Office of Communications records

Collection

Identifier: BC05-08

Staff View

Collection Scope and Content Summary

This collection contains press releases produced by the communications office and press clippings pertaining to Barnard College news and events. There are also materials from Barnard events, exhibits, and dedications, which include information on various Barnard College building dedications and the Barnard College Seventy-Fifth anniversary celebration that took place in 1964.

The surveys and reports include annual reports spanning from 1934-2001 and public relations committee minutes.

Correspondence, Memorandum, and Subject Files includes correspondence with television networks and radio stations, television and radio scripts, and communications regarding Barnard's buildings.

The Biographical Files contain biographical information on Barnard faculty, which is arranged alphabetically by last name.

Included with the photographs are also a collection of slides and computer disks featuring images used for Barnard College promotional purposes. Some photographs have been transferred off disks and are noted as digital objects within Series 6, Photographs.

Dates

Creation: 1934 - 2016

Creator

Barnard College. Office of Communications (Organization)

Access

Family Information forms with personal information in Series 4, Box 40, are restricted indefinitely. Investor presentation materials, Middle States self-study drafts, and mission statement drafts in Series 4, Box 47, are restricted.

Reproduction Restrictions

Photocopies and scans may be made for research purposes.

Publication Rights

Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Barnard College Archives and Special Collections. The Barnard College Archives and Special Collections approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Historical Note

Public Relations officer positions existed at Barnard at least as early as 1936. The Office of Public Relations was established as a separate entity in the mid-1940s. Its name was changed to Public Affairs at some point in the late 1980s or early 1990s; the two names were used somewhat interchangeably during this period. In 2008, Public Affairs became known as Communications.

Extent

31 Linear Feet (45 document boxes, 6 half document boxes, 6 bankers boxes, 2 small clamshell boxes, 2 oversize box, 3 flat file drawers)

68.90 Gigabytes (25,314 digital images (.jpg, .wav, tif, pdf))

Language

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection consists of press releases, annual reports, correspondence, clippings, programs, newsletters, questionnaires, invitations, address lists, minutes, schedules, printed materials, and photographs related to Barnard College communications, public affairs, and public relations.

Collection Arrangement

The records are arranged in six series. The paper materials are arranged in the order in which they were received.

The series arrangement of the records is as follows:

Series 1, Press Releases and Clippings, 1959-2016
Series 2, Events, Exhibits, and Dedications, 1949-2016
Series 3, Surveys and Reports, 1934-2001
Series 4, Correspondence, Memorandum, and Subject Files, 1945-2005
Series 5, Biographical Files, 1980-2007, undated
Series 6, Photographs, circa 1980s-2013

Physical Location

This collection is located in the Barnard Archives and Special Collections, Barnard Library. To use this collection, please contact the Barnard Archives and Special Collections at 212.854.4079 or archives@barnard.edu.

Acquisition Information

Trasferred from the Barnard College Office of Communications.

Appraisal

Student associates removed temporary and duplicate images from the transfferred disks in the Photographs series.

As part of the processing of the disks, student associates sorted through the large accession from the Office of Communications and moved other photographs relating to other Barnard administrative offices and academic departments to their respective collections.

Accruals

Additions are expected.

Separated Materials

Digital photographs were added to the following collections: BC13.14 (Dance Department records), BC13.18 (English Department records), BC13.52 (Athena Center records), BC13.54 (Theater Department records), BC13.58 (BCRW records).

Processing History

This collection was processed and the finding aid written by Heather Lember in April 2014. The finding aid was updated by Martha Tenney in June 2015 and Joan Hsiao in December 2017. Digital materials were processed by Olivia Newsome in November 2023.

The computer disks (CDs) were recieved as a single group and its contents were transferred into Barnard Archives' in 2016. Student associates imaged the disks, described, arranged, and moved them to Barnard Archives local digital storage in 2018. Through this processing, they sorted the images and labelled those relating to other administrative offices or academic departments to be moved to their respective collections. Student associates also performed virus scans with no viruses or malware detected in 2018.