This series includes basic historical information about the YWCA of the U.S.A., its constitution, purpose, organizational structure, and staff. The records consist of articles, fact sheets, theses, books, pamphlets, and manuscripts on the history of the YWCA of the U.S.A.; copies of the YWCA's charter, constitution and by-laws, and Purpose, with minutes, notes, and correspondence about various revisions; Annual Reports; general information about Committees, Councils, and Departments, including charters and rosters; organization charts; staff rosters and office/telephone directories.

Microfilmed Records, 1884-1970 only

[see Microfilmed Records Reel Lists]

Many of the basic histories written by YWCA staff and members were among the last items filmed in Part 2c of the Subject Files and can be found under YWCA, History. Annual Reports and Constitution and By-laws up to 1970 are also available on the microfilm.

General historical items can be found on the microfilm under:

• Predecessor Organizations, Minutes, and Reports
  • By-laws of National Board YWCA
  • By-laws and Constitution of the YWCA of the U.S.A.
• Subject Files
  • National Board, Reports [Annual Reports]
  • YWCA, Constitution
  • YWCA, Handbook
  • YWCA, Historical Summaries
  • YWCA, Purpose
  • YWCA, Yearbook

Original Format Records, 1889-2000, n.d., 5 linear ft.

[see Original Format Records folder list]

Most of the Microfilmed Records are also available in Original Format. In addition to the post-1970 records on Constitution amendments, updates of the Purpose, and Annual Reports, there is also some more recent historical writing about the YWCA. The Original Format files of organization charts and staff rosters/telephone directories are much more comprehensive than what is available on the microfilm.

Related Materials

Discussions of all changes to the Constitution and Purpose of the YWCA can be found in RECORD GROUP 4. NATIONAL CONFERENCES AND CONVENTIONS.

Videotaped panels and presentations related to the YWCA's reexamination of its Purpose in the late 1980s and its mission as a Single sex organization in the late 1980s-early 1990s are in RECORD GROUP 10. AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS

Historical information about the major administrative reorganizations can be found in the general Historical Note and in the Historical Notes for RECORD GROUP 6. PROGRAM, and RECORD GROUP 8. COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS.

This series contains the major studies of the National Association administrative structure done by outside consultants and National Association Committees. Generally, reorganizations were prompted by financial crises and the Association more often than not opted to implement some of the concepts, but did not adopt the recommendations wholesale. In some cases, as in the Organizational Renewal plan of the early 1970s, financial constraints prevented full application of the plan. In addition to the studies there are minutes, reports, and working files of committees and commissions.

The bulk of the records are related to the series of "redesign" and "strategic planning" efforts begun in the late 1980s that ultimately led to the major restructuring of the National Association in 1999-2000. Included are many notes, reports, memoranda, surveys, and other materials from the Governance Task Force (1988-92); Project Redesign (1992-93); Strategic Planning Initiative (1994-2000), and Change Initiative (1998-2000).

Microfilmed Records, 1906-70 only

[see Microfilmed Records Reel Lists]

Records about YWCA reorganizations can be found on the microfilm under:

• Subject Files
  • General Administration
  • National Board, Reorganization
  • National Board, Survey
  • YWCA, Study

Original Format Records, 1921-2001, 3.5 linear ft.

[see Original Format Records Folder List]

Most of the pre-1971 Original Format Records can also be found on the Microfilm. The later files, provide extensive documentation of the Association's internal struggles in the final two decades of the 20th Century. The records are arranged chronologically.

Related Materials

A number of meetings, discussions, and presentations related to the 1980s-2000 reorganizations were videotaped. The videotapes are in RECORD GROUP 10. AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS.

Historical information about requirements for membership of individuals can be found in the general Historical Note and in the Historical Notes for RECORD GROUP 6. PROGRAM (especially under Religion), and RECORD GROUP 8. COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS.

This series contains general and historical materials; files on policies and practices related to individuals (as opposed to Community or Student Association's membership in the National Association); and publications and committee records related to the recruitment and development of new members.

Included are records of the Basis Commission, 1913-19, charged with examining the requirement that YWCA members must be members of Evangelical Protestant churches; and the Corresponding Membership system, 1920-31, which allowed women who lived in regions of the country where there was no YWCA to join the National Association directly (as opposed to being members in the National by virtue of their membership in a Community or Student Association.) Records of post-World War II membership committees are more likely to be concerned with definition of terms such as member, elector, and participant; fee structures; and the status of men and boys in YWCA programs. From the 1960s on, Association committees expended increasing energy on recruitment of new members.

Microfilmed Records, 1906-70 only

[see Microfilmed Records Reel Lists]

Microfilmed records include the records of the main pre-1971 committees involved with individual membership. Records of the Basis Commission are in the Subject Files under YWCA, Membership, rather than in the Minutes and Reports.

Records about membership of individuals can be found on the microfilm under:

• Minutes and Reports
  • Corresponding Membership Committee
  • Membership Policies Committee
• Subject Files
  • YWCA, Membership
  • YWCA, Policies and Standards

Original Format Records, 1913-93, n.d., 1.5 linear ft.

