MVCC Library Archives Finding Aid: Collection description and Series overview

Papers of Mohawk Valley Community College

Library Archives, 1946 to 1992, bulk 1960 to 1980

Brief history of MVCC Library and biography of Alice Griffith

Mohawk Valley Community College opened its doors in October 1946 as one of five institutes established by the legislature of New York State for technical-vocational education. Originally named The Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences, the school was renamed Mohawk Valley Technical Institute in May 1953 when it came under the sponsorship of Oneida County. The college moved to its present location on Sherman Drive in 1961. The institution received its current name in January 1963 to reflect the increase in non-technical degree programs. The MVCC Library moved to its present location when Payne Hall was opened in 1969.

Alice Griffith was a 1942 graduate of Cazenovia College, and held AB, MA and MS degrees from Syracuse University. Before joining MVCC as a librarian in 1956, she was a high school librarian and English teacher and librarian at both Syracuse University and SUNY Cortland. She became MVCC library director in 1959. She retired in 1988. (from “MVCC History--compiled by Bob Lacell, 2006”)

Physical description of Archive collection of the MVCC Library,

with Alice Griffith as primary collector

1946-1992; bulk 1960-1980

The collection is currently housed in three metal four-drawer lateral filing cabinets, totaling 24.75 linear feet. It is largely made up of papers intended for an audience of two or more. Other artifactual record-types include newspaper, 0.5 ft. of Microfiche, mimeograph sheets, and fewer than 10 photographs. The collection consists of records produced by, received by, or retained by the librarians of MVCC, primarily by Alice Griffith in her capacity as library director, participant in divisional deans' meetings, and member of the New York Central Library Resources Council.

The collection is confirmed to have been housed in three vertical filing cabinets in the library’s Work Room closet since 2001. Its location prior to that time is unknown.  Although most materials were collected initially by the librarians, some materials were given to the library when discovered in storage in other areas.  No accession records were produced regarding the transition of ownership. Ancillary materials housed in library faculty offices may be included in the collection in the future. These materials include photos, oversized photos, blueprints, and drawings, and reference logs and bibliographic instruction calendars. Additional college catalogs, yearbooks, and meeting minutes are currently stored on shelves in the library’s Work Room.

Summary Note

Most materials are classified as "publications" as they were accessible at creation to an audience of two or more; exceptions are noted. These publications include announcements, bibliographies, brochures, catalogs, directories, handbooks, memos, minutes, newsletters, newspapers, programs, published articles and books, records, reports, and rosters. A publication’s name that does not intuitively describe the material is included in the Subseries Scope and Content note.

Scope and Content

The collection includes materials of permanent significance to the history of MVCC.  The records date back to the institution’s opening in 1946 and include materials under the names New York State Institute of Applied Arts and Science, Mohawk Valley Technical Institute, and Mohawk Valley Community College. The bulk of the collection is understood to consist primarily of records produced by, received by, or retained by Alice Griffith in her capacity as library director, librarian, participant in Divisional Deans meetings, member of various committees, and member of the New York Central Library Resources Council. The listed Scope Note date ranges do not guarantee the availability of materials for any particular year within that range.

Arrangement

Series structure was imposed to aid organization and retrieval and is based upon the current (March 2012) departmental structure of the college and current records produced or received during each department’s daily business functions. Original order was maintained when discernible within each series; chronological order was imposed in certain subseries to aid discovery. Materials in several of the cabinet drawers were not in file folders prior to processing; file folders and hanging file folders were added to ease removal and replacement of materials in drawers and do not necessarily reflect a subject division. If more than two copies of an item existed, only two copies were retained; any copy containing annotations was retained. Regardless of the operational structure of the college at the time of the production of the materials in this collection, any materials that would originate from a specific college department as of the time of processing are a part of that series.

Series