New England Library Association (NELA) (Mss. Gr. 153)

The records of the New England Library Association (NELA) were placed on deposit with Special Collections on November 9, 2001 by Dr. Cheryl McCarthy, professor at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Library and Information Science and then-NELA President. As no formal archiving procedure existed for the organization, Dr. McCarthy made it a point of her presidency to ensure the collection and preservation of the NELA records. The bulk of the records was removed from storage by the NELA Executive Secretary, Barry Blaisdell; additional material was gathered by Dr. McCarthy through appeals to the organization's members, officers, and committee and section chairs. Approximately 9 linear feet of material was transferred from Dr. McCarthy's office in 2001, with nearly one linear foot added in 2002. The records are in good condition, and possess considerable research value for those interested in prominent figures, activities, and trends in the regional library community.

The records include minutes of meetings, conference materials, correspondence, newsletters, printed materials, and photographs that document NELA's evolution from a fairly informal regional association devoted primarily to coordinating annual conferences to an active, more complex organization that plays a significant role in a wide variety of library affairs in New England.

After processing the records were arranged in the following series:

Series I, Executive Board, contains materials relating to the function and activities of the NELA Executive Board. The records in this series reveal much about the operation and structure of the organization, and include the minutes of Executive Board meetings, budgetary information, membership lists, election materials, correspondence, and policy and procedures manuals. A brief history of NELA through the mid-1970s is included in this series.

Series II, Sections, contains materials pertaining to various NELA Sections, which are formed by members who share common interests or concerns. This series includes minutes of both Section and Executive Board meetings, membership information, and program materials of NELA Sections, arranged by Section name.

Series III, Committees, consisting of the files of NELA standing Committees, which develop and coordinate many of the organization's activities and events. This series includes the records of the Conference Committee and the Publications Committee, with materials ranging from minutes of committee meetings, program planning information, conference materials, and evaluation forms and surveys that document the events of NELA's Annual Conferences and the development and production of the bimonthly newsletter. The evolution of the NELA web site is also presented in the records of the Publications Committee.

Series IV, Newsletters, containing copies of the bimonthly NELA newsletter, New England Libraries (previously NELA Newsletter), from 1973 to 2001. The articles and features of this publication provide information about the organization's officers, members, and events, and provide considerable insight into trends and issues in the library community.

Series V, Photographs, consisting of one photo album and several loose photographs documenting various NELA conferences.

Future additions to the NELA records will be processed and added to the end of the collection. Archives of conference materials from 2000 on and recent issues of the NELA newsletter can be accessed through the NELA web site at http://www.nelib.org. (29 July 2002)

Additional holdings of records for this collection exist in the repository.