Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives
Encyclopedia
The Tamiment Library is a research library
at New York University
that documents radical
and left
history, with strengths in the histories of communism
, socialism
, anarchism
, the New Left
, the Civil Rights Movement
, and utopian experiments. The Robert F. Wagner Archives, which is also housed in Bobst Library at NYU, documents American labor history
. Together the two units form an important center for scholarly research
on labor and the left.
The Tamiment Library has a non-circulating collection of about 50,000 books, focusing on politics, political theory, labor, and radical literature and art movements. There are approximately 15,000 non-current periodical titles, including proceedings of labor union conventions, underground newspapers, internal bulletins of radical organizations, and scholarly journals. In addition, the library
has a collection of about one million pamphlets and ephemera
, including broadside
s, leaflets, manifesto
s, reports, and other documents. The Tamiment Library and Wagner Archives together hold archival collections
on organizations and individuals in the labor movement and left history, with special strengths in the New York City
region.
, a worker-education school sponsored by the American Socialist Society and modeled after the workers’ school at Ruskin College, Oxford, England. The Library was named the Meyer London
Library after the long-time Socialist who represented the Lower East Side
of Manhattan, and only acquired its current name in the late 1970s.
From its first days, Camp Tamiment, a socialist summer camp
established in 1921 in the Poconos by people associated with the School, began to support the New York institution. Between 1937 and 1956, the Camp paid from 50 to 75 percent of the School's expenses. In 1956, Camp Tamiment purchased the School, then closed it and attempted to integrate its educational and cultural programs into the Tamiment Institute. The Library remained open and was renamed the Ben Josephson Library, after the Camp's managing director. In 1963, New York University acquired the library from Camp Tamiment.
In 1977, the Tamiment Institute, New York University, and the New York City Central Labor Council founded the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives to preserve the records of New York City's trade union movement; this became the repository for the records of the New York City Central Labor Council, its member unions and affiliated and related organizations and individuals. A detailed history of the library can be found here; see also Dorothy Swanson, “The Tamiment Institute/Ben Josephson Library and the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at New York University,” The Library Quarterly 59 (April 1989).
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA) collection, formerly located at Brandeis University, was acquired by the Tamiment Library in 2001. The collection is the largest and most important resource for the study of the participation of American volunteers in the Spanish Civil War. It includes the papers of more than 200 volunteers, oral histories, films, photographs, posters, and selections of the microfilmed records of the International Brigades that were taken to the Soviet Union after the Spanish Civil War. More information on this collection, including collection lists, guides, and inventories, can be found here.
{A comprehensive list of United States volunteers in the Spanish Civil War can be found here}.
In March 2007, the archives of the Communist Party USA
were donated to the library. The massive donation came in over 2,000 cartons, and included 20,000 books and pamphlets — some of which dating from the founding of the party - as well as thousands of photographs from the archives of the Daily Worker. The library also holds a copy of the microfilmed archive of Communist Party documents from Soviet Archives held by the Library of Congress
.
See also
There are a number of `Online Exhibits' at the website of the Tamiment Library, including:
* Anarchist Collections in the Tamiment Library: Highlights from the Collections on Flickr
* CPUSA: Ninety Years of History, a Tamiment Library Exhibit on Flickr
* Labor & the Holocaust: The Jewish Labor Committee and the Anti-Nazi Struggle
* New York City Labor History Map
* Sam Reiss: An Eyewitness to Labor History, 1948-1975
* Labor Arts - (a cooperative project / virtual museum that gathers, identifies, and displays images of the cultural artifacts of working people and their organizations.)
Research library
A research library is a library which contains an in-depth collection of material on one or several subjects . A research library will generally include primary sources as well as secondary sources...
at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
that documents radical
Far left
Far left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...
and left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
history, with strengths in the histories of communism
History of communism
The history of the political ideology of communism hypothetically stretches all the way from the Palaeolithic up until the present day. However, most modern forms of communism are based upon Marxism, a variant of the ideology formed by the sociologist Karl Marx in the 1840s...
, socialism
History of socialism
The history of socialism has its origins in the French Revolution of 1789 and the changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution, although it has precedents in earlier movements and ideas. The Communist Manifesto was written by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels in 1848 just before the Revolutions...
, anarchism
History of anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
, the New Left
New Left
The New Left was a term used mainly in the United Kingdom and United States in reference to activists, educators, agitators and others in the 1960s and 1970s who sought to implement a broad range of reforms, in contrast to earlier leftist or Marxist movements that had taken a more vanguardist...
, the Civil Rights Movement
Civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980. In many situations it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance. In some situations it was...
