This series consists of 56.5 linear feet of videotapes in VHS, Beta, and Umatic formats with a small amount of accompanying print records, 1974-2001, n.d. (bulk 1985-96). They are arranged chronologically with undated and unidentified tapes at the end.
Included are professionally produced program materials, public service announcements, and training materials. There are also in-house recordings of staff meetings, teleconferences, events, Conventions, conferences, and councils, speeches, lectures, and panels. Included are a few interviews and oral histories as well as local television news coverage of YWCA events, mostly from the 1990s.
In keeping with its long history of adaptation of techniques to suit the times, the National Association made extensive use of video for Convention preparation, program, and training materials in the 1980s and 1990s. This is particularly the case for the years (1983-circa 2000) that the National Association owned the Leadership Development Center in Phoenix, Arizona. That facility was designed with extensive video production in mind. Included among these videos are presentations related to re-examinations of the YWCA's Purpose statement, progress reports on the legal action brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission related to the YWCA employment policies, and videotaped tributes to outgoing YWCA officers prepared for Conventions.
USE COPIES: Only those videotapes with existing Use Copies, (stored in boxes 1111 and 1112) are available for viewing immediately. Researchers should consult with Sophia Smith Collection staff about the options for access to the other videos.
