Volunteers working to preserve Alliance YWCA archives
Alliance Historical Society, Rodman Public Library and Alliance YWCA volunteers have been busy helping the YWCA prepare for its 100th anniversary in 2026.
The three agencies have been busy digitizing YWCA archives, using a $1,052 grant Alliance Historical Society received from the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board. The grant was matched with funds from the YWCA and volunteer time from both the Historical Society and the library.
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The YWCA archives consisted of 220 cubic feet of files stored in 18 file cabinets in a second-floor room of the facility. The records ranged from the group’s founding in 1926 through the current year and included annual reports, newsletters and other reports of association activities. Scrapbook holdings consisted of 3.5 linear feet, and included newspaper clippings, program booklets, and photographs. There were 24 scrapbooks and 250 loose photographs in all that were stored in cardboard boxes in a closet.
As part of the project, the scrapbooks and annual reports were scanned by YWCA volunteers. The annual report files – 84 in total – were added to Alliance Memory (alliancememory.org) by Rodman Public Library staff. The newspaper articles from the scrapbooks are being indexed and added to Alliance Index by RPL staff. The scrapbooks were rehoused into new archival binders and storage boxes.
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As the YWCA looks back on its past when it marks its centennial, it will be able to access and use these materials in a more efficient way than previously available.
The collection can be found at https://www.alliancememory.org/digital/collection/YWCA.
This collection is supported in part by an award from the Ohio Historical Records Advisory Board, through funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, National Archives and Records Administration.
This article originally appeared on The Alliance Review: Volunteers working to preserve Alliance YWCA archives
