Proposal to Designate Texas Woman’s University as Official WMA Archive

Historical Committee Recommendation to the WMA Board

The historical archiving of the military careers of women military flyers has not yet been documented in any one single location. The individual services have done some oral histories and documented some historical achievements through public affairs and in some cases, unit historical records. However, the comprehensive picture of the achievements and contributions of women military aviators has not been consolidated into a single searchable database.

The WMA relationship with the TWU Library as the official archive for the WMA history can allow an opportunity to begin the collection of the contribution and history of Women Military Aviators, across all the services and beginning from the Navy allowing women into fight training in 1972. Although the Special Collections section of TWU’s Blagg-Huey Library already accepts our individual and organization items, the establishment of an endowment will ensure that funds are available to process and store our collections as well as make them available (as approved) for research and educational exhibits.

WMA’s Historical Committee fully supports the designation of TWU as our official archive, with an agreement similar to that of the WASP. We are working on several initiatives, including obtaining grant money to help defray the endowment cost, finding member volunteers to help train library personnel to read and record our data, and expanding information on our website on how and what to donate.

WMA has the opportunity to partner with TWU to capture the history of the contributions and achievements of women aviators in the military, beginning with the entry of women into Navy flight training in 1972 and covering all services. This will be similar to the WASP collection, but separate from it. By having an official archive in a single location, we will ensure that there is a comprehensive and searchable database that can be used for research and education. We will be able to ensure the accuracy of our legacy and preserve our stories for future generations.

The total cost to establish an endowment to sustain our interest in the archive is $10,000, payable over a five-year period. WMA will solicit donations from personal as well as corporate sponsors to meet this funding requirement, but will meet the debt through existing funds if necessary. In addition, there will be a suggested donation of $100 for those who submit their papers, uniforms, and oral histories to the TWU Women’s Collection – WMA archives.

Your Board heartily endorses a vote of Yes on this project.

It is an exciting time to be involved with this project. TWU personnel are enthusiastic and committed to our mantra – preserving the past, promoting the present and protecting the future. To better explain the importance and process of archiving with TWU, we have attached the following pages for your review:

Respectfully submitted for your consideration,

Margie Varuska and Marcy Atwood
WMA Historical Committee

A Few Words from Kimberly L. Johnson, M.A.

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Coordinator, Special Collections
The Woman’s Collection
Texas Woman’s University Archives

While it is important to have WMA’s organizational records, it is also important to have the personal collections of your members. We understand there are special circumstances with many of these records and legal issues that must be considered. We will work individually with each donor on their collection to ensure that we are limiting and restricting access as necessary. We want everyone to be comfortable with the usage of their collection and we will work with you on determining what that comfort level is. The personal collections are so important to researchers because it’s the members who help tell the story of women’s history in the military. I personally feel a sense of urgency to begin the process of capturing this history because the first women admitted to the service academies have already retired. Let’s work together to get your history documented, recorded and preserved. The Woman’s Collection is determined not to let what happened to the WASP and their stories being absent from the history books happen to the Women Military Aviators.  In addition, the uniforms, artifacts, and memorabilia are important because these are the items that are necessary for exhibits both those we have here in the library and those we support across the country.

We have a standard for physically processing and organizing collections for every organization. We organize the collection using acid free materials. We would then create a detailed finding aid/inventory. We automatically close yearbooks with our organizations because of the personal information in them (addresses, phone numbers, and emails). We make these materials available to members but not researchers. We also evaluate what materials should be digitized because of age, condition, and preservation needs. We are not able to digitize all papers, but we determine those that are of the most historic value and immediate need due to deterioration.

A few more facts about the Woman’s Collection. Our storage area is climate controlled and only the staff have access to this area. We work with researchers, publishers, scholars, documentarians, filmmakers, etc. all over the country and throughout Europe. We routinely support over 100 exhibits throughout Texas and on average two dozen across the country. We work with scholars, educators, historians, and students. We maintain a Best Practices Standard for our collection processing and digitization initiatives which we review every year due to changes in technology and software.

