Frances Willard Memorial Library and Archives
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Contents |
[edit] Address and Contact Info
Address: 1730 Chicago Avenue Evanston, IL 60201
Phone: (847) 864-1397
E-mail: willardhouse@earthlink.net
Web page: http://franceswillardhouse.org
[edit] Hours and Usage Restrictions
Currently open by appointment only.
[edit] Online Catalogs and Finding Aids
None. Most of the Frances Willard correspondence and scrapbooks, as well as Woman's Christian Temperance Unon (WCTU) Annual Meeting Minutes to 1934 and the Union Signal (national newspaper) to 1933, were microfilmed in 1977 as part of the Prohibition and Temperance Papers project (Ohio Historical Society, Michigan Historical Society, and WCTU). A Guide to the Microfilm was published in 1977. A number of research libraries own some or all of the microfilm. Check WorldCat for availability through Inter-Library Loan. No other finding aids exist.
[edit] Collection Summary
The Frances Willard Memorial Library was founded as a resource for officers and staff of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) working on educational and publication projects to promote the organization’s mission. The collection originally consisted of books, reports, and serials from outside sources, as well as copies of everything published by the WCTU. The archival materials were a small part of the collection. Over the years, the focus shifted as researchers began to use the collection to study Willard and the WCTU. The Frances Willard Historical Association (FWHA) assumed management of the Willard Library and Archives in January, 2007. Recognizing the collection's value to historians of women’s movements, temperance, social reform, and other fields, the FWHA’s Library and Archives Committee hopes to develop this rich collection into a more accessible resource for researchers.
Holdings include: • The Frances Willard Papers: approximately ten cubic feet of correspondence (mostly incoming), 80 scrapbooks, 50 journal volumes • Personal papers of other WCTU Presidents (small collections) • Records of National and World’s WCTU, and of local and state Unions • Subject files on events, traditions, people, and places associated with the WCTU • Pamphlets, flyers, informational and educational material, sheet music, and songbooks produced by the WCTU • Photographs of individuals, groups, and events in WCTU history • Artifacts, including banners and promotional material • Serial publications published by the National WCTU, the World’s WCTU, and by state and local Unions (including meeting minutes and programs, newsletters, and handbooks) • Approximately 3000 volumes on temperance and alcoholism, the WCTU and other temperance groups, woman suffrage and other social issues, dating from the 1840s-present, with the bulk dating from 1880s-1940s. • Dissertations and theses based on Willard Library and Archives resources • Publications and pamphlets produced by other temperance organizations (1840s-20th century)
[edit] Usage Discussion
Suggestions for approaching the material: The Willard Memorial Library and Archives is currently not staffed, and relies on FWHA Committee members, aided by occasional interns and volunteer research assistants, to assist onsite researchers and respond to reference inquiries. Thus patience is advised--we respond to inquiries and set up research appointments to the best of our ability.
[edit] Major Topic Areas
Women's history, social reform, women's organizations, rhetoric, temperance and prohibition
