Day: February 17, 2016

Primary Sources: Additional records of and related to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel to Foreign Parts

Posted on by dorner

Additional materials related to the USPG contained in British Online Archives.

Archives of the Associates of Dr Bray to 1900
The body of records consists primarily of correspondence files, minute books and financial reports for the institution established by Dr Thomas Bray and his associates. It includes:  
– Administrative records and letters of the Associates   
– Printed books in the archive   
– Rules and reports of the Associates
– Correspondence and records for schools in America
– Correspondence and records concerning the school in the Bahamas
– Correspondence on the establishment of schools in Canada
– General correspondence and records of the Associates

Journal, annual sermons and reports of the SPG, 1701-1870
This collection offers a range of documents which reveal details of the lives the missionaries of the USPG really led. Starting with the formation of the USPG by Royal Charter in 1701, the reports, letters, minutes and accounts of places like Canada in the eighteenth to nineteenth century inform the reader about the colonists’ attitudes and perceptions of American and other colonies during this period. Several documents in this collection feature commentary, directly or indirectly, on relations between the colonizers and the first nations such as the Iroquois and Algonquians. It includes:
– Founding documents of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts
– Journal of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts
– Appendix to SPG Journal
– Annual sermons and reports of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, 1701-1845

Records of the Committee on Women’s Work 1861-1967
First an autonomous body linked with the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, in 1895 this became an organization more closely tied with the SPG, and in 1904 an SPG Committee for Women’s Work was established. This digital collection currently comprises approximately two thirds of the records relating to the Committee on Women’s Work stored at Rhodes House Library, Oxford. It includes:
– Ladies’ Association for the Promotion of Female Education 1861-1895
– Womens’ Missionary Association, c1895-1904
– SPG Committee for Womens’ Work, 1904-1967
– Miscellaneous items, 1866-1960

Bancroft Welcomes Undergraduate Students

Posted on by UC Berkeley Library

Welcome mat

You may walk past The Bancroft Library’s entrance every day. You’re busy and rushing to get to class on time, so you may not even realize that we’re here. Or, perhaps you notice the entrance and wonder where it leads.

The Bancroft Library is UC Berkeley’s primary special collections library, which means we preserve and make accessible significant historical and cultural materials. Our collections include handwritten documents (“manuscripts”) such as letters and drafts, old (“rare”) books, photographs, drawings, and much more.

Come in to do research or learn from these extensive historical and cultural materials. You could include primary source materials in your research papers. Incorporate archival resources into your class assignments or thesis. Find inspiration for a creative project. Research local or university history. Or just indulge your curiosity.

We’re here for you. You don’t need to be faculty or an experienced researcher to access these collections. Bancroft welcomes everyone interested in our collections, including and especially undergraduate and graduate students at UC Berkeley.

Reference staff are available to help you navigate our collections and find resources. Send an email to the reference staff or stop by the Reference Desk. We’re open Monday through Friday between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm.

Don’t be daunted by the foreboding-looking security desk at our entrance. At the desk, our friendly staff will explain that you must leave things like your backpack, books, papers, electronic devices, pens, and snacks inside one of the nearby lockers. After that, come upstairs and register to use the library. It takes five minutes and you only need your Cal ID.

If you’re curious to discover more, join us for The Bancroft Library Open House on Friday, February 26th at Noon -4:00 pm. And bring a friend!

We look forward to your visit!

Post contributed by Shannon Supple, Head of Reference and Research Services, The Bancroft Library