association and national standards for textile fabrics
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OR
The Challenges in Organizing and Describing the Records of
an Evolving Organization
Home Economics – More Than Meets The Eye
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Acronym alert!
AAFCS =American Association of Family and
Consumer Sciences
AHEA =American Home Economics Association
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Brief history of the AAFCS AAFCS activities Cornell-AAFCS connections Processing the collection Other collection-related work
AAFCS Historical Collection Processing Project
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The American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
(AAFCS)
Formerly the American Home Economics Association
Headquartered in the metro Washington, D.C. area
10,000+ members “AAFCS strives to improve the quality and
standards of individual and family life by providing educational programs, influencing public policy, and through communication.”
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Originated from the Lake Placid Conferences, 1899-1908
Group of 11 “Founders” headed by Ellen Richards
AHEA officially established in 1909 700 charter members; 1200+ at the
end of 1909; nearly 20,000 by 1949 Growth = Change
AAFCS – the Beginning
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Annual meeting
s
Headquarters
Council
Assembly
Senate
Executive Cmte
Executive Bd.
Bd. of Trustees
Bd. of Directors
Officers
Committees Sections
& Divisions
Student groups
Affiliated orgs.
AHEA Foundatio
n
Center for the Family
Bd. of Truste
es
State Associations
Units
Accreditation
Certification
Projects and
Programs
Members
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Key Sources of Published History
The AHEA Saga by Keturah Baldwin (1949)
AHEA - A History of Excellence by Helen Pundt (1980)
Lake Placid Conference proceedings (1899-1908, 1973)
Bulletin of the AHEA (1912-42) Journal of Home Economics (1909-present)
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Association Activities
Public affairs Consumer interests and standards International relations and programs Education Assistance in times of need
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(a few) Cornell-AAFCS Connections
Martha van Rensselaer Flora Rose Flemmie Kittrell Helen Canoyer Gwendolyn Newkirk Carol Anderson Francille Firebaugh
F. Rose & M. van Rensselaer, ca. 1920
12AHEA bumper
sticker
AAFCS Historical Collection Project
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Project Background
3-year project began in October 2004 Funded by the AAFCS Purposes:
To organize and preserve the historical records of AAFCS
To assist the organization in leveraging its history to celebrate its centennial
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The AAFCS Collection
About 400 cubic feet Over 500 boxes Materials from late 1800s
to mid 1990s Includes paper records,
scrapbooks, books, videotapes, films, slideshows, photographs, textiles, and other interesting items
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The Challenges of Archival Processing
What is it? Why is it there? Where does it go?
Future challenge How do we save it?
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What is it?
The original box list At least there was a list But sometimes vague or inaccurate
The survey – one box at a time Verifying collection contents Identifying potential preservation problems
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Why is it there?
Are these materials together for a reason?
Is there a common source? Do we need to keep it all?
Archival appraisal – deciding research/historical value, not monetary value
Disposition of published materials
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Where does it go?
The ideal of original order Arrangement into series The process of sorting Information management tools
Database Reports generated from the database
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Microsoft Access database
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Microsoft Word table (generated from Access database)
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Additional Responsibilities
Records management More boxes?! Working with Headquarters staff
Assisting researchers In person, and via e-mail and telephone Dean’s Fellowship in the History of Home
Economics and Nutrition http://www.human.cornell.edu/che/Fellowship/index.cfm
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Additional Responsibilities (cont’d)
Donor relations National Headquarters Individual members
Presentations and events AAFCS conference, Minneapolis, June 2005 Donor event, Ithaca, October 2005
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AAFCS Donor Event, October 2005 - (L to R) Jennie Kitching, Francille Firebaugh, Sharon Nickols, Peggy Meszaros, Marjorie East, Queen Bowman, Carol Anderson, Sarah Keen, and Sarah Thomas
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Future happenings
AAFCS conference, June 2006 Society of American Archivists
conference presentation, August 2006The Politics of Petticoats: The American
Home Economics Association and National Standards for Textile Fabrics
Lake Placid Centennial, 2008 AAFCS Centennial, 2009
