Collection Guide
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League of Women Voters of Orange County Records
MS.R.088
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine
Libraries
Title: League of Women Voters of Orange County records
Creator:
League of Women Voters of Orange County (Orange
County, Calif.)
Identifier/Call Number: MS.R.088
Physical Description:
17.5 Linear Feet
(17 boxes and 4 oversize folders) and 8.4 unprocessed linear
feet
Date (inclusive): 1946-2011
Abstract: The League of Women Voters of Orange
County (LWVOC), California is a nonpartisan organization committed to educating the public
about elections, the voting process, and political and social issues. This collection
comprises the records of the LWVOC beginning with 1957. It contains the records of the LWVOC
Inter-League Organization and its four chapters, Capistrano Bay, North Orange County,
Central Orange County Area, and Orange Coast. It documents league activities and reflects
the concerns of the league and the Orange County community, including environmental issues,
childcare, healthcare, transportation, and Orange County's bankruptcy in the
1990s.
Language of Material:
English .
The collection is open for research.
Access to original audiovisual recordings is restricted; researchers may request use
copies.
Unprocessed additions may contain restricted materials. Please contact the Department of
Special Collections and Archives in advance to request access.
Property rights reside with the University of California. Copyrights are retained by the
creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or to publish, please
contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
League of Women Voters of Orange County records. MS-R088. Special Collections and Archives,
The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information
about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder
descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Gift of Joan Cohen, Patricia Harrigan, Carol Kirkwood, Beverly Toy, and unknown 2001, 2005,
2007, 2011, 2013.
Accruals are expected.
Processed by Karen Rosen, 2002. Finding aid completed by Andre Ambrus, 2005. Revisions by
Cyndi Shein, 2008.
The League of Women Voters of Orange County (LWVOC), California is a grassroots
organization that encourages citizens to actively participate in government. It is open to
both men and women and is committed to educating the public about elections, the voting
process, and social and political issues. The LWVOC conducts studies on issues of public
concern, develops a position on each issue, and then takes action on the issue or advocates
for a cause.
The LWVOC traces its roots to the formation of the California Civic League in 1911,
following the success of the campaign to allow women the right to vote. The League of Women
Voters (LWV) was first proposed by Suffragist movement leader Carrie Chapman Catt at a
convention of the National Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) in 1917. It was conceived of
as a nonpartisan, nonsectarian organization with representation from every state. Its chief
aims were to provide international support for woman suffrage, to watch over state
legislatures to prevent legal discrimination on the basis of sex, and to strive to make
American democratic institutions fair for all those governed by them. Following the adoption
of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, Catt suggested the reorganization of the two
million-strong NAWSA into the LWV, an organization that would work for progressive
legislation on a national and local level.
In 1921 Catt convinced the California Civic League to merge with the LWV when they adopted
the name California Civic League of Women Voters. In 1946 the name was changed to the League
of Women Voters of California. In the beginning the LWV California was comprised of local
leagues that belonged to either the northern or southern section. By 1963 the LWV California
was comprised of many area and county leagues. The LWVOC is an Inter-League Organization
(ILO) comprised of four local chapters: Capistrano Bay, Central Orange County, North Orange
County, and Orange Coast.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
This collection comprises the records of the League of Women Voters of Orange County
(LWVOC), California beginning with 1957. It contains records of the LWVOC Inter-League
Organization (ILO) and its four chapters, Capistrano Bay, North Orange County, Central
Orange County Area, and Orange Coast. Materials include articles of incorporation and
by-laws, league publications, meeting minutes, directories, correspondence, notes, personal
papers, fliers, news clippings, photographs, and audio and video recordings. The materials
reflect the concerns of the LWVOC and the Orange County community, including environmental
issues, childcare, healthcare, transportation, and Orange County's bankruptcy in the
1990s.
This collection is arranged in two series and Series 2 is divided into four subseries:
- Series 1. Inter-League Organization records, 1957-2001. 6.5 linear feet
- Series 2. Chapter records, 1957-2005. 11 linear feet
- Subseries 2.1 Capistrano Bay chapter records, 1969-2002. 2 linear feet
- Subseries 2.2 North Orange County chapter records, 1959-2002. 3 linear feet
- Subseries 2.3 Central Orange County Area chapter records, 1957-1997. 5 linear feet
- Subseries 2.4 Orange Coast chapter records, 1977-2005. 1 linear foot
The collection also contains five unprocessed additions:
- Accession 2009.015. Orange Coast Chapter chronological files unprocessed addition, 1977-2007. 2.4 linear feet
- Accession 2011.006. Orange Coast Chapter unprocessed addition, 1967-2004. 3 linear feet
- Accession 2013.017. Position statement publications and documents unprocessed addition, circa 1970-1993. 0.2 linear feet
- Accession 2013.029. Inter-League Organization and League of Women Voters of California unprocessed addition, 1946-2009 (Bulk, 1977-2009). 2 linear feet
- Accession 2018.034. Orange Coast Chapter files, 1991-2011. 0.8 linear feet
Several Orange County publications were removed from this collection, shelved separately in
Special Collections and Archives, and cataloged in the online catalog
(https://www.lib.uci.edu/).
League of Women Voters of Orange County. "About the League." League of Women Voters
of Orange County, an Inter-League Organization, California.
http://ocilo.ca.lwvnet.org/about.html (accessed April 24, 2007).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Photographic prints -- California -- Orange County -- 21st
century.
Women -- Suffrage -- California -- Orange County -- History --
Sources
Child care -- California
Environmental management -- California
Women in politics -- California -- History -- Sources
Regional planning -- California -- History -- Sources.
Sound recordings -- California -- Orange County -- 20th
century.
Video recordings -- California -- Orange County -- 20th
century.
Photographic prints -- California -- Orange County -- 20th
century.