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Finding Aid to the Corinne Gilb Collection
larc.ms.0065
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Table of contents
Title: Corinne Gilb collection
Date (inclusive): 1951-1963
Creator:
Gilb, Corinne L.
Extent:
6.25 cubic feet
(16 boxes and 1 oversize box)
Collection number: larc.ms.0065
Accession number: 2005/002
Repository:
Labor Archives and Research Center
J. Paul Leonard Library, Room 460
San Francisco State University
1630 Holloway Ave
San Francisco, CA 94132-1722
(415) 405-5571
larc@sfsu.edu
Abstract: This collection documents Dr. Corinne Gilb's work in her position as the first Director of the Regional Cultural History Project,
the forerunner of the Regional Oral History Office (ROHO), at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). The collection
documents early methodology for conducting oral histories and includes interviews, conducted for the Institute of Industrial
Relations at UC Berkeley, of union members, employers, and professionals in the labor relations field. The histories describe
the daily work of typographers, teamsters, and retail clerks from the early 1900s to the 1950s, and provide a detailed history
of San Francisco Bay Area labor relations during that period.
Physical Location: Collection is available onsite.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English.
Collection is open for research.
Copyright has not been assigned to the Labor Archives and Research Center. All requests for permission to publish or quote
from materials must be submitted in writing to the Director of the Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf
of the Labor Archives and Research Center as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder, which must be obtained by the reader.
[Identification of item], Corinne Gilb Collection, larc.ms. 0065, Labor Archives and Research Center, San Francisco State
University.
The bulk of this collection was donated in 2004 by Dr. Gilb's daughters, Lesley Taplin and Tyra Gilb. Additional material
was received a year later and has been incorporated into the collection. Accession number 2005/002.
The collection was initially processed by Carol Cuénod in 2005 and 2006, with additional processing by Labor Archives and
Research Center staff in 2015.
The materials have been arranged into six series. Series 1: Oral History Programs; Series 2: Oral History Manual; Series 3:
Interviews; Series 4: File Card Boxes; Series 5: Research Materials and Working Papers; Series 6: Clippings
Dr. Corinne Lathrop Gilb (1925-2003), a native of Canada, came to the United States with her family at the age of 8. She attained
her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington, and her Ph.D. from Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
She then moved to California where she earned a master's degree from the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley),
and attended Boalt Hall School of Law for 3 years. From 1953 to 1957, Dr. Gilb established and directed the Regional Cultural
Oral History Project, later known as the Regional Oral History Office (ROHO), at UC Berkeley. In 1957, she accepted a position
at the Institute of Industrial Relations at UC Berkeley where she was responsible for creating an oral history program in
the field of labor relations. Dr. Gilb conducted interviews not only with key figures in the labor movement, but also with
veteran workers, local union members, lawyers, judges, anthropologists, sociologists, and other active participants in labor
relations.
Between 1964 and 1968, Dr. Gilb taught courses in history both at Mills College and San Francisco State University. In 1969,
after returning from several months in Paris on a Guggenheim Scholarship, she was invited to join the history department at
Wayne State University in Detroit. During her tenure at Wayne State University, Dr. Gilb remained active as a writer and public
speaker and, from 1979 to 1985, also served as Planning Director for the City of Detroit.
After retiring from Wayne State University in 1994 as Professor Emeritus, Dr. Gilb and her husband, Tyrell Gilb, moved to
Atherton, California where she founded Atherton Press, Ltd. for academic publications.
This collection documents Dr. Corinne Gilb's work at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) in her position
as the first Director of the Regional Cultural (Oral) History Project, the forerunner of the Regional Oral History Office
(ROHO). The collection documents early methodology for conducting oral histories and includes interviews, conducted for the
Institute of Industrial Relations at UC Berkeley, of union members, employers, and professionals in the labor relations field.
The histories describe the daily work of typographers, teamsters, and retail clerks from the early 1900s to the 1950s, and
provide a history of San Francisco Bay Area labor relations during that period.
Series 1 and 2 contain correspondence, notes, legal forms, reports, and financial documents that describe Gilb's work at UC
Berkeley, in particular, the development of two oral history projects, an oral history manual, and the techniques necessary
for conducting oral histories for historical research. Series 3, Interviews, comprises twenty-four completed interviews edited
by Gilb for clarity and continuity, and by the interviewee for content. Many of the interviews are accompanied by an introduction,
table of contents, appendix and index; others include correspondence, notes by the interviewer, lists of prepared questions,
and news clippings and other supporting documentation. Drafts, partial interviews, and notes regarding potential interviews
are also included in this series. Series 4, File Card Boxes, contains handwritten note cards created by Gilb. These file
card boxes, divided by subject headings, contain interview questions, biographical information, contact information, and comments.
Series 5, Research Materials and Working Papers, consists of research materials collected by Gilb on labor unions and other
subjects such as education, communism, and nuclear disarmament. Also included in this series are copies and drafts of papers
written by Gilb after she left the oral history program. The last series, Clippings, includes clippings from various newspapers
spanning the years 1948 to 1970.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Labor -- California -- History -- 20th century.
Oral histories.
Strikes and lockouts -- California -- San Francisco.
Labor movement -- California -- History.
Labor union members -- United States -- Interviews.
Labor unions -- Organizing -- California.
Longshoremen's Strike, San Francisco, Calif., 1934.
Bombings -- California -- San Francisco
Pacific Maritime Association.
Mooney, Tom.
Retail Clerks International Union.
International Typographical Union.
University of California, Berkeley.
Billings, Warren K., 1883-1966.
International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Lapham, Roger D. (Roger Dearborn).
Regional Cultural History Project (University of California, Berkeley).
University of California, Berkeley. Institute of Industrial Relations.
Field, Sara Bard, 1882-1974.
Havenner, Franck, R.
Vail, Larry.
Tobriner, Mathew Oscar, 1904-1982.
St. Sure, Joseph Paul, 1902-1966.
Neylan, John Francis, 1885-1960.
Melnikow, Henry P.
Hodge, Frederick Webb, 1864-1956.
San Francisco Employers' Council.
Wirin, A.L.