Bryn Mawr
College Library Special Collections
Researching Bryn Mawr Buildings
Buidings Files (Record Group 1K - 13 document boxes) For most of the buildings you will find a folder containing clippings of articles or miscellaneous materials. These folders are meant for quick reference. They contain secondary source material that has been sent to the college archives over the years. All published or unpublished material about every building is not reproduced here.
Early Course Catalogs - Early course catalogs also served as promotional material for the college. They sometimes included pictures, drawings or floor plans of college buildings. A complete set of course catalogs can be found in Special Collections.
Bryn Mawr College Calendar (Record Groups 1AA [complete] and 1K [partial]) - From 1907 until the 1940s, the college published a promotional brochure called the Bryn Mawr College Calendar or Academic Buildings and Halls of Residence. These brochures contained descriptions, drawings and floor plans of the various buildings.
Bryn Mawr College Alumnae Bulletin and the College News - Articles about some college buildings appeared in these publications in issues published around the time that the building was completed. The College News (first published in 1914) has been microfilmed and can be used in the microfilm room (look in the cabinet marked "Archives"). A complete set of the Alumnae Bulletin can be found in Special Collections.
Presidents' Correspondence - The correspondence of BMC presidents M. Carey Thomas, Marion Park and Katharine McBride is available to scholars. Indices for these collections can be found in the Special Collections reading area. Correspondence is generally filed by subject or correspondent, so you will need to review the index for the names of the building, architect, or builder.
Reports of the Presidents to the Board of Trustees - BMC buildings are sometimes mentioned in the report the president made to the board of trustees. However the reports were not made or published each and every year. Ask in Special Collections for the reports published around the time that a specific buildings was being planned, built and completed.
Public Information Files - When a faculty member retires, the Public Information Department transfers his or her file to the college archives. These files contain whatever information the faculty member shared with that department and any newspaper clippings that the department may have collected. It may contain a c.v. and in the case of deceased faculty members, possibly one or more obituaries. For information on faculty currently employed by the college, contact the Public Information Office.
The Alumnae Bulletin - If the faculty member wrote any articles for the Alumnae Bulletin these can be read in the back issues maintained inthe college archives. There are two indices to the back issues; ask for help in their use. The Alumnae Bulletin may also contain obituaries for deceased faculty members; look in the issues published soon after the date of death.
Course Catalogs - The courses taught by Bryn Mawr faculty are described in the series of Bryn Mawr course catalogs maintained at the college archives.
Personal and Professional Papers - The manuscripts collection in the Special Collections Department contains personal and professional papers for some, but not all, Bryn Mawr faculty. Check the collected finding aids for the manuscripts collections. Check the resource Archives USA, available through the library web site, to see whether collections of papers for a particular faculty member might have been donated to another repository.
College News - Material by or about the faculty member may have appeared in the College News. The college archives has an index to College News articles from 1914 to 1954. Ask special collections staff for help in its use. Microfilm copies of the College News (and the Bryn Mawr-Haverford Bi-Co News) are available for use in the microfilm room of the library.
Yearbooks - Bryn Mawr College Yearbooks may contain images and miscellaneous information on faculty members.
Publications - To find faculty publications, check Tripod (the library catalog) and consult the Reference desk for aid in finding and using the appropriate index for that faculty member's discipline.
President's Correspondence - The correspondence of presidents M. Carey Thomas, Marion Park and Katharine McBride is available to scholars. Indices for these collections can be found in the Special Collections reading area. Correspondence is generally filed by subject or correspondent, so you will need to review the index for the name of a correspondent.
Alumnae Association Files - Biographical information collected by the Bryn Mawr College Alumnae Association is transferred to the college archives at the time of an alumna's death. For living alumnae, contact the Alumnae Association.
The Alumnae Bulletin - If the alumna wrote any articles or letters to the editor published in the Alumnae Bulletin, these can be read in the back issues maintained at the college archives. There are two indices to the back issues; ask special collections staff for help in their use. Additional unindexed information (including obituaries) can be found by reading the "Class Notes" section at the back of each issue for the alumna's year of graduation.
Class Information - While grades are permanently confidential, the college archivist may be able to access records indicating what classes a Bryn Mawr alumna took. Descriptions of those classes can be found in the collection of course catalogs maintained in the college archives.
Personal and Professional Papers - The manuscripts collection of the Special Collections Department contains personal and professional papers for some, but not all, Bryn Mawr alumnae. Check the collected finding aids for the manuscripts collections. Check the resource Archives USA, available through the library web site, to see whether collections of papers for a particular alumna might have been donated to another repository.
College News and Other Student Publications - Material by or about the alum may have appeared in the College News. The college archives has an index to College News articles from 1914 to 1954. Ask the special collections staff for help in its use. Microfilm copies of the College News (and the Bryn Mawr-Haverford Bi-Co) are available for use in the microfilm room of the library. Other student publications such as literary journals may be found in the college archives; ask for help in determining which ones were published while your subject was a student.
Yearbooks - Bryn Mawr College Yearbooks may contain images and miscellaneous information on alumnae. The yearbooks will also reflect the social environment during the subject's years at Bryn Mawr.
Publications - To find alumnae publications, check Tripod (the tri-college library catalog) and consult the Reference desk for aid in finding and using appropriate indices for that alumna's discipline.
Course Catalogs - Names and descriptions of courses can be found in the series of Bryn Mawr course catalogs maintained at the college archives.
Centennial Publications - The book titled A Century Recalled - Essays in Honor of Bryn Mawr College, published at the time of the college's centennial, contains several essays on the origins of various departments at Bryn Mawr.
Promotional material published by the college (Record Group 1AC) These brochures contain general material describing the programs at Bryn Mawr. Consult the special collections staff in the use of this material.
Departmental materials (Record Group 4M) Miscellaneous material by or about the various departments at Bryn Mawr. Note that this is by no means a complete record of the activities of any department. Consult the special collections staff in the use of this material.
Reports of the Presidents to the Board of Trustees - These may contain information on various departments. However the reports were not made and published each and every year.
Commencement Programs - These include dissertation titles and in most cases list each graduate's major.
There is a separate finding aid for materials relating to the Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in Industry which are housed in a collection that occupies a total of thirteen boxes. The library stacks also include a number of secondary sources explaining this program.
College Archivist: Lorett Treese. 610-526-5285 or ltreese@brynmawr.edu
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