Detroit Public Library

AFSCME Local 1259: Detroit Public Library Records

jruss — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:11:55 -0400

Local 1259, representing Detroit Public Library (DPL) employees, affiliated in 1949 with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Michigan Council 77. It represented professional librarians, as well as clerical and maintenance employees. A staff association existed for some years before union certification, and failed attempts to unionize were made before 1949. In 1970, the Association of Professional Librarians won the right to represent the professional librarians within the union. Local 1259 continued to be the bargaining unit for the DPL's maintenance and clerical workers. The collection documents the activities of Local 1259 and of the Detroit Public Library during the 1950s and 1960s. Additional information is included on broader topics like Detroit city employees; Michigan AFSCME organizations and events, especially Michigan Council 77; and unionism in libraries. Records include contracts and negotiation material; budgets, proposals, and financial statements; correspondence; meeting minutes; publications; constitutions; salary information; clippings; convention materials; and fliers.

Joe L. Norris Papers

cwesterman — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 16:25:06 -0500

Dr. Joe L. Norris began as a professor at Wayne State University in the Department of History in 1938. Prior to his appointment at Wayne State, Norris received his BA from Northwestern in 1928, his MA from Harvard in 1931, and his Ph.D. from University of Chicago in 1938. Dr. Norris worked as a research assistant at the Library of Congress from 1930 to 1931 and served in the Air Force from 1943 to 1946.

During his tenure at Wayne State University, Dr. Norris was the Editor in Chief of the Wayne State University Press from 1951 to 1954, the founder and editor of the Detroit Council of Local History newsletter, an active member of the Michigan Historical Society, the American Historical Association, the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters, the Detroit Historical Society and a member of Wayne State’s Athletic Association. Dr. Norris was also a chairman of the Michigan Bibliography Committee in 1949 and a historical consultant for Wayne State University Broadcasting, the Portrait of Anthony Wayne by F. Clever Bald, and Leslie Hanawalt’s A Place of Light: The History of Wayne State University.

The collection primarily consists of Dr. Norris’s research notes, historical papers, and student papers. This collection contains the early research of Wayne State’s Athletic Association, as well as many faculty memos and drafts of newsletters and publications associated with Wayne State. Dr. Norris authored two books: As Others See Chicago and Forty Six Years, The Published Writings of Milo M. Quaife, as well as the Classified Finding List of the Collections of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society and Detroit History Booklets, a series of booklets on Detroit history.

This collection also includes pamphlets and political ephemera from the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, the Socialist Party, and the Progressive Party largely from the 1920s to the 1940s. Dr. Norris saved political pamphlets and flyers passed out on Wayne State University’s campus during his time at Wayne State. He also collected a variety of political and cultural materials associated with Detroit including materials from the Detroit Public Schools, the Detroit Library Commission, Detroit political campaigns, Detroit tourism promotional materials, and theater and musical productions within Detroit. Dr. Norris saved political materials from the University of Chicago, including flyers for political student groups and student strikes. This collection also contains a sizeable amount of political leaflets, pamphlets, and flyers from Indiana (his birthplace), primarily from Marion County. Included in this is the Kourier, a Ku Klux Klan publication, as well as materials from various political groups within Marion County. Finally, this collection contains a small number of action adventure books from the early 1900s.

Event Announcement: “This Is My Town: The Concert Poster Art of Detroit, 1970s-2000s”

Public Relations Team — Thu, 21 May 2015 15:50:03 -0400

On May 22nd, 2015, the Detroit Sound Conservancy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the musical sounds and stories of Detroit, will hold its second annual conference at the main branch of the Detroit Public Library. The Michigan Sound Conference will explore the ways that the Mitten State, and the Motor City in particular, have led the world in shaping the contemporary sonic landscape. As a part of the conference, the Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor and Urban Affairs will host the one-day exhibit "This Is My Town: The Concert Poster Art of Detroit, 1970s-2000s." This exhibit presents a selection of posters advertising musical, dramatic, and visual arts events in Detroit from the 1970s to the 200s, drawn from the papers of David Clements. read more »

(2458) Buildings, Libraries, Detroit Public Library, Construction, 1960s

eclemens — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:35:54 -0400

A view of the back of Main Library and the beginning of construction of the new wing at the corner of Putnam and Cass, Detroit, Michigan.

(9812) Detroit Public Library

jruss — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:08:04 -0400

Members of Local 1259, Detroit, Michigan Public Library Employees, look at a library display on labor history at the Detroit Public Library. From left they are Rita Beck, vice president of Local 1259; Doris Detwiler, president; Helga Herz, chairman of policy committee; Cleo Taylor, former president; and David Cooley, treasurer. This image appeared in the November 1959 issue of AFSCME's Public Employee magazine

(9813) Detroit Librarian

jruss — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:13:09 -0400

Helga Herz, librarian and member of Local 1259 in Detroit, shows a book on the Knights of Labor to Alvin Ruthenberg, staff representative for Detroit Area Council 77. This image appeared in the November 1959 issue of AFSCME's Public Employee magazine.