Collections

This collection documents the seventeen-year period (1974-1991) concerning the Florida capital punishment case of Alvin Ford. The collection primarily contains the court records and research material of Ford's attorney, Laurin A. Wollan, Jr., as well as other members of the Ford defense team who began work on the case in 1981. The legal records include official court proceedings from the initial trial in 1974, appeals, attempts at clemency, and several cases by Ford against the Florida Department of Corrections. Other legal records include psychological reports, background reports, biographies of Ford, as well as his prison and medical records.

The Committee for Progressive Legislation records document the efforts of the group in bringing attention to issues important to many New Yorkers, especially abortion, family planning, welfare rights, and the attack on separation of church and state.

This collection documents the life, work and activism of Helen Quirini of Schenectady, New York. The collection represents Quirini's numerous activities and interests including her early work owning a local market with her brother, her 39 year employment for General Electric, her activism in unions during her employment and retirement, as well as her charitable activities where she pursued civil, housing, pension, women's and senior citizen's rights.

The records of the New York State Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors trace the development of mental healthcare throughout the state from the early 1950s through the beginning of the twenty-first century. Established in the mid-1970s, the Conference's records include correspondence, memos, meeting minutes, reports, and manuals that chronicle the efforts of mental health professionals as they encourage local, county, and state agencies to provide quality, affordable services for persons living with mental illness, chemical dependency, and/or developmental disability.