Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm82055715
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The records of the Federal Writers' Project and the Historical Records Survey of the United States Work Projects Administration (WPA) were transferred to the Library of Congress by the administration from 1936 to 1944, with the bulk of the material received in 1940-1941. Portions of the records were held by various divisions of the Library before being processed by the Manuscript Division in 1984. Additional items were transferred from other divisions in the Library from 1989 to 1996, and an item was given by the New Jersey Historical Commission in 1997. Records comprising the research library of the United States Work Projects Administration were received in the 1950s and transferred from the Collections Policy Office to the Manuscript Division in 1998. The slave narrative indexing project was conducted by the Library circa 1975, and files from the project were added to the collection in 2008.
The records of the United States Work Projects Administration were processed in 1984 by Joseph Sullivan with the assistance of Paul Colton, John Hackett, David Larsen, Steve Larsen, Sherralyn McCoy, Susie Moody, Harold Nakao, William Parham, and Janice Ruth. The collection was revised and expanded in 1998 and 1999 by Joseph Sullivan and Nan Thompson Ernst with the assistance of Brian McGuire and Susie H. Moody; and in 2008 with the assistance of Jewell McPherson, Tammi Taylor, and Chanté Wilson-Flowers. The finding aid was revised in 2008.
United States Work Projects Administration Records are described in “Amassing American ’Stuff: The Library of Congress and the Federal Arts Projects of the 1930s,”
Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the Library. Some photographs and drawings have been transferred to the Library's Prints and Photographs Division. Some maps have been transferred to the Library's Geography and Map Division. Music and material from the Federal Theater Project have been transferred to the Library's Music Division. All transfers are identified in these divisions as part of the United States Work Projects Administration Records.
Other records of the United States Work Projects Administration can be found at the National Archives in Washington D.C., and College Park, Maryland.
Related material is available in the Library's American Folklife Center which holds sound recordings of WPA life histories, stories, songs, and ballads, and in the Music Division, which houses the Federal Theatre Project Collection and Federal Music Project Collection . Related collections in the Prints and Photographs Division include the Historic American Building Survey and Historic American Engineering Record, the Work Projects Administration Poster Collection, and the Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection.
The contents of public records created by federal agencies may or may not be covered by copyright legislation. It is the researcher's responsibility to determine requirements of domestic copyright laws and international treaties and conventions.
The United States Work Projects Administration Records are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Microfilm editions of parts of these records are available on sixty-three reels. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition.
Selected items from the United States Work Projects Administration Records and related collections are available on the Library of Congress Web site at the following links:
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, United States Work Projects Administration Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The records of the Federal Writers' Project of the United States Work Projects Administration span the years 1524-circa 1975, with the bulk of the items created from 1935 to 1942. They are comprised of correspondence, memoranda, field reports, notes, drafts of essays, lists, drawings, maps, graphs, newspaper clippings, transcripts of documents, oral testimony in the form of life histories, folklore material, inventories, statements, critical appraisals, speeches, administrative records, instructions, scripts, plays, and surveys. Material prior to 1935 consists mostly of transcripts made or copied for references purposes or for preservation. The files of the Federal Writers' Project are arranged in the following series: Administrative File, American Guide File, Folklore Project, Social-Ethnic Studies, Special Studies and Projects, Negro Studies Project, Slave Narrative Project, Miscellaneous Records, Miscellany and Printed Matter. A small Addition was made to the records in 1998.
The Federal Writers' Project was created in 1935 as part of the United States Works Progress Administration to provide employment for historians, teachers, writers, librarians, and other white-collar workers. Originally, the purpose of the project was to produce a series of sectional guide books under the name American Guide, focusing on the scenic, historical, cultural, and economic resources of the United States. Eventually, the new programs and projects begun under the Federal Emergency Relief Administration were absorbed by the writers' project.
From its inception in 1935 through late 1939, the Federal Writers' Project was directed by Henry G. Alsberg, a former lawyer who became interested in the theater as a writer and as a director of off-Broadway productions. His correspondence makes up the bulk of the letters in the collection. Associates who also appear as project correspondents include Merle Colby, George Cronin, Joseph Gaer, Reed Harris, and Claire Laning. Among the folklorists represented are Benjamin Albert Botkin and John Avery Lomax. Poets and writers whose works appear in the records include Nelson Algren, Sterling Albert Brown, Jack Conroy, and Richard Wright.
The Administrative File contains correspondence of Alsberg dated mostly from 1939, and instructional matter reflecting the operation of the program. It supplements the Federal Writers' Project administrative records held by the National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 69. A finding guide to this material, the
The American Guide File, the largest series, includes research data and drafts of writings that went into producing state guide books. The records reflect topics such as local history, folklore, economic development, scenic areas, places of interest, local lore, facts, and tours. The books were initiated to stimulate travel to bolster the economy during the Great Depression.
