http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt3t1nd954 No online items Finding Aid for the Miriam Matthews papers, 1845-1988, bulk 1920-1980 Processed by Krystal Appiah in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli, Summer 2008; machine-readable finding aid created by Caroline Cubé. UCLA Library Special Collections Room A1713, Charles E. Young Research Library Box 951575 Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1575 (310) 825-4988 [email protected] ©2008 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Finding Aid for the Miriam 1804 1 Matthews papers, 1845-1988, bulk 1920-1980 Title: Miriam Matthews papers Collection number: 1804 Contributing Institution: UCLA Library Special Collections Language of Material: English Physical Description: 9.5 linear ft.(19 boxes. 2 oversize boxes.) Date (inclusive): 1845-1988, bulk 1920-1980 Abstract: Miriam Matthews (1905-2003), the first credentialed African-American librarian in the state of California, was a librarian at Los Angeles Public Library (1927-1960), a historian of African American and California history, and an active member of the American and California Library Associations' Committees on Intellectual Freedom. The collection consists of clippings, correspondence, photographs, reports, ephemera, and other materials relating to intellectual freedom; the Los Angeles Public Library; Matthews' involvement with professional, civic, community, and historical organizations; and her research on African-American and California history. Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information. Creator: Matthews, Miriam. Restrictions on Access COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information. Restrictions on Use and Reproduction Property rights to the physical object belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright. Provenance/Source of Acquisition Gift of Miriam Matthews family, 2008. Processing Note Processed by Krystal Appiah in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli, Summer 2008. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Miriam Matthews papers (Collection 1804). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA. Biography Miriam Matthews (1905-2003), the first credentialed African-American librarian in the state of California, was a librarian at Los Angeles Public Library (1927-1960), a historian of African American and California history, and an active member of the American and California Library Associations' Committees on Intellectual Freedom. Miriam Matthews was born on August 6, 1905 in Pensacola, Florida and moved to Los Angeles with her family two years later. After graduating from Los Angeles High School in 1922, Matthews studied at the University of California, Southern Branch (now UCLA) for two years. She transferred to the University of California, Berkeley where she graduated with a B.A. in 1926 and a certificate in librarianship in 1927, becoming the first known certified African American librarian in California. Matthews began her career at the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) in 1927 and became a branch librarian in 1934. She took two leaves of absence from LAPL, one in 1940 to work at the New York Public Library in a librarian exchange program and another from 1944 to 1945 in order to earn a master's degree in library science from the University of Chicago. In 1949, she was promoted to regional librarian, a position she held until her retirement from LAPL in 1960. Matthews was one of the first people to advocate for the establishment of Negro History Week (now African American History Month) in Los Angeles, leading to its official observance by the City of Los Angeles in 1931. In 1946, she became chairman of the California Library Association Committee on Intellectual Freedom. The following year, she was appointed to the American Library Association Committee on Intellectual Freedom (1947-1951) where she contributed to the 1948 revision of the Library Bill of Rights. In 1977, Gov. Edmund Brown appointed Matthews to the California Heritage Preservation Commission and California State Historic Records Advisory Board. She contributed to the establishment of an archives and records management program for the City of Los Angeles in 1979. While a member of the Los Angeles 200 Committee in 1981, Matthews proposed and implemented the construction of a historical plaque detailing the names, ages, and races of the city founders. Matthews died in Mercer Island, Washington on June 23, 2003. Finding Aid for the Miriam 1804 2 Matthews papers, 1845-1988, bulk 1920-1980 In 2003, the Los Angeles Historical Society established the annual Miriam Matthews Award in her honor. The Los Angeles Public Library Hyde Park branch was renamed for her in 2004. Scope and Content Collection consists of clippings, correspondence, photographs, reports, ephemera, and other materials relating to intellectual freedom; Matthews' work at Los Angeles Public Library; her involvement with professional, civic, community, and historical organizations; and her research on African American and California history. The collection is especially strong in materials about Titus Alexander, Ralph J. Bunche, Mary Ellen Pleasant, and William Grant Still. Organization and Arrangement Arranged in the following series: 1. Committee work and professional memberships 2. Los Angeles Public Library 3. Personal papers 4. Subject files. Original file titles were preserved whenever possible. • Miriam Matthews Collection. African American Museum and Library at Oakland (AAMLO). • Miriam Matthews Photographic Collection. California African American Museum, Los Angeles. Related Oral History The following oral history is available through the UCLA Library Center for Oral History Research: • Interview of Miriam Matthews UCLA Catalog Record ID UCLA Catalog Record ID: 6154247 Subjects and Indexing Terms Bunche, Ralph J. (Ralph Johnson), 1904-1971. Matthews, Miriam --Archives. Pleasant, Mary Ellen, 1814-1904. Still, William Grant, 1895-1978. African American women librarians--California--Los Angeles--Archives. Committee Work and Professional Memberships. 1943-1980. Scope and Content Note Correspondence, agendas, minutes, newsletters and publications, newspaper articles, grant proposals and evaluations, and recommendations relating to Miriam Matthews's involvement on committees and boards Box 1, Folder 1 American Library Association--conference. 1953 June 21-25, probably 1949. Scope and Content Note American Library Association resolution, constitution, conference reporter, program. Box 1, Folder 2 American Library Association--Intellectual Freedom Committee. 1946-1950. Scope and Content Note Clippings, correspondence, and organization's resolutions on censorship, loyalty oath. Box 1, Folder 3 American Library Association--Intellectual Freedom Committee. 1951. Scope and Content Note Correspondence, memoranda, clippings, pamphlets. Box 1, Folder 4 American Library Association--Intellectual Freedom Committee. 1952-1964. Scope and Content Note Correspondence, clippings, organizations' resolutions about censorship and teaching UNESCO curriculum in Los Angeles schools. Finding Aid for the Miriam 1804 3 Matthews papers, 1845-1988, bulk 1920-1980 Committee Work and Professional Memberships. 1943-1980. Box 1, Folder 5 California State Historical Records Advisory Board. 1978. Scope and Content Note Grant proposal--Oakland Museum. Box 2, Folder 1 American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). 1952-1953, 1965-1972. Scope and Content Note Civil Liberties, publication of ACLU Box 2, Folder 2 American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). 1946-1953, 1965-1972. Scope and Content Note Open Forum, publication of ACLU Southern California Branch Box 2, Folder 3 American Library Association. 1943, 1953, 1965-1982. Scope and Content Note Bulletins and conference program. Box 2, Folder 4 American Library Association--Intellectual Freedom Committee. 1947-1953. Scope and Content Note Correspondence, newspaper articles, pamphlets, notes, conference program, reading lists. Box 2, Folder 5 American Library Association--Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom. 1953-1979. Box 2, Folder 6 American Library Association--nominees. 1974. Box 2, Folder 7 California Library Association. 1949, 1967-1975. Box 2, Folder 8 California Library Association--Committee on Intellectual Freedom. 1948. Box 2, Folder 9 California Library Association--conferences. 1953 November 11-14, 1984 December 1-5. Box 2, Folder 10 Calibrarian. 1957, 1967-1975. Scope and Content Note Newsletters. Box 2, Folder 11 Developmental Reading Committee. 1963. Box 3, Folder 1 California Heritage Preservation Commission. 1977-1980. Scope and Content Note Correspondence, minutes, agenda, memoranda. Box 3, Folder 2 California Heritage Preservation Commission. 1978-1979. Scope and Content Note Correspondence and reports regarding State Archives Building and drafts of Governor's Records Act. Box 3, Folder 3 California State Historical Records Advisory Board.