Guide to the Berkeley Day Nursery records, 1909-1970
Processed by Ellen Jones; completed by Tiffany Barnes and Mary Morganti
The Bancroft Library.
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California, 94720-6000
Phone: (510) 642-6481
Fax: (510) 642-7589
Email: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
URL: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu
© 1999
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Guide to the Berkeley Day Nursery records, 1909-1970
Collection number: BANC MSS 74/102 c
The Bancroft Library
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Contact Information:
- Processed by:
- Ellen Jones; completed by Tiffany Barnes and Mary Morganti
- Date Completed:
- June 1997
- Encoded by:
- Xiuzhi Zhou
© 1999 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Collection Summary
Collection Title: Berkeley Day Nursery records,
Date (inclusive): 1909-1970
Collection Number: BANC MSS 74/102 c
Creator:
Berkeley Day Nursery
Extent:
Number of containers: 5 cartons, 2 boxes
Linear feet: 7.05
Repository: The
Bancroft Library.
Berkeley, California 94720-6000
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Abstract: Berkeley Day Nursery records relate to the management and daily operation of the nursery school which served working mothers
in Berkeley, Albany, and Kensington, Calif. Records include correspondence, reports, articles of incorporation, by-laws, minutes,
enrollment statistics, financial materials, printed brochures, and clippings concerning the nursery.
Languages Represented:
English
Information for Researchers
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to The Bancroft Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts
must be submitted in writing to the Head of Public Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Bancroft
Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which
must also be obtained by the reader.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Berkeley Day Nursery records, BANC MSS 74/102 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California,
Berkeley.
Material Cataloged Separately
- Printed materials have been transferred to the book collection of The Bancroft Library.
- Photographs have been transferred to Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The Berkeley Day Nursery Records were given to The Bancroft Library by Mrs. E. O. Lawrence, a former President, on December
4, 1973.
Organization History
The Berkeley Day Nursery, a non-profit corporation founded in 1908 by a group of Berkeley women, was a pioneer in nursery
care for the children of working class mothers. Subsidized by the city of Berkeley, the Berkeley Community Chest, and later,
the United Crusade, its operating funds were also derived from income on a small endowment, from gifts and bequests, and from
fees determined on a sliding scale by the parents' ablility to contribute. The nursery was managed by a Board of Directors
consisting of 24 women who were unpaid volunteers interested in community service. An executive director appointed by the
directors and small staff of employees were responsible for daily operation. The Berkeley Day Nursery functioned for many
years until increasingly strict state requirements for personnel and programs resulted in its closing in November 1965; the
corporation was dissolved on December 11, 1969.
Scope and Content
The Berkeley Day Nursery Records, 1909-1970, relate to the management and daily operation of the nursery school, founded in
1908 and dedicated to the care of children of working mothers of Berkeley, Albany, and Kensington, Calif. The records include
articles of incorporation, by-laws, minutes of board meetings, correspondence, executive director's and superintendent's reports,
which include enrollment statistics, reports of committees, financial and legal records, printed brochures, and clippings.
The collection will provide detailed insight into past practices in early childhood education, as well as examples of social
and economic conditions of family life in the Berkeley area, community involvement in charitable work, and the status and
employment of women, particularly those who worked as teachers in the nursery school. Descriptive titles of records used by
the Berkeley Day Nursery have been retained throughout.
Carton 1; Carton 2, folders 1-11
SERIES 1: RECORDS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, 1909-1968.
Scope and Content Note
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Articles of incorporation, by-laws, and minutes of meetings, including attendence records.
Ctn. 1, folder 1-2
Articles of incorporation, by-laws, and amendments
1913-65
Minutes of meetings
1909-50
Ctn. 2, folder 1-8
Minutes of meetings
1950-69
folder 9-11
Attendance records
1929-68
Carton 2, folders 12-22; Carton 3, folders 1-3
SERIES 2: RECORDS OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 1932-1965.
Scope and Content Note
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Director's and Superintendent's reports include monthly and annual reports about daily routines, problems, and special events.
Enrollment statistics contain information on number and names of children enrolled and withdrawn, average age, family income,
and race.
