Organization of American Historians
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The Organization of American Historians is the largest learned society devoted to the study of American history. Since its founding in 1907 as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, the OAH has promoted the study and teaching of the American past through its many activities. The work of the organization is supported primarily through the contributions of its membership, income from an annual conference each spring, and the support of Indiana University, which houses its executive and editorial offices. OAH's more than 9,300 members in the U.S. and abroad include college and university professors; students; precollegiate teachers; archivists, museum curators, and other public historians; and a variety of scholars employed in government and the private sector. Continue reading a profile of OAH at: http://www.oah.org/about/profile.html
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[edit] Address and Contact Info
Address: Executive Office: 112 North Bryan Avenue, P.O. Box 5457, Bloomington, IN 47407-5457. Editorial Office: 1215 East Atwater Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47401.
Telephone (812) 855-7311. Editorial offices: (812) 855-2816.
Fax: (812) 855-0696.
Website: http://www.oah.org/.
Principal contacts for the collection: Brenda Burk, Special Collections Team, IUPUI University Library UL0117C, 755 West Michigan, Indianapolis, IN 46202-5195, (317) 278-2329.
[edit] Hours and Usage Restrictions
Executive office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm Eastern time. Access to the records of the OAH Executive Office, (below) housed at the Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives are restricted for 10 years. Journal of American History editorial correspondence and referee's evaluations written before 1979 will remain closed for the lifetime of the author unless the reviewer explicitly sanctions opening. Journal of American History evaluations written between 1979 and 1986 will remain closed for 10 years or longer in those cases where referees requested other terms. From 1986 onward each referee signs a form to indicate whether he or she is willing to let the author know his or her identity immediately or whether the evaluation shall be closed for 15 years. The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) govern the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.
[edit] Online Catalogs and Finding Aids
[edit] Collection Summary
The official archives of the OAH, which include papers of the organization, including those of its years as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, are held at the Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives at the Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) University Library (http://www.ulib.iupui.edu/special/gencoll/coll/mss027.html). Individuals interested in researching OAH, and the MVHA, are encouraged to contact the archives directly: Ruth Lilly Archives, 755 W. Michigan St., Indianapolis, IN 46202, (317) 274-0464. Back issues (1914-1999) of the Journal of American History, and the Mississippi Valley Historical Review may be found online, in full-text, at JSTOR [[1]]. The full-text of current issues of the Journal of American History (June, 1999 to present) is available electronically to members of the OAH and to subscribing institutions at The History Cooperative [[2]].
[edit] Usage Discussion
The records of the Organization of American Historians are extensive and provide an in-depth look at the history and evolution of the organization. Although records such as board minutes and conference proceedings have small gaps, they provide the best overview of the organization because of their continuity. The collection is also evidence of the growth of the organization from a small, one-person office to an office environment employing several individuals.
[edit] Fellowships and Funding Opportunities
[edit] Major Topic Areas
Executive Board Records, 1907-1998, consist of minutes, reports, administrative records, a newsletter, committees, past president files, legal information, and correspondence all dealing with the organization's executive board. This series is divided into five areas: Minutes, Administration, Correspondence, Committee Records, and Past President Files. The minutes are the best resource for obtaining a broad overview of the organization. Although incomplete, the board minutes include the earliest meeting and run through 1995. The least amount of documentation is available during the 1920s-1940s, but some information about decisions made affecting the organization during this period is located in the journal, Mississippi Valley Historical Review.
The Administration Files contain the articles of incorporation, constitution, bylaws, and executive secretary reports to the board. A brief newsletter, the Board Bulletin, 1991-1996, kept board members informed about OAH Executive Office activities. Board correspondence includes the writings of individual board members and the executive director discussing major activies and future directions of the organization.
The Committee Files are the largest portion of the records in this series. Information about the members, goals, and activities of most of the OAH committees can be found here. They are divided into three sections: awards, service, and joint committees with other organizations. These records contain correspondence, reports, and minutes from the various committees of the organization and indicate the long-term goals and projects of OAH. More information about specific projects are located in the subject files of the Executive Director records. Although information about the Membership Committee is located in this series, information about individual members and membership lists are maintained by the office of the treasurer and are located in the Treasurer Files.
Past president Files contain mostly biographical information. Included are histories, brief overviews, and correspondence.
Executive Office and Executive Director Files, 1906-2000, is the largest segment of the OAH records. These records best reflect the growth of the organization. They are produced by the main administrative office of the organization and document most of its activities. This series is divided into two areas: Executive Office and Executive Director.
