PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE FILES, 1934-1994

This collection consists of records of the New Brunswick Business and Professional Women's Club, a local branch of the New Jersey Business and Professional Women, Inc., founded in 1923. The collection is approximately 11 cubic feet in size and consists of 9 records center boxes, 1 letter sized manuscript box, three phase boxes, and one photograph box. Records of this club date from 1923 to 2000, and appear to be spread evenly throughout this period.

The bulk of the club's records consist of minutes, by-laws and procedural documents, publicity and public relations files and committee reports. The collection includes a wealth of photographic material and newspaper clippings, as well as nineteen scrapbooks. Subjects covered include legislation, fund-raising, community affairs, and other club activities.

The minutes of executive board and membership meetings are interfiled. Annual reports of the emblem, legislation, public relations, finance and personal development committees are filed in separate series and not with annual reports. The records for publicity and public relations contain press releases, letters to social news editors concerning up-coming activities and some instruction sheets for incoming publicity and public relations chairmen. Financial records in this organization fall into several categories: finance committee reports, treasurer's reports, donation records, scholarship award records and correspondence, and scholarship and loan fund information.

Yearbooks are primarily found in a folder but are also pasted in the scrapbooks. The yearbooks contained information on the club members, programs and committees of that year. Also in the later scrapbooks are many photographs. There are two newsletter scrapbooks that are filed under newsletters because they contain only newsletters. The scrapbook for 1968-70 is in a folder and not with the other scrapbooks, which are in record center boxes. The scrapbooks are kept in record center boxes because each book was contained in a separate binder. Three scrapbooks, 1953-1967, 1938-1940, and 1936-1954, are kept separately in phase boxes, due to their large size.

One oversized black and white photograph, five oversized resolutions, and four items of memorabilia are kept in a separate photograph box.

This collection also includes District V records, of which the New Brunswick club was a member. These records comprise one letter sized manuscript box. Agendas, lists of local club committee delegates, reservations and announcements for meetings, and local club reports are interfiled in the minutes. It is within the minutes that the running of the district is best documented. The correspondence and general files also document the activities of District V.

Related collections at Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries, include the records of the New Jersey Business and Professional Women, Inc. (MC 838), the Business and Professional Women's Club of the Plainfields (MC 928), Business and Professional Women's Club of Newark (MC 926), Business and Professional Women's Club of Point Pleasant, Hillside Business and Professional Women's Club, the Helen Hurd Papers (RMC 56), and other local New Jersey Business and Professional Women's Clubs fragmentary collections (such as Woodbridge, Clark, Westfield, Berkeley Heights, Millburn/Short Hills, Linden and Gloucester County).