Other series in the Federal Writers' Project Records reflect areas of interest developed by the project: rural and urban folklore, including individual narratives and life histories; studies of customs of social and ethnic groups; source materials regarding African Americans; testimony of ex-slaves and slave-related material including copies of purchase agreements and sale advertisements; and a compilation of printed matter now on microfilm.
The records of the Historical Records Survey of the United States Work Projects Administration span the period 1608-1942, with the bulk of the material copied or transcribed from 1935 to 1942. The records consist of correspondence, memoranda, reports, lists, surveys, instructional manuals, guides, personnel records, data sheets, reports, notes, newspaper articles, transcripts of documents, catalog entries, and index cards. The files are arranged in the following series: Administrative File; Manuscript Record Survey, National Office; Church Records Survey, District of Columbia; Municipal Records Survey, District of Columbia; American Imprints Inventory, District of Columbia; Archival and Manuscript Records; Miscellany; Printed Matter; and Addition.
The Historical Records Survey was inaugurated in 1935. Employing white-collar workers, the project inventoried and published state and county historical records. It surveyed and indexed selections of manuscript collections held in public and private depositories, prepared a bibliographic record of books published before the copyright law of 1876, surveyed federal records in state depositories, and undertook related historical projects designed to provide scholars with a more detailed account of public and private records throughout the country.
Reports, guides, instructional material, and correspondence make up the Administrative File of the records. A description of the administrative records of the Historical Records Survey held by the National Archives and Records Administration is contained in the
Records relating to the Research Library of the Work Projects Administration were added to the collection in 1999. They contain reports, publications, and related material documenting the social welfare programs of the Depression era. Records span the years 1925-1947, with the bulk dated 1935-1942. The reports were written by state and local agencies of federal programs, particularly the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Work Projects Administration, and also by private organizations such as the American Public Welfare Association, the Chamber of Commerce, Community Chests, and the Family Welfare Association.
Research Library material is organized in a State File and National File. The State File includes reports, publications, financial records, personnel forms, procedural and instructional manuals, photographs, press releases and other promotional material, speeches, newsletters, bulletins, memoranda, and correspondence. Of note are reports written in 1935 on work relief activities by state emergency relief offices. The narrative reports often include photographs and other illustrations, charts, graphs, and statistical data.
The National File includes reports and related records from federal government programs and from the national offices of private welfare organizations.
Material in the Research Library supplements the "Records of the Work Projects Administration," Record Group 69, held by the National Archives and Records Administration.
The collection is arranged in twenty-four series:
Letters and memoranda exchanged between the national director and state directors of the Writers' Project and occasionally with project heads.
Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence, assignment logs, form letters lists, log books, manuals, reports, proposals, statements, and personnel records.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material except for the time and leave records of the New York City project that have been filed at the end of the subseries.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, essays, lists, newspaper clippings, statistical material, bibliographies, surveys, biographical studies, reproductions of state seals and flags, transcripts of documents and publications, folklore material, commentaries, press releases, studies, and publications.
Arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder by type of material, subject, or name of locale.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, essays, lists, newspaper clippings, statistical material, bibliographies, surveys, biographical studies, folklore material, commentaries, press releases, studies, research data, and publications.
Arranged alphabetically by city and thereunder by type of material, subject, or name of locale.
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, essays, lists, newspaper clippings, statistical material, bibliographies, surveys, biographical studies, folklore material, commentaries, research data, and publications.
Arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder by county or city.
Poetry, songs, statements, expressions, recipes, jokes, plays, jargon, correspondence, and memoranda.
Arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder by type of material or subject.
Containers A693-A705 are available on microfilm. Microfilm shelf no. 19,048
*Available on microfilm. Shelf no. 19,048
Interview narratives, background information on persons interviewed, correspondence, and memoranda.
Arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder by name of compiler.
Essays, articles, life histories, administrative material, reference material, statements and reports, and drafts of projected publications.
Arranged alphabetically by state or city and thereunder by name of ethnic group and type of material.
Correspondence, essays, articles, studies, books, reference material, publications, projected publications, and drafts of essays.
Arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder by name of project.
Correspondence, essays, articles, studies, books, reference material, publications, projected publications, drafts of essays, and private literary efforts encouraged by the program.
Arranged alphabetically by name of project and thereunder by type of material, subject, or name of state.
Essays, statements, biographical studies, stories, folklore material, transcripts, correspondence, and other documentation.
Arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder by type of material.
Oral testimony of former slaves, appraisal or analysis sheets containing information regarding the interviews or narratives, legal documents, newspaper clippings, and court records.
Arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder by type of material with non-slave narratives at the end. A list of the narratives is included in the first container.
Volumes containing edited slave narratives appear in Containers A917-A932 which are also available on microfilm. Microfilm shelf no. 23,423
*Microfilm, shelf no. 23,423. Negative order no. 974(E). Filmed sequence is different from physical arrangement. A digital edition is also available at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome.html
Typescript copies of newspaper clippings, magazine articles, reports, and publications.
Arranged chronologically.
Holograph and typescript copies of diary entries by a physician in Iowa.
Arranged chronologically.
Essays, reports, articles, logs, outlines of projects, newspaper clippings, minutes of meetings, agendas, inventories, indexes, radio scripts, reviews, research material, directories, procedural instructions, and mimeographed material.
Arranged alphabetically by name of person, subject, and type of material.
Correspondence, memoranda, directories, guides, and procedural instructions of the National Youth Administration and WPA state administrators.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Correspondence, memoranda, administrative material, surveys, financial data, statistical and training material, operating and procedural instructions, reports, press releases, and manuals.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Microfilm of books, pamphlets, and mimeographed material published by the Federal Writers' Project.
Arranged alphabetically by state. The index consists of photocopies of either the cover or the first page of each publication. Except for the index, this material is on microfilm only. The original publications are no longer part of the collection, but are listed and filmed according to the containers that housed them before their removal.
Microfilm shelf no. 19,334.
Correspondence, memoranda, manuals, essays, reports, listings, transcripts, drafts of publications, interviews, biographical material, printed matter, folklore material, and research data.
Arranged according to the series of the original portion of the records and alphabetically thereunder by name of state, subject, or type of material.
Correspondence, memoranda, circular letters, reports, lists, newsletters, speeches, publications, surveys, proposals, manuals, statements, personnel records, and financial material.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material or by subject.
Memoranda, surveys, instructions, reports, proposals, manuals, lists, and statements.
Arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder by type of material.
Correspondence, memoranda, inventories, surveys, instructions, manuals, guides, calendars of manuscript collections, indexes, financial records, personnel material, and miscellany.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and subject.
Correspondence, surveys of depositories, reports, and data sheets.
Arranged alphabetically by state. An index and miscellany are at the end of the file.
Correspondence, survey sheets, research notes, newspaper articles, and transcripts.
Arranged alphabetically by name of religious body or denomination and thereunder by name of church, institution, organization, or by type of material.
Drafts of essays, reports, notes, and other research material.
Arranged alphabetically by name of agency, board, or commission. Drafts of the publication associated with this project are filed at the end of the series.
Data sheets, notes, and preliminary catalog entries.
Arranged alphabetically by name of depository and thereunder by name of state or department within the depository.
Typewritten and holograph transcripts of county and municipal archival records such as court and maritime records, vital statistics, county and family histories, and a miscellaneous group of church records.
Arranged alphabetically by state and organized thereunder by type of record. The life or family histories are Mormon life sketches from Utah and are arranged alphabetically.
An inventory of the Mormon diaries and life sketches is available on microfilm. Microfilm shelf no. 7,465n
Available only on microfilm. Shelf no. 7,465
Correspondence, diaries, histories, essays, statements, financial accounts, and company and archival records.
Arranged alphabetically by type of record or name of company or record group.
Correspondence, memoranda, drafts of essays, instructions, lists, surveys, and index cards. Organized in a general file and index card file.
The general material is arranged by name of program or project and thereunder by type of material. The index cards list significant material and are arranged alphabetically by state.
Inventories, abstracts, studies, calendars of manuscript collections, reprints, correspondence, legal material, and surveys.
Arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder by type of material.
Correspondence, calendars of papers, histories, index cards, and lists.
Organized in a general file and an index card file, each arranged by project and thereunder chronologically or by type of material.
Inventories, directories, calendars of events, guides, land grants, surveys, bibliographies, catalog rules, transcripts, ship records, vital statistics, reports, atlases, indexes, histories, cemetery inscriptions, and questionnaires.
Arranged by state and preceded by an index.
Typescript of Catholic marriages in the diocese of St. Augustine, Fla.
Reports, publications, financial records, personnel forms, procedural and instructional manuals, photographs, press releases and other promotional material, speeches, newsletters, bulletins, memoranda, and correspondence of state and local agencies active in social welfare programs.
Arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder by author and title of report or by topic.
Reports and related records created or compiled by federal agencies or private organizations active in social welfare programs.
Arranged alphabetically by name of author and title of report or by topic.
Card files from an indexing project of the slave narratives.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material and thereunder by interviewer, state, informant, and subject.
A blue print and report.
Organized and described according to the series, containers, and folders from which the items were removed.