Collections

Founded in 1920, the League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization that informs citizens about government, encourages their participation, and seeks to influence public policy through education and advocacy. One of nearly 60 local leagues in New York State, the League of Women Voters of Saratoga County (formerly the League of Women Voters, Saratoga Springs Area) formed in early 1965. This collection documents the operation and activities of this local league from its founding through 2010.

The collection consists of correspondence, newspaper clippings and magazine articles, 1938-1973, related to the career of Erich Maria Remarque, a German-born writer most famous for his 1929 work All Quiet on the Western Front.

The Capital Defender Office (1995-2008) (CDO) was established as part of New York States 1995 death penalty legislation which took effect on September 1, 1995. Under the new law, the State expanded the crime of first degree murder and introduced two new penalties, death and life in prison without possibility of parole, for those convicted. Working from offices in Albany, New York City, and Rochester, the CDO sought to ensure that defendants being tried by the State, who could not afford representation, receive skilled counsel in capital cases. The CDO closed its Rochester office in 2005, and, as no state death penalty cases remain, the Albany and New York City offices in 2008. This collection consists of news clips (filed by subject), subject files, bound records of appeal in the cases of the People v. Cahill, Harris, LaValle, Mateo, McCoy, and Taylor, notebooks with appellate briefs, New York county court papers arranged by county, government studies, reports and debates on capital punishment, annual reports, and a small number of VHS tapes recording court proceedings. There are defendant case files, some with correspondence, court papers, and news clips and others with just news clips.

This collection documents Equal Justice USA's efforts to abolish capital punishment and reform the criminal justice system nationwide.

The William Kennedy Papers document nearly a half century of research, writing, and publishing efforts of the internationally recognized, Pulitzer Prize winning author, playwright, essayist, journalist, script writer, professor, and champion of the arts. The collection consists of records related to all of Kennedy's fiction and nonfiction books through 2002, including his "Albany Cycle" of novels, film scripts, essays, and newspaper articles from the Albany . In addition, there is correspondence with other significant authors of American literature, biographical materials, and records documenting a trip to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland with President Bill Clinton.

The Tanya M. Melich Papers contain materials relating to the political landscape of the United states throughout the latter half of the twentieth century, as well as various social movements with a particular emphasis on Women's rights.

The Ernest Curto Papers document Curto's service in the New York State Assembly, as a representative of Niagara County (N.Y.), where he served from 1946-1964. The collection includes correspondence, subject files, and legislation from his tenure.

The Frederic S. Berman Papers predominantly document his service in the New York State Senate through correspondence, newsclippings, bills, research material and campaign literature. In addition, there are files pertaining to his post-Senatorial career as the Commissioner of the New York City Rent and Housing Department and as a New York City Criminal Court Judge.