Baseball great Jackie Robinson, speaking at an Urban League of Portland meeting, 1955. Edwin C. Berry, Director of the Urban League, is seated second from left.

Following is a list of 5 new or updated finding aids for SCARC collections that were finalized during April 2016. All are available through the Archives West finding aids database, our new Archon finding aids interface, and the OSUL catalog.

These guides include:

• 1 guide for a new collection received in 2015
• 1 guide for a collection that has been separated from the Gerald W. Williams Collection and described as a stand-alone collection
• 1 guide that has been updated to incorporate several additions to the collection
• 2 guides for collections that previously has minimal information available online

As of April 29, 2016, the OSU Special Collections and Archives Research Center has 849 finding aids in Archives West.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to the preparation and review of these new guides – this work is definitely a group endeavor.

New collection received in 2015:

Asian Family Center Oral History Collection, 2014-2015 (OH 30)

This collection consists of 11 interviews conducted with board and staff members of the Asian Family Center (AFC), one of the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization’s five primary locations in Portland, Oregon.  The Asian Family Center exists to serve the needs of the Portland area’s growing Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Documented within the collection are descriptions of the interviewees’ job duties and responsibilities; their thoughts on the value and future of the center; AFC history, programs, and services; and the interviewees’ personal stories regarding their immigration to the United States.

Collection separated from the Gerald W. Williams Collection:

Gerald W. Williams Collection on the Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-2012 (MSS CCC)

This collection includes publications, photographs, newspaper clippings, maps, architectural drawings, artifacts, DVDs, sound recordings, and VHS videotapes documenting various Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps and enrollees in Oregon and other states. These materials were acquired by U.S. Forest Service Historian Gerald W. Williams.

Updated finding aid to incorporate several additions to the collection: 

Siletz News, 2007-2016 (MSS SiletzNews)

This monthly newspaper is published by the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.  This collection consists of both paper and electronic copies; electronic copies are available online.  The newspaper includes information on tribal programs, events, and members; health news from the tribal clinic; and details of activities at the Chinook Winds Casino.  Of special note are notices of life events of tribal members such as birthdays, weddings, and graduations.  The newspaper includes numerous color photographs of programs, events, and members.

Full guides for collections that previously had minimal information available online:

Soviet Propaganda Posters Collection, 1929-1931 (MSS Soviet)

The 18 propaganda posters that comprise this collection were printed in the Soviet Union between 1929 and 1931.  The posters promote industrial productivity, literacy, sanitation and hygiene, and advance anti-religious and temperance messages.  The collection has been described by Williams Husband, a professor of Russian history in the School of History, Philosophy, and Religion. 

Urban League or Portland Records, 1910-2014 (MSS UrbanLeague)

These records document the administration and programs of the League from its founding in Portland, Oregon, in 1945.  The collection reflects the League’s outreach to the community through various programs and activities, fund-raising, interaction with the National Urban League, and African American life in Portland.  The collection includes extensive paper records as well as visual documentation in the form of 6200 photographs, 125 videotapes, and 30 sound recordings.