NWG historical documents are housed at:
NSHS “Library Archives Building”
1500 “R” Street, Lincoln, NE 68501
(402) 471-4751 or 1-800-833-6747
Contact: Tom