Library receives archives of early women's professional association

The historical records of one of the first professional women's associations will be added to Cornell's extensive archives documenting the history of the field of home economics. The American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) has chosen Cornell Library's Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections as the repository for its records.

AAFCS was founded in 1909 as the American Home Economics Association (AHEA), one of the first national organizations to represent professional women. Early on its members researched and developed public education programs focusing on home economics, including: food and nutrition, parenting and early childhood development, consumer science, family finances, art and interior design, and textiles and construction. With more than 10,000 members today, AAFCS is the only national organization representing family and consumer sciences professionals across practice areas and content specializations.

The AHEA/AAFCS archives include rare books, manuscripts, publications, photographs, sewing samplers, scrapbooks and other records documenting the operation of the association, including the correspondence of early leaders, such as Ellen Swallow Richards and Martha Van Rensselaer. These materials will complement and enrich the library's extensive collection that documents the history of the College of Human Ecology at Cornell.

Virginia Vincenti, president of AAFCS and professor in the family and consumer sciences department at the University of Wyoming, said: "We are very excited to have our valuable collection preserved and made more accessible to researchers. By giving the collection now to Cornell, we hope to provide the opportunity for new historical scholarship in time for our centennial celebration in 2008-09."

Francille Firebaugh, vice provost for land grant affairs at Cornell and former dean of the College of Human Ecology, said: "The history of AAFCS is in many ways the history of the evolution of home economics and the transition to human ecology. The transfer of these records to Cornell adds to the already considerable depth and richness of the existing collection."

"The AAFCS collection is an extraordinarily rich and valuable addition to Cornell's archives," said Patsy Brannon, immediate past dean of the College of Human Ecology. "These historical materials will further support and deepen our understanding of the development of the human sciences professions on a national level."

AAFCS also is providing funds to organize the collection, which will enable the library to hire an archivist to catalog the material and create a comprehensive online guide with a detailed description of the contents of each archival box and folder of documents. Over 60 online guides to Cornell's human ecology/home economics collections are available at: http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/EAD/browselists/humec.html.