Ctn. 2, folder 12
Director's reports
1957-63
folder 13
Notebook, including agendas, by-laws, reports
1965-66
folder 14-21
Superintendent's reports
1932-50
folder 22
Enrollment statistics
1953-64
Ctn. 3, folder 1-3
Reports relating to children served
1948-65
Carton 3, folders 4-30
SERIES 3: RECORDS OF COMMITTEES, 1934-1970.
Scope and Content Note
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically, and then chronogically, except Finance Committee is last.
Numerous committees directed policy and supported the work of the school; these include the Auxiliary Board, Child Policy
and Program, Hospitality, House and Grounds, Nominating, Personnel, Public Relations, Sewing, and Finance Committees. Includes
annual reports with summaries of all activities for each year. Personnel Committee files contain lists of duties of the director,
officers, teachers, and committees, providing detailed information on the daily operations of the school, as well as personnel
policies, salary schedules, and job classifications for the staff.
folder 5-6
Information regarding bazaars and Christmas parties
1952-60
folder 7
Child Policy and Program Committee
Annual reports
1955, 1958
Report on visits to child care centers
1950
House and Grounds Committee
folder 8-10
Annual reports, lists of expenditures and estimates
1949-68
folder 11
Annual reports
1935, 1958
folder 12
Personnel policies, rosters, and duties of Director, Officers, Teachers, and Committees
1953-63, n.d.
folder 13-14
Reports, correspondence, minutes of meetings, personnel policies, salary schedules, job classifications, and employment applications
1954-65, n.d.
folder 15-16
Employee time sheets and daily schedules
1955-57, n.d.
folder 17-18
Retirement and pension plan
n.d.
Public Relations Committee
folder 27
Annual reports, including names of teachers, information regarding objectives, projects, and equipment
1934-66
Carton 3, folders 31-40; Carton 4; Carton 5, folders 1-20; Box 1
SERIES 4: FINANCIAL RECORDS, 1914-1970.
Scope and Content Note
Divided into two sub-series: Office Files and Treasurer's Records. Records were kept by the financial committee or other officers
of the Board unless otherwise noted, but are an incomplete record income and operating expenses.
Ctn. 3, folder 31
Financial support for projects
1967-68
folder 32-34
Gifts and donations
1914-20, 1958-65
folder 35-36
Revolving funds and food fund
[1959?]-65
folder 37
Fagan-Van Court Loan
1949-60
folder 38
Wall Estate bequest fund
1935-60
folder 39-40
Kate and Ralph Minor memorial fund
1955-58, 1961
TREASURER'S RECORDS, 1920-1970
folder 13
Annual statements
1953-70
folder 14
Financial statement
Dec. 1960
folder 15-16
Chart of accounts
1954, 1961
folder 17-21
General budgets
1920-22, 1958-65
folder 22-28
Financial reports
1956-64
Box 1, folder 1-3
Receipts and disbursements
1954-66
folder 7
Disbursements from general fund and discontinues special fund
1954-55
folder 13-16
Lists of stocks, income from dividends
ca. 1954-70
folder 17-20
Miscellaneous financial records
n.d.
Carton 5, folders 21-34
SERIES 5: LEGAL RECORDS, 1947-1970.
Scope and Content Note
Contains information about the closing of the school, as well as tax, insurance, property, and licensing documentation.
Papers regarding closing of the nursery
Ctn. 5, folder 21-24
Staff and union statements, correspondence, committeereports, clippings
Nov. 1965
folder 27
Registration of charitable trust
1958-70
folder 29
Federal tax forms
1958-69
folder 32
Mortgages, deeds, etc.
n.d.
folder 33
Correspondence, licenses, renewal applications
1947-66
folder 34
Miscellaneous correspondence
1952-70
Box 2
SERIES 6: MISCELLANEOUS, 1912-1966.
Scope and Content Note
Includes a report done in 1938 by a University of California, Berkeley student, a guest book, samples of stationary, letterhead,
and brochures, along with clippings about the school.
Box 2, folder 1
Report regarding Berkeley Day Nursery by June Russell White for Economics course, University of California, Berkeley
1938
folder 2
Samples of stationary and letterhead
n.d.
folder 4
Printed brochures
ca. 1914-54, n.d.