Collections

The Public Employees Federation (PEF) was founded in 1979 to represent members of the Professional, Scientific, and Technical (PS&T) bargaining unit of New York State. PS&T employees had formerly been represented by CSEA, the state's largest public employee union. PEF founders believed that the concerns of the PS&T unit were not adequately represented by CSEA, the majority of whose members were non-professional state employees. PEF's stated mission is to "provide the leadership necessary for PEF members to achieve employment security, higher wages, better working conditions, and improved retirement benefits." Materials in this collection document PEF activities at both the state and division level. There is extensive coverage of executive board activities from 1978 through mid-2000, annual conventions, committee meetings, and contract negotiations. Also included are files for PEF Division 169, PEF's Environmental Conservation Division. These include correspondence, agendas and minutes for labor/management meetings, material on committees, and administrative files. This collection also documents the activities of reform groups and political parties within PEF (most notably, the Statewide Coalition for a Democratic Union) and PEF's relationships with its national affiliates, the Service Employees International Union and the American Federation of Teachers. Particularly strong is the collection of bulletin board postings, which includes almost everything posted on Division 169 PEF bulletin boards from 1979 through 2000. There are also official PEF publications, including a near-complete run of PEF's official monthly newsletter to members, The Communicator.

The New York StateWide Senior Action Council records document the issues faced by senior citizens in New York State over the course of almost three decades. The bulk of the records consist of subject files in the areas of health care, Medicare, and social security issues. In addition to topical material, these records document the fundraising activities of the organization and its various sub-groups. Notably included are publications issued by the organization, including the Sentinel newsletter (1992-1996) and the Senior Action newspaper (1977-1991). The bulk of the material, found in the subject files, is useful for documenting issues about which NYSSAC was active. NYSSAC's work with New York state legislators, as well as government and private agencies in advocating for seniors and social justice issues, and their outreach efforts in education and advocacy, are well documented throughout the collection. Records of the activities of Executive Directors Michael Burgess and Bonnie Ray are the most prominent in the collection.

The School of Social Welfare Records document the history and day-to-day operations of the School at the University at Albany since its first full year of operation in 1964 through 2000.

The collection documents the day-to-day work of the Sierra Club's Atlantic Chapter over three and a half decades.

The Sigma Pi Phi, Beta Psi Boulé Records document the history and day-to-day operations of the Beta Psi Boulé. A professional fraternity, Sigma Pi Phi was founded on May 15, 1904 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and its members are distinguished African American men with college and graduate degrees. Beta Psi is the fraternity's 69th Boulé founded on May 5, 1984 in the Capital District of New York.

From its formation in 1966 in Albany, New York, the Society of Bibliophiles aimed to encourage and foster a love of books along with an appreciation for the art of bookmaking. The Society of Bibliophiles arranged trips to various lectures and exhibits both within and outside of the Albany area, and arranged meetings and events at which books were the central focus. The collection consists of records produced between 1966 and 2002, and includes newsletters and announcements, organizational documents, materials from various sites visited and events, information about booksellers and bookbinders, as well as a number of other general administrative documents.

The Student Association Records contains records documenting the proceedings of the UAlbany Student Association from its inception in 1921 to 2020. This collection contains records that relate to the changing duties, functions, and governmental structure of the Student Association.

The Capital District Transgender Community Archive Collection contains material pertaining to local trangender history. This collections contains a large variety of publications about transgenderism.

Tenants and Neighbors is a statewide coalition of New York's tenants and tenant associations that fight for tenants' rights and affordable housing for all people. The origins of Tenants and Neighbors dates to a meeting of tenant and housing activists from across the state in August 1972 at St. Rose College in Albany, N.Y. By December 1974, a formal organization was developed by housing and tenant activists across the state that drew up by-laws and created the original name as the New York Tenants Coalition. The first statewide membership meeting was held in February 1975. In 1995, the organization changed its name to New York State Tenants and Neighbors. The collection includes: minutes, annual reports, newsletter and other publications, legislative and organizational memoranda, press releases, clippings, video and press coverage.

The Thomas Nattell papers document the life of a mental health worker and political activist active during the 1980s and 1990s in Albany, New York. He created and participated in organizations like the Albany Peace and Energy Council (APEC) and the Three Guys From Albany poetry troupe. He also acted as promoter and event coordinator for movie showings, poetry open mics and an annual 24-hour poetry reading alongside a coinciding international postcard art event. Nattell used poetry and other arts to advance world peace, anti-nuclear power and proliferation, and environmental issues. This collection contains videos of events, photographs, scrapbooks full of art and poetry mailed from around the world to Nattell, subject files with research on topics related to his professional work as well as his activism, poetry, correspondence, and clippings.