Collections : [New York State Modern Political Archive]

This series consists primarily of material about watersheds and groundwater in New York State. It contains numerous reports prepared by New York State government agencies, particularly the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department of Health, and their units. This series also contains other studies, newsletters, correspondence, and various photocopied material relating to water resources in New York. A significant amount of material is connected to planning issues.

Series 3 contains correspondence, memos, pamphlets, receipts, and related materials concerning the union, GE, and community issues. The series contains material related to the financial organization of the union and to the strikes of the 1940s, 1960s, and 1980s as well. All strike materials are located in this series with some exceptions. News clippings appear in this series, while full newspapers of are found in Series 5.

Series 5 is composed of publications of Local 301 including IUE-CIO News and IUE-CIO Local 301 News. The newspaper is the only consistent source for information prior to the 1960s and provides background for any history of Local 301. In these newspapers, Local 301 describes its viewpoints on negotiations with management and on other topics of interest to the union and its membership. The first issues of the newspaper are actually issues of the Electrical Workers News, the UE Local 301 newspaper. These issues date from Local 301s initial decision to join the IUE when their admission to the national union had not yet been made official. The collection includes paper, microfilm, and PDF file versions of newspapers. The PDF files are available online and were created from the microfilm copies of Local 301 publications. As there may have been gaps in the publication holdings when the microfilm was created, researchers are encouraged to also check the paper version when a PDF file is not available for individual volumes. The digitization of the Local 301 publications was funded by long-time Local 301 member Helen Quirini. This series also contains strike newspapers from 1954-1971 and 1969- 1979 and recent copies of the IUE/CWA Newsletter.

This series contains the notes, research material, interviews, drafts, news clippings, and memoranda which comprise Mr. Persico's files for his books.

The Nuremberg subseries includes the author's research material, manuscript drafts, correspondence, and promotion for each of the book's editions. Material related to the History Channel documentary Nuremberg: Tyranny on Trial and the TNT television miniseries Nuremberg is also included in this subseries. Note that material related to Persico's promotion of both TNT's Nuremberg and the reissued paperback edition of the book are included in the folder of promotional records for 2000-2001. The Writings subseries includes scripts for the History Channel documentaries "Piercing the Reich: The Deadly Deceivers" and "Nuremberg: Tyranny on Trial" in the "Documentaries, Narration" folder.

Series 3, Rensselaer County Government, provides a chronological record of the League's activities concerning the county government from 1952 to 1982. Some of the subject areas include apportionment, the charter, economic development, fair campaign practices and lobbying. The series contains materials on Know Your Rensselaer County, an effort by the LWVRC to bring awareness to Rensselaer County residents about the county government and electoral process within the county. The LWVRC has been involved in this effort since the 1940s, surveying and evaluating the status of the county government and its projects at any given time. The League was especially interested in public health (tuberculosis in particular), children's services, and the county's welfare administration in the 1940s. However, its interests also included jury selection, election participation, population, economy and local history. In the 1960s, the LWVRC began drafting Know Your Rensselaer County, which provided a portrait of the county's various departments, elected offices, and public projects. In 1972, county voters passed a charter-form of government. As a result, the League would become a sort of "watchdog" group for the implementation and execution of the goals of the charter, as will be seen in Series 6. By 1992, the LWVRC published the Rensselaer County Government Workbook as part of its review of the charter. It also expressed the League's position, supporting the County Charter. The purpose of the workbook was to "share information about the County Charter with students and teachers of High School Participation in Government classes as part of the Bicentennial Commission's Education Program."

Series 7 contains some of the records of the Employee Ownership Project (EOP) from 1982-1996. The records include board meeting agendas and minutes from 1987 to 1996 and committee notes. The budget and finances from 1990-1996 are also included. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany funded EOP and some of the records in the series discuss the non-profit, tax-exempt status of the organization along with its structure. EOP took on initiatives such as Employee Stock Ownership Programs and cooperatives. In this capacity, EOP worked closely with the Industrial Cooperative Association (ICA), whose records are also included in the series.

Of particular interest in the Subject Files are the records of the Legal Redress Committee and the Education Committee. The Legal Redress Committee files are a valuable resource for researchers investigating African Americans and criminal justice in Albany in the 1970s and 1980s. These files contain considerable correspondence from prisoners in correctional facilities throughout New York State, and letters from individuals who felt they had received unfair treatment at the hands of the justice system or at their work because of their race. Researchers will also find documentation of incidents of discrimination in Albany schools and businesses. Also in these files are newspaper clippings from the Times Union and the Knickerbocker News documenting press coverage of incidents and legal cases involving African Americans. The files also include fundraising records for the branch's Legal Fund, established in 1967 to help individuals who could not afford to post bail, and records of the Legal Redress Committee's outreach efforts to educate community members about the arrest process and citizens' legal rights when arrested. Related to the Legal Redress Committee Files are the following folders: Arrest Pamphlet (1979-1985), Bail Bill (1974-1977), and Bail Workshop (1980-1981). The Education Committee files document key events in the history of Albany's public school system in the 1960s and 1970s, along with the NAACP's involvement in these events. There are newspaper clippings, meeting minutes and agenda, and related materials, along with Harry Hamilton's notes, on these happenings, which include the creation of Arbor Hill Elementary School and the new Albany High School (at 700 Washington Avenue), and the transition from three to two Albany middle schools. The Executive Board Committee files (1977-1987) contain extensive information about the activities of the NAACP; they consist of meeting minutes and agenda, newspaper clippings, NAACP newsletters, correspondence, administrative records, and Harry Hamilton's notes on all of the above. Those interested in the Branch's history may wish to consult the History file (1976-1985). While not extensive, it contains material related to Harry Hamilton's research on the history of the Branch that he did while writing the brief history of the organization that was included in the 1985 Freedom Fund program. It includes several letters from past presidents of the Albany branch reflecting upon their tenures as President.

The State Council Meetings include meeting minutes, cassette recordings of some State Council meetings, memoranda, agendas, correspondence, bylaws, newsletters, and State Convention and State Executive Committee minutes. The State Council Meetings document the structure, function, and activities of the state and local chapters, issues of concern to NOW-NYS on subjects ranging from abortion to education, and provide insight into the running of this state-wide women's network.

The NOW-NYS Feminist Publications Collection series contains periodicals and journals issued by a wide range of women's and feminist groups. Feminist publications include Speak Out (1972-1977), the Spokeswoman (1970-1977), and the Feminist Majority (1972-1998, with gaps), dealing with gay and lesbian rights, reproductive rights, abortion, rape and radical political ideology. The series also includes periodicals dealing with reproductive health care and civil rights such as Family Planning/Population Reporter (1975-1977) and Response to Violence and Sexual Abuse in the Family (1979-1981) Civil Rights Quarterly-Perspectives (1981).