Members of the Women's Committee of the University of Denver meeting with Chancellor Chester M. Alter to discuss plans for the Mary Reed library, December, 1958. From left to right: Mrs. Sam Levy, Mrs. David T. Chalmers, Mrs. Harold Webster, Chancellor Chester M. Alter, and Mrs. M. Ray Gottesfeld.

  
Women's Library Association bookplates, used for memorial book donations.

Women's Library Association reception for U Thant, Secretary General of the United Nations, 1964. From left to right: Mrs. Chester Alter, Mrs. Harold Greene, Mrs. John Evans, Jr., Mr. U Thant, Mrs. Thomas Currigan and Mrs. David Hurwitz.

An invitation to the 1983 Women's Library Association fundraiser, Entertainment Tonight.

Collection Overview

Creator: Women's Library Association

Title: Women's Library Association Collection

Inclusive Dates: 1958-2001

Size: 17 linear ft.

Processed By: Finding aid and Web version prepared by Jennifer A. Thompson, December, 2000; revised July 2003

The Women's Library Association Collection, located in the department of Special Collections in Penrose Library at the University of Denver, consists of the papers of the Women's Library Association (WLA), which was established in 1956 to raise funds and acquire book and archival collections for the University of Denver library. Under the early leadership of Marion Gottesfeld (Hurwitz) and Peg Bradford, both University trustees, the organization flourished and quickly became an important source of support for the library. Today, the organization has grown to over two hundred members and continues to provide financial support to the University of Denver libraries through their bookstore sales, educational lecture series, Living Library Fund, and a variety of other special events and fundraisers.

Scope and Content

The collection is organized into several series including administrative papers, annual reports, fundraising events, membership records, newspaper clippings, publications and publicity, and scrapbooks. The collection spans the years 1958-1997, with the bulk of the material documenting the WLA's work in the 1970s and 1980s. Administrative papers (1958-1997) include correspondence, calendars, financial documents, meeting minutes, membership lists, and other material related to the daily operations of the organization. Annual reports (1964-1996) consist of the formal reports submitted by committee chairs to the WLA Executive Board. Materials relating to Women's Library Association fundraising events are arranged alphabetically by event and include information about historic WLA fundraisers such as the Art and Antique auction, the annual book sale, the Bargain Bazaar, Mansions in Miniature, and the WLA cookbook. The collection also contains several bound membership record books that list cumulative membership and donation information by members' last names as well as bound volumes that document yearly membership (1982-1991). Newspaper clippings, taken primarily from the Denver Post, span the years 1958 to 1992. Material in the publications/publicity series includes two WLA publications (Bookworm and Focus) along with event programs, invitations, pamphlets, fliers, advertisements, and a book written by past WLA executive chair Betsy O'Meara, titled A Mansion in Miniature. Finally, scrapbooks (1958-1998) contain newspaper clippings, photographs, fundraising event programs, invitations, and a variety of other materials compiled by past WLA members.