Black Hawk-Bremer League of Women Voters Records
Scope and Contents
The Black Hawk-Bremer League of Women Voters Records is arranged into four series, details of which may be seen in the "Arrangement" and "Inventory" sections.
Boxes 1-8 contain information by and from the Black Hawk-Bremer League of Women Voters (BHBLWV) dating from 1952-1974. Included are financial records, minutes, board reports, annual reports, programs, correspondence, services offered, and the League's constitution. Records in Boxes 2-3 consist primarily of printed materials distributed by the Iowa League of Women Voters.
2018 and 2019 acquisitions Four additional cartons of materials were donated in 2018 and 2019 by the BHBLWV president. They encompass boxes 9-15. While these boxes contain materials from the national, state, and local levels, the bulk of the donations focus on the local Black Hawk-Bremer League. Included are a variety of administrative materials, such as board minutes, financial information, and ways to become involved in the League. Also prominent are BHBLWV annual meeting minutes, which often contain handwritten annotations and offer insight into the League's goings-on for a given year.
The 2018 donation consisted of topical subject files reflecting the League of Women Voters positions and information on legislation and various issues throughout the years, including campaign finance, environmental concerns, and education. Examples of materials contained in this subseries are news clippings, correspondence, and informational guides.
There is also a small set of ephemeral material, including brochures and bookmarks featuring League events and issues. Oversize posters relating to the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in the United States are also included.
Additionally, the subseries contains accolades awarded to the Black Hawk-Bremer League of Women Voters. Finally, the collection contains a handful of photographs depicting League activities.
The collection inventory goes into greater detail regarding each series and subseries. Some series and subseries span multiple boxes, so please be sure to consult the entire inventory.
Please note that the collection's control file contains additional background information about the League. Please ask SCandUA staff for access.
Dates
- 1952-2019
Creator
- Black Hawk-Bremer League of Women Voters (Organization)
Language of Materials
Materials entirely in English.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions. Materials are open for research.
Technical Access
Some content is recorded on media requiring special equipment for playback and use. The production of a listening or viewing may be required. SC&UA staff will determine options for use on a case by case basis.
General Use, Reproduction, and Copyright Policies
Many items housed in the Rod Library Special Collections & University Archives, including unpublished images and manuscripts, may be protected by copyright, publication rights, trademarks, or model release rights which the library does not own and for which the library cannot grant permission or licensing. Materials currently under copyright are usually still available for research and limited reproduction under Fair Use laws. However, it is the sole responsibility of the patron to determine whether or not their use of a given material falls within Fair Use guidelines and to obtain permission for said use from the rightful copyright owner.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy or similar laws, and the Iowa Open Records Law (see Iowa Code § 22.7). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of Northern Iowa assumes no responsibility.
Biographical / Historical
The League of Women Voters was founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt, a prominent leader of the women’s suffrage movement, shortly before the ratification of the 19th amendment. The main purpose of the League was to bring together separate women’s organizations together to work cohesively towards women’s suffrage. The League later broadened its scope beyond women’s suffrage to include educating all people about various components of the government, voting in general, and issues such as food supply and American citizenship. The Black Hawk-Bremer League of Women (BHBLWV) began in 1941, first as the League of Women Voters of Waterloo and later the Waterloo-Cedar Falls League (1964). The BHBLWV focuses on voting issues, including voter registration, restoring felons’ voting rights, accessible voting, and more. It regularly holds candidates’ forms and publishes political directories to aid voters. In addition to voting, the BHBLWV focuses on issues including water quality, the environment, criminal justice reform, and mental health.
Extent
8.34 Linear Feet (20 boxes)
3.58 Linear Feet (oversize folder)
Arrangement
- Series 1: National
- Series 2: State
- Series 3: Local
- Series 4: A/V materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Initial materials were donated c. 1978 by Mary Jo Souhrada. The materials in Boxes 9-15 were donated by Black Hawk-Bremer League of Women Voters president Cherie Dargan in November 2018 and October 2019. Additional materials were donated by Dargan in April 2022.
Bibliography
- "League History."League of Women Voters of Iowa. Accessed February 2023. "https://lwvia.org/about/".
- "Local Leagues: League of Women Voters of Black Hawk-Bremer Counties History." League of Women Voters of Iowa. Accessed February 2023. "https://lwvia.org/about/local-leagues/".
- "Announcements."LWV of Black Hawk and Bremer Counties, 2018. Accessed August 2020.. "http://www.lwvbhb.org/home/announcements".
Processing Information
Web finding aid coded by Susan A. Basye, Library Assistant, February 1998. Updated by Library Associate Dave Hoing, October 2017. Boxes 9-15 processed and finding aid updated by Archival Processor Tessa Wakefield, August 2020. Linear feet count updated August 2020. 2022 addition processed and finding aid updated by Tessa Wakefield, March 2023.
- Title
- Black Hawk-Bremer League of Women Voters Records
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script