Conditions Governing Use

Material can be reproduced for study or personal use upon written approval from staff.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to research during scheduled appointments. Researchers must complete the Washington Library's Special Collections and Archives Registration Form before access is provided. According to the policies of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, certain records in the archives may only be available for research 30 years after creation or file date. The library reserves the right to restrict access to items for preservation purposes.

Preferred Citation

[Name and date of item], Publications Committee Collection, Archives of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington [hereafter Washington Library], Mount Vernon, Virginia

Processing Information

File names were kept exactly as originally labeled by the creator. This collection does not represent the entirety of the Publications Committee's files, or the Public Information Committee's files, however these records were boxed and transferred to the library and archives together most likely when the committee dissolved.

Biographical / Historical

Before the Publications Committee was formed, the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association prepared informational and souvenir print material through their Guide Books Committee and Post Cards Committee, both of which were formed in 1905. These were combined with the Committee on Annual Reports in 1935 to form a single Publications Committee in charge of all material published by the MVLA. Vice Regents working in this committee helped create books and booklets, brochures, handbooks, slides, postcards, prints, and maps to sell to visitors, with proceeds benefiting Mount Vernon's operational costs. The Publications Committee and the Public Information Committee merged in 1982 with the stated purpose as "responsible for the production of all Association sponsored publications (except the Annual Report), all printed matter and photographic work. In addition, it is our committee's purpose to promote visitation to Mount Vernon." This was expanded in 1983 to be "responsible for all publications of the Association, for special events and for the preparation, promotion, and release throughout the year of information and material relative to Mount Vernon." By 1993 the committee was dissolved and its responsibilities were split among the Development and Communications Committee, the Sales and Marketing Committee, and the Education Committee.

Scope and Contents

The Publications Committee Collection contains the files created by the MVLA and its employees who worked to research, write, and prepare publications for print. The MVLA often worked with private authors to produce educational and informative titles, and coordinated with printers to independently publish their own works. A small group of files from the Public Information Committee, which merged with the Publications Committee in 1982, is included as a second series. These records document the Association's attempts to answer the general public's information requests and to make visitors better educated on the subject of Mount Vernon and George Washington. Inclusive dates for the collection are 1951 to 1997.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into two series, Series 1. Publications, and Series 2. Public Information, representing the different committees that eventually merged. Folders are arranged alphabetically by folder title, which often corresponds with the name of the publication in the first series, and then chronologically.

Related Material

Other collections pertaining to publications of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association: - Publications and Print Material of the MVLA - Publications – History of Mount Vernon and George Washington - Papers of the MVLA, Series 1. Committees - Papers of the Superintendent and Resident Director - Papers of James Rees