of the LWVAC collection is the amount of material related to various public policy issues and how they affected the local community.

The Libby Post Papers contain political campaign documents, professional correspondences, news clippings, meeting minutes, agendas, document drafts, press releases, news letters, civil activism notes, and other materials that document her involvement securing various LGBT rights and with political organizations, as well as the general LGBT community in Albany, NY.

The M.C. Lawton Civic and Cultural Club Records showcase the operations of the first black organization in Albany that was actively involved in community service and educational advancement, which was founded in 1919.

The majority of the Menands Book Club Records consists of meeting and treasurer notes and program schedules. There also is correspondence, club histories and an information packet of the village of Menands, NY Anniversary.

The Michelle Crone Papers document her experience as a feminist and lesbian activist from the early 1980s until the mid-1990s. The collection includes material from here position as National Civil Disobedience Coordinator for the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, and as a member of the Executive Committee for the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation. Also present are records from Michelle Crone's management of a number of women's festivals from 1982 to 1996—most notably Rhythm Fest and the Cultural Festival at Gay Games IV—and records from her Capital District production company, Elword Productions. The collection also includes the records from her experience with the Seneca Women's Encampment for a Future of Peace and Justice, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and the National Lesbian Conference. Also included are her personal correspondence, records of her undergraduate studies with the theater and women's studies programs at the University at Albany, SUNY, and political literature from a number of progressive causes at the national and local levels.

The National Organization for Women--Albany, N.Y. Chapter Records document the daily activities and special events involving the chapter as well as the chapter's interactions with the state and federal organizations.

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 Center was formed in 1981 by an alliance of non-profit activist organizations in order to provide a central location, office space, and basic services for activist groups in Albany, New York.