Lastly, because we are a state institution what makes our archive unique is our sustainability. While our name has changed several times throughout our history, the Archive has remained the same. The Woman’s Collection is not shrinking but growing. We are doing everything we can to increase our visibility not just within the community but around the state and across the country. We are pursuing groups and persons to diversify our holdings. Because we believe every woman makes history every day, we are committing ourselves and dedicating resources to ensure that this history does not go undocumented, unrecorded, and most importantly is not forgotten. History is shaped by the women who effect change, make a difference, and take risks, we want to do everything we can to ensure that no story goes untold and no voice silenced. The history of our state is rich, the women who have shaped and formed it important. We want to do our part to capture the history of the members of WMA because what you do as individuals effects change in your communities and in the branches you serve and what you do collectively as a group ripples across the country ultimately transforming our world.

I have attached two links below so that you can refer to what type of materials we put on line, how we digitize items, and what we could create that may be a unique addition to WMA.
http://www.twu.edu/library/wasp.asp
http://www.twu.edu/library/womans-collection.asp

Kimberly L. Johnson, M.A.
Coordinator, Special Collections
The Woman’s Collection
University Archives

The Woman’s Collection

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The Woman’s Collection – named in Memory of Lou Halsell Rodenberger – is a major research collection on the history of American women. At the suggestion of TWU president, Dr. Louis H. Hubbard, the Library first began collecting the biographies of great women in 1932 “to serve as role models” to students. The collection has since grown to almost 78,000 books, over 6,000 cubic feet of manuscript collections, 25,000 photographs, approximately 2,000 periodical titles, over 400 oral histories, and 180+ major manuscript and book collections on microform.

Women and War

Women have always contributed to the defense of our nation. Their participation is documented in the papers of women who served in the armed forces or otherwise participated in the war effort. TWU is proud to record and preserve the service and memories of courageous women from the 18th through the 21st centuries who have served at home and abroad in times of conflict. Collections and information include:

Women in Aviation

The Woman’s Collection has devoted substantial resources to the history of women in aviation. In 1992, TWU became the official archive for the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II (WASP) and has the most extensive archival collection in the United States of WASP personal papers, photographs, and other memorabilia available to researchers and students. The holdings now include collections of the Women Military Aviators and the Whirly-Girls International (helicopter pilots). Major acquisitions include:

An Excellent Resource

Researchers, historians, educators, and scholars find the TWU Woman’s Collection to be a rich and varied source of valuable information and visual resources for everything from publishing to lesson planning. The TWU staff is committed to the success of its researchers and welcome inquiries by telephone, mail, and online. Web pages and an online catalog provide access to information about the collections.

How You Can Help

Private financial support is critical to our efforts to preserve women’s history, continue the preeminence of this great archive, and acquire space for archival expansion. Unrestricted gifts to the Woman’s Collection meet current needs and provide the greatest flexibility. Restricted gifts may be directed to the following areas:

Donating research materials, photographs, or other historically significant artifacts also is a great way to make a tax-deductible contribution to the TWU Woman’s Collection.

Explanation of Endowment Agreement

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Endowments are created so that the intended purpose of the fund will live on in perpetuity. Only the earnings from the fund will be spent for its intended purpose.

At Texas Woman’s University, we require a minimum of $10,000 to establish an endowment. This is done so that there can be sufficient investment earnings generated to provide for a meaningful gift. The creation of an endowment can be paid over a five year period, but naturally, the sooner it reaches an endowed status, the sooner awards can be made from its earnings.

The endowment agreement documents the understanding between the donor and Texas Woman’s University Foundation on the intended use of the earnings from the fund, how the earnings will be used, and some other administrative details. Listed below are explanations for each of the paragraphs.

The agreement is then signed by you and/or others representing the Women Military Aviators, returned with your check or instructions for funding of the scholarship. It will then be signed by the Dean of the TWU Libraries and the Chair of the TWU Foundation Board of Directors. We will return to you a copy of the agreement with original signatures.

The last page of the agreement is where you can indicate the value of your gift and where you can also give us permission to publicly acknowledge your generosity.

Draft Endowment Agreement, Women Military Aviators Endowment

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 I, We of County, State hereby have given, conveyed, and delivered to the Texas Woman’s University Foundation, a non-profit organization, the property described in Schedule A, on page 3 of this agreement.   I/We wish to establish a permanently endowed fund with the Texas Woman’s University Foundation to be administered according to the following provisions:

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