The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania and Temple University Special Collections Division are pleased to invite you to explore the collections housed within the Temple libraries.

The Temple University Special Collections Division is located in the Paley Library on the main campus of Temple University in Philadelphia. The Special Collections Division now includes the Temple Urban Archives, the Philadelphia Jewish Archives, Conwellana & Templana, and Rare Books & Manuscripts.

This is your opportunity to discover the unique resources of this repository. Temple's Urban Archive contains the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin clipping and photo collection, along with thousands of manuscripts, pamphlets and books. Temple collections are particularly strong in the time period from early to mid 20th century, and include materials from hundreds of Philadelphia businesses, manufacturing companies, community and social organizations (see examples below).

Please note: GSP & Temple have three summer research sessions available; only 12 (Twelve) researchers can be accommodated per session. This ticket date is for the JULY 13, 2011 research session. Staff of GSP and the Urban Archives will be available to help with your research questions.This arrangement also lends to more personalized attention from the staff.

Because 80% of the archive collections are stored off-site, your research materials request must be received by the Temple library staff before JUNE 29th, 2011.  The majority of Archive Collections have finding aids on-line, other collection finding aids are only found in the Archive.

As you work through online catalog collection descriptions at the Temple Library website, http://library.temple.edu/collections/?bhcp=1 , those highlighted in blue are clickable and will lead to a finding aid. To request materials for research, note collection name, identification number, and box number as you go through descriptions. If you have questions about requesting research materials that do not have an online finding aid, please contact the staff at the Temple Archives at 215-204-5750 or email urban@temple.edu.

THE FORM TO REQUEST RESEARCH MATERIALS CAN BE DOWNLOADED FROM THE WEBSITE OF THE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA HERE - http://genpa.org/TempleArchivesRegForm.pdf

Schedule for July 13, 2011:

10:30 AM - Noon: Behind the scenes tour & orientation of the Temple Urban Archive collections.

Noon - 1:00 PM: Lunch - Food courts are located within two blocks of Paley Library. Open picnic areas are also available for those who choose to brown bag a lunch.

1:00 - 4:30 PM: Research with the archive collections and previously requested research materials.

                       GETTING TO THE ARCHIVES  (Ground Floor) AT PALEY LIBRARY:

Main Campus Map – http://www.temple.edu/maps/documents/TUMain_map.pdf

Parking – various lots and garages on the Temple campus for $12 per day. See- http://www.temple.edu/parking/cash.html ; some on street parking is available

By Train – all SEPTA train lines stop at Temple University; Paley Library is a 3 block walk west (toward Broad St.) along Berks St. from Temple train station.

(See - http://www.septa.org/schedules/rail/index.html for Regional Rail schedules)

By Subway – SEPTA’s Broad Street (Orange) Line stops at Cecil B. Moore/Temple University

By Bus – Numerous SEPTA bus routes stop at Cecil B. Moore Blvd.

(See - http://www.septa.org/schedules/bus/index.html for bus schedules)

 COLLECTIONS AVAILABLE TO RESEARCHERS:

a.       Philadelphia Evening Bulletin Newspaper Clipping and Photograph Collection contains approximately 7 million clippings and 4 million images from the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin newspaper. The materials are filed alphabetically by subject and personal name and date from 1920’s through the early 1980’s.  See some of these collections at the Temple Libraries Digital online collections - http://library.temple.edu/digitalcollections/?bhcp=1

Also, along with the Bulletin photo collection, the Archive holds more than 100 collections of various photo images, such as those of the Housing Association of Delaware Valley and the City Parks Association, and collection descriptions can be found here http://library.temple.edu/collections/urbana/phodes.jsp?bhcp=1

Although digital processing continues to make these images available online, the bulk of the photo collections are only searchable on-site.  

b.      Manuscript Collections of Greater Philadelphia Community and Political Organizations: located at the Archives-

See - http://library.temple.edu/collections/urbana/manuscripts.jsp?bhcp=1

This collection of materials consists of local Philadelphia neighborhood businesses, non-profit and community groups. In most cases the records consist of the administration of organizations, such as the YMCA, or the [Philadelphia] City Planning Commission, and contain minutes of board of director meetings, financial accountings, etc.

Many collections contain records of average working people. Two examples include:

The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, Series IX - Membership Records (1930-1981). These records include dues payment records by shop, membership books, employment exchange files containing daily summaries of registrations and assignments by operations, shop assignment books, and survey information cards from 1969 which contain member’s name, address, age, children’s names and ages, shop name and number, and number of years of ACWA membership. For additional information see:

http://library.temple.edu/collections/urbana/acwa-01.jsp?bhcp=1

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, Series X - Voluntary Relief Fund (1886-1968).

These records include death benefit ledgers and case files for fund participants arranged by case number and death date. For additional information see:

http://library.temple.edu/collections/urbana/prr-01.jsp?bhcp=1

c.       Philadelphia Jewish Archives: The collections of the Philadelphia Jewish Archives preserve the history of the Jewish communities and Jewish life in the greater Philadelphia region, including Southern Jersey, the Philadelphia suburbs and parts of Pennsylvania as far west as Harrisburg. The collection is considered one of the most extensive and varied of its kind outside of New York City.

Among the Jewish collections housed at the Temple Urban Archives are records of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, The Hebrew Sunday School Society, the Jewish Publication Society and a collection of business documents known as the Immigrant Bank Ledger Books

To view the materials contained in this collection please see:

http://library.temple.edu/collections/pjac/ 

d.      Temple University Libraries Templana Collections: The Conwellana-Templana Collections consists of Temple publications, minutes of the Board of Trustees, papers of Temple presidents and administrators, and records of university-wide committees. Also included are student publications, personal papers of scholars, professors and alumni, annual reports, yearbooks and student newspapers and magazines. See the following for more information - http://library.temple.edu/collections/special_collections/?bhcp=1

NOTES TO RESEARCHERS:

a.       Reading room policies regarding photocopying and collections use is subject to change. Please contact the Archives at 215-204-5750 or email urban@temple.edu for current information.

b.      Main page online for Temple University Libraries and Archives is:

http://library.temple.edu/collections/?bhcp=1

c.         The bulk of the Manuscript collections are stored off-site thus requiring 2 weeks advance notice.