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

folder 3-10

Board of Directors

 

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.
Ctn. 3, folder 4

Auxiliary Board

 

List of members 1940-62

 

Annual report 1958

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

folder 8

Hospitality Committee

 

Annual reports 1957-58

 

House and Grounds Committee

folder 8-10

Annual reports, lists of expenditures and estimates 1949-68

 

Nominating Committee

folder 11

Annual reports 1935, 1958

 

Personnel Committee

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.

folder 19-25

Payroll 1956-64

 

Public Relations Committee

folder 26

Annual reports 1954-56

 

Sewing Committee

folder 27

Annual reports, including names of teachers, information regarding objectives, projects, and equipment 1934-66

 

Finance Committee

folder 28

Monthly reports 1954-61

folder 29-30

Annual reports 1945-70

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.
 

OFFICE FILES, 1914-1968

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

Ctn. 4, folder 1-9

Books 1955-63

folder 10-12

Monthly reports 1954-70

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

folder 29-43

Audit reports 1945-59

Ctn. 5, folder 1-8

Audit reports 1960-67

Box 1, folder 1-3

Receipts and disbursements 1954-66

folder 4-6

General ledgers 1946-66

folder 7

Disbursements from general fund and discontinues special fund 1954-55

Ctn. 5, folder 9-12

Investments 1954-68

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

 

Tax exemption claims

folder 25

City of Berkeley 1960-66

folder 26

Alameda Co. 1956-69

folder 27

Registration of charitable trust 1958-70

folder 28

State tax forms 1956-67

folder 29

Federal tax forms 1958-69

folder 30-31

Insurance

folder 32

Mortgages, deeds, etc. n.d.

 

Dept. of Social Welfare

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 3

Guest book 1938-57

folder 4

Printed brochures ca. 1914-54, n.d.

folder 5-8

Clippings 1912-66