THE BARNARD COLLEGE ARCHIVES
Located on the ground level of Adele Lehman Hall, the Barnard College Archives was founded in 1963 as the permanent repository for the records of the College from the 1880’s to the present day. The Archives documents the history of the College from its founding in 1889, with the earliest records dating from 1883. The repository holds records of the Board of Trustees; administrative offices and departments; architectural drawings; audio and visual material; biographical files; publications and an assortment of ephemera, framed artwork and artifacts--ranging from caps and gowns to plaques and ceremonial trowels.
Board of Trustees, Barnard College Records
The Archives also maintains a list of the Barnard College Trustees with
their dates of service, as well as Trustee biographical files (not comprehensive) and
a small collection of Trustee personal papers.
The records of the Board of Trustees range from 1883 to the present. Some of the earliest records of the College are to be found in this record group. Highlights of the collection include such early records as the 1883 Memorial to the
Columbia College Board of Trustees to admit women, the original charters and statutes of Barnard College, correspondence surrounding the founding and formation of the College, financial appeals, minutes of the Board of Trustees and their committees, and reports of the Dean and Treasurer.
Chief Administrators
Found here are the records of Barnard’s first chief administrator, Ella Weed –a charter member of the Board of Trustees, member of the Executive Committee, and Chairman of the Academic Committee. As Marian Churchill White writes in A History of Barnard College, “Barnard had no Dean at first, but actually Miss Weed served in the capacity.” Additionally, the records of the Office of the Dean, spanning from 1894-1952, and the Office of the President, 1952-present, are found here. A list of the College's past leaders is found here [click here].
Administrative
and Departmental Records
Records include Associate Alumnae, Office of Development, Office of Public Relations, Office of Provost, Registrar, Building and Grounds, and the Barnard Library. The Archives also maintains records of the Departments of History, Anthropology, Botany, English, Psychology, Physical Education, and Dance; and the Center for Research on Women, the First-Year Seminar Program, the Experimental College, and the Program in the Arts. In addition to the above, the Archives holds biographical files (non comprehensive)
for faculty and alumnae.
Publications
Publications of various stripes have a rich history at Barnard. Currently operating are the Barnard Bulletin, a biweekly news and features magazine; the Mortarboard, Barnard’s yearbook; Echoes, a general-interest literary journal; the Jester, a humor magazine; and the Proxy, a semesterly publication geared toward African-American students. Throughout its history, Barnard has been home to a variety of other publications as well.
[click here]
Scrapbooks
A number of alumnae have donated their college scrapbooks to the Archives. These contain old photographs, programs for college plays and musicals, reviews of Broadway shows, and clippings about Barnard from the daily press, as well as notices, invitations, and programs created for teas, receptions, concerts, lectures, and dances. To see a
list of the scrapbooks [click here].
Audio and Visual Materials Collection
The Archives maintains a sizable visual materials collection. We house photographic prints and negatives from the late 1800s to the early 2000s; lantern slides; color slides; motion picture film; videotapes and DVDs. We are also the repository for a portion of the college’s fine art holdings, including framed artworks and three-dimensional artifacts, architectural drawings, posters, and prints. The audio collection includes speeches, lectures, and radio programs dating from the 1930’s to the present
[Click here for online exhibitions].
Undergraduate
Association Papers
Dating from 1904 onward, the papers of the Barnard College Undergraduate Association record the activities of the student government, as well as those of a changing roster of clubs. Documents include the Reports of the Student Curriculum Committee for 1938-1958 and a student poll on the curriculum conducted in 1948-1949.
American
Woman’s Association Papers
Through a special arrangement, the Barnard College Archives is the repository of a substantial portion of the records of this independent national women’s organization. The collection includes administrative and committee documents, correspondence, programs, brochures, and several hundred photographs, all created between 1911 and 1974.
Hours
and Access Policy
The Barnard College Archives is open to researchers by appointment only. Hours
for appointments are Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All materials must be retrieved and handled by the Archives staff. In order to ensure the preservation of the collections, neither browsing nor borrowing is permitted. Photocopies and other reproductions may be purchased at cost, with an average turnaround time of 15 days. Some materials are restricted, and therefore unavailable for examination or photocopying.
To ask a question or to make an appointment, please contact
Marcia
Bassett Astrid
Cravens telephone:
212-854-4079 Barnard
College Archives
Archivist
e-mail:mbassett@barnard.edu
Image Archivist
e-mail:acravens@barnard.edu
fax: 212-854-7340
23 Lehman Hall
Wollman Library
3009 Broadway
New York, NY 10027-6598
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