Collections

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.

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 Leigh Bienen Papers include the records of the New Jersey Proportionality Review Project, the Illinois Capital Punishment Reform Study Commission, and the academic research papers of legal scholar Leigh Bienen. The New Jersey records contain material from New Jersey Public Defender Homicide Study directed by Bienen in the mid-1980s. The collection also includes the records from Bienen's involvement with the New Jersey Proportionality Review Project headed by Special Master David C. Baldus. Also present is material from Leigh Bienen's tenure on the Illinois Capital Punishment Reform Study Commission which resulted in the abolition of the death penalty in that state in 2011. Finally the collection contains Leigh Bienen's scholarly research material during her career teaching at both Princeton University and Northwestern University. Her research focused on proportionality review, the death penalty's monetary costs, and the role of prosecutor discretion.

This collection documents Leona Train Rienow's professional career as a writer. The papers contain a significant number of drafts of Leona Train Rienow's manuscripts, papers concerning her research for her books and articles, and correspondence files.

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.

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 Margaret Vandiver Papers document Dr. Vandiver's research in capital punishment, involvement with abolitionist organizations, and work with individuals sentenced to death.

The Maryland Citizens Against State Executions (Maryland or MD CASE) Records contain documents from over 25 groups and 1,300 individuals that united to help successfully end the death penalty in Maryland in 2013 through education, grassroots action, and public demonstration. The collection consists of correspondence, meeting minutes, legislation, lobbying materials, subject files, special event and conference materials, case files and clippings.

This collection documents Maurice Hinchey's service as a member of the New York State Assembly and then a United States Congressman from the Hudson Valley of New York.

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.