The Executive Office Files contain correspondence and subject files. There are two distinct sets of correspondence. The alphabethical correspondence covers the years 1906-1995 and is arranged by year and then the person with whom the director is corresponding. Between 1906 and 1953, the organization maintained a staff of one (the director) and the correspondence for these years is the only record of the activities of the executive office. This correspondence reflects all of the roles the director fulfilled in the office as well as their own personal correspondence with individuals and organizations. After 1953 the organization and its staff expanded. Between 1953 and 1969, James Olson and William Aeschbacher each served as director. While the alphabetical correspondence continues to document the activities in the executive office, the directors maintain there own personal records located in the Executive Director Files of this series. Following 1969 as the organization continued to undergo major administrative change, the alphabetical correspondence remains a source for information about the activities of the executive office, but programs and further information about occurances during a director's tenure may be found in the subject files. The daily correspondence files cover the years 1984-1999 and overlap some with the alphabetical correspondence. It is arranged chronologically by the date sent or received. Although the information within these files do not duplicate the alphabetical files, they represent different filing systems. To fully understand the years contained in the files both sets of correspondence files as well as the subject files should be consulted. The final and largest set of records in this area is the subject files. As the organization grew, it became more involved in new programs, added personnel, and became politically active. The subject files cover this wide range of activities and represent the program side of the organization from the mid-1970s to 2000. Three executive directors' tenures are represented by this set of records: Richard Kirkendall, Joan Hoff-Wilson, and Arnita Jones.
The second area this series covers is the Executive Director Files. These files include the correspondence files of three executive directors: James Olson, William Aeschbacher, and Thomas Clark. These files contain correspondence with specific individuals about program activities and is an excellent resource to understand each directors' goals and programs. To receive a more complete view of the happenings in the organization during these directors' tenures, the alphabetical correspondence should also be consulted.
Treasurer Files, 1907-1998, contain audits, correspondence, budgets, membership information, and reports from the office of the treasurer of the OAH. The two major reports in this series are the membership and treasurer reports. Much of this information is incomplete, but can be used with the executive board minutes to construct an accurate picture of the organization's financial status throughout its history. The membership information includes the card files and membership lists used to track member names, addresses, and years in the organization. This series also includes the financial ledgers maintained by the treasurer that indicated the names of both individual and institutional members and the amount paid during a particular year. The member cards and ledgers only cover the period of the beginning of the organization through the early 1960s, the period of the combined Secretary-Treasurer postion. This series also contains the correspondence of individual treasurers that includes information about their role as treasurer and involvement in committee work.
Annual Conference Programs, 1910-1911, 1913-1914, 1916-1917, 1921-1925, 1927, 1929, 1932-1936, 1938-1944, 1947-1948, 1950-1989, 1991-1993, 1997, contain an incomplete set of the programs and business meeting minutes from the annual OAH conference. More information about the annual conference is located in the Journal of American History records as published proceedings that include papers presented and meeting minutes.
Publications Files, 1908-1999, consist of the materials related to the various publication projects of OAH. These include the OAH Newsletter, Journal of American History (JAH), the OAH Magazine of History, and other publications produced either by the executive or editorial offices of the organization. The records are divided into two areas: materials published by the executive office and those published by the editorial office. Included in the executive office publications are the OAH Newsletter and the OAH Magazine of History. The files contain correspondence regarding the publication of these resources and incomplete sets of both the magazine and newsletter as well as executive office correspondence regarding the publication of the Journal of American History. This correspondence helps indicate the relationship between the executive office and the editorial office where the Journal is actually produced.
The main portion of records in this series come from the editorial office and include the records of the Journal of American History, editorial board minutes, correspondence, awards, reports, editor files, accepted and rejected manuscripts and copies of the journal. The main administrative functions of this office are covered in the editorial board, awards, and correspondence files. They contain a good overview of the office's activities and in the instance of the correspondence files, 1930-1992, cover a vast time period and document the evolution of the Journal. The editorial office publishes the Journal of American History, the scholarly journal of OAH. Within the Journal records are a complete set of print copies and an incomplete set of microfilm copies of the publication. The journal is also available online through JSTOR, 1914-1999, (http://www.jstor.org/cgi-bin/jstor/listjournal/) and the History Cooperative, 1999-present, (http://www.historycooperative.org/jahindex.html). The records also contain both the accepted and rejected manuscript files of the journal. The accepted manuscripts include copies of the earliest version of the article (if available), peer reviews, and correspondence related to reviews. Rejected manuscript files include peer reviews and correspondence related to those reviews. The policy of the editorial office is to return declined manuscripts and there are few instances of the files containing a copy of them. The OAH archives do not include complete manuscript files prior to 1950 or the last five years of material. Access to the manuscript files is governed by a restriction policy (see above).
Photograph Files, 1907-1997, contain photographs of the presidents, executive secretaries, treasurers, secretary-treasurers, chairmen of the board, and editors of OAH. The photographs are arranged alphabetical by the individual's name.