[see Original Format Records Folder List]

The Original Format Records are arranged in three sections: General and History; Policies and Practices; and Recruitment and Development. General and History consists of two theses written in 1951 and 1954 on membership in the YWCA. Policies and Practices includes forms, committee records, reports, studies, and publications. Recruitment and Development contains committee records, publications, and records of the late 1980s "Why Double You?" membership campaign. Most of the Original Format Records pre-1971 are also on the microfilm.

Related Materials

Extensive discussions of issues related to individuals' requirements for membership can be found in the records of the two predecessor organizations in RECORD GROUP 2 and in Convention records in RECORD GROUP 4.

Over the 20th century, the YWCA chose to mark different anniversaries in its history, including:

The Biographical Files consist of a wide variety of materials compiled by the YWCA of the U.S.A. archives to provide easy access to basic information about YWCA staff (both national and in Community Associations) and National Board members and officers. There are also some materials on World YWCA officers and staff.

The Biographical Files contain newspaper clippings, press releases, correspondence, speeches, essays, pamphlets, "Who's Who" biography forms, obituaries and memorials, awards and commendations, published biographies, family histories, YWCA personnel record cards, and publications authored by the subject of the file.

Microfilmed Records, 1906-70 only

[see Microfilmed Records Reel list]

General biographical files on some staff and National Board members can be found on the microfilm under:

• Subject Files
  • National Board, Deceased Board and Staff Members
  • National Board, Members

Original Format Records, 1906-2000, 9.5 linear ft.

[see Original Format Records Folder list]

The National Board Archives staff compiled files from a variety of sources, they include some of the people and items in the microfilmed files, but cover a wider date span and may include small amounts of personal correspondence and memorabilia donated to the YWCA Archives. Most of the National Association's personnel files were discarded, but small amounts of surviving materials, such as personnel record cards and questionnaires, were incorporated into these Biographical Files by National Board Archives staff.

Historical information about the YWCA of the U.S.A.'s work with staff of the YWCA in other countries can be found in the Historical Note for RECORD GROUP 5. INTERNATIONAL WORK.

With the exception of the records related to the YWCA of China, the historical files on "Foreign" YWCAs are small subject files consisting primarily of publications. In some cases there are scrapbooks or photograph albums, usually presented to the YWCA of the U.S.A. or to one of its "Foreign" staff as part of a ceremonial occasion. They are arranged alphabetically by country.

The National Association's involvement with the YWCA of China dates back to the earliest days of the Association and included an unusually large number of American secretaries. Because of this, the files related to the YWCA of China are especially rich. In addition to brochures, reports, copies of minutes of the National Committee of the YWCA of China, financial records, and publications, there are a number of photograph albums donated to the YWCA Archives by American secretaries who served in China in the 1910s and 1920s.

Microfilmed Records, 1877-1970 only

[see Microfilmed Records Reel List]

The Microfilmed Records have fairly extensive "reference" materials as part of the "Foreign" and "International" sections. Unfortunately, reels 51 and 52 (China, American Staff, Correspondence and Reports, Brennecke - China, Property, Canton) were lost some years ago before transfer to the Sophia Smith Collection.

Reference files on YWCAs in other countries can be found on the microfilm under:

• Subject Files
  • Foreign
  • Foreign Countries
  • International

Original Format Records, 1884-98, n.d., 5 linear feet

[see Original Format Records Folder list]

The Original Format Records are arranged alphabetically by country. Due to the large size and scope of the YWCA of China materials, they are filed separately at the end of the series. Other larger files include those on the YWCA of Great Britain and the YWCA of India, Burma, and Ceylon, which contain copies of various serials put out by those Associations.

Related Materials

Early materials on the "Foreign" work of the Predecessor Organization, the American Committee can be found in RECORD GROUP 2. PREDECESSOR ORGANIZATIONS AND NATIONAL BOARD.

Records of the YWCA of the USA's International Work are in RECORD GROUP 5.

The Sophia Smith Collection Periodicals Collection contains Today: Magazine of the YWCA of India for 1963-1979.

This series is a general reference file on the umbrella international association to which the YWCA of the U.S.A. is affiliated, the World YWCA. It includes historical publications, general pamphlets, constitution, annual reports, publications, and files on conferences and councils, programmes and projects.

Microfilmed Records, 1884-1970 only

[see Microfilmed Records Reel Lists]

The Microfilmed Records include general "reference" materials about the World YWCA along with records of the YWCA of the USA's interactions with the World YWCA. These can be found on the microfilm under:

• Subject Files
  • Foreign, World's YWCA
  • Foreign, World YWCA

Original Format Records, 1896-2003, n.d., 5.5 linear ft.

[see Original Format Records Folder List]

Many of the "reference" materials on the Microfilm are also available in Original Format. The National Board Library and Archives also collected copies of a number of World YWCA publications, including Conference, Consultation, and Council proceedings and reports; and brochures and reports of Programmes and Projects.

Related Materials

Records of YWCA of the USA correspondence with and participation in the World YWCA are in RECORD GROUP 3. NATIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE.

There is a also small amount of related material in RECORD GROUP 5. INTERNATIONAL WORK.

RECORD GROUP 10. AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS contains videotaped "reviews" of various World Council Meetings dating from the mid-1980s, plus extensive footage of the 1987 World Council meetings which were held in the U.S.