, and utopian experiments. The Robert F. Wagner Archives, which is also housed in Bobst Library at NYU, documents American labor history
Labor history of the United States
The labor history of the United States describes the history of organized labor, as well as the more general history of working people, in the United States. Pressures dictating the nature and power of organized labor have included the evolution and power of the corporation, efforts by employers...
. Together the two units form an important center for scholarly research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
on labor and the left.
The Tamiment Library has a non-circulating collection of about 50,000 books, focusing on politics, political theory, labor, and radical literature and art movements. There are approximately 15,000 non-current periodical titles, including proceedings of labor union conventions, underground newspapers, internal bulletins of radical organizations, and scholarly journals. In addition, the library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
has a collection of about one million pamphlets and ephemera
Ephemera
Ephemera are transitory written and printed matter not intended to be retained or preserved. The word derives from the Greek, meaning things lasting no more than a day. Some collectible ephemera are advertising trade cards, airsickness bags, bookmarks, catalogues, greeting cards, letters,...
, including broadside
Broadside
A broadside is the side of a ship; the battery of cannon on one side of a warship; or their simultaneous fire in naval warfare.-Age of Sail:...
s, leaflets, manifesto
Manifesto
A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
s, reports, and other documents. The Tamiment Library and Wagner Archives together hold archival collections
Archive
An archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...
on organizations and individuals in the labor movement and left history, with special strengths in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
region.
History
The Tamiment Library was originally founded in 1906 as a part of the Rand School of Social ScienceRand School of Social Science
The Rand School of Social Science was formed in New York City by adherents of the Socialist Party of America in 1906. The school aimed to provide a broad education to workers, imparting a politicizing class-consciousness, and additionally served as a research bureau, a publisher, and the operator...
, a worker-education school sponsored by the American Socialist Society and modeled after the workers’ school at Ruskin College, Oxford, England. The Library was named the Meyer London
Meyer London
Meyer London was an American politician from New York City. He was one of only two members of the Socialist Party of America elected to the United States Congress.-Early years:...
Library after the long-time Socialist who represented the Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
of Manhattan, and only acquired its current name in the late 1970s.
From its first days, Camp Tamiment, a socialist summer camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
established in 1921 in the Poconos by people associated with the School, began to support the New York institution. Between 1937 and 1956, the Camp paid from 50 to 75 percent of the School's expenses. In 1956, Camp Tamiment purchased the School, then closed it and attempted to integrate its educational and cultural programs into the Tamiment Institute. The Library remained open and was renamed the Ben Josephson Library, after the Camp's managing director. In 1963, New York University acquired the library from Camp Tamiment.
In 1977, the Tamiment Institute, New York University, and the New York City Central Labor Council founded the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives to preserve the records of New York City's trade union movement; this became the repository for the records of the New York City Central Labor Council, its member unions and affiliated and related organizations and individuals. A detailed history of the library can be found here; see also Dorothy Swanson, “The Tamiment Institute/Ben Josephson Library and the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at New York University,” The Library Quarterly 59 (April 1989).
The Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA) collection, formerly located at Brandeis University, was acquired by the Tamiment Library in 2001. The collection is the largest and most important resource for the study of the participation of American volunteers in the Spanish Civil War. It includes the papers of more than 200 volunteers, oral histories, films, photographs, posters, and selections of the microfilmed records of the International Brigades that were taken to the Soviet Union after the Spanish Civil War. More information on this collection, including collection lists, guides, and inventories, can be found here.
{A comprehensive list of United States volunteers in the Spanish Civil War can be found here}.
In March 2007, the archives of the Communist Party USA
Communist Party USA
The Communist Party USA is a Marxist political party in the United States, established in 1919. It has a long, complex history that is closely related to the histories of similar communist parties worldwide and the U.S. labor movement....
were donated to the library. The massive donation came in over 2,000 cartons, and included 20,000 books and pamphlets — some of which dating from the founding of the party - as well as thousands of photographs from the archives of the Daily Worker. The library also holds a copy of the microfilmed archive of Communist Party documents from Soviet Archives held by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
.
See also
There are a number of `Online Exhibits' at the website of the Tamiment Library, including:
* Anarchist Collections in the Tamiment Library: Highlights from the Collections on Flickr
* CPUSA: Ninety Years of History, a Tamiment Library Exhibit on Flickr
* Labor & the Holocaust: The Jewish Labor Committee and the Anti-Nazi Struggle
* New York City Labor History Map
* Sam Reiss: An Eyewitness to Labor History, 1948-1975
* Labor Arts - (a cooperative project / virtual museum that gathers, identifies, and displays images of the cultural artifacts of working people and their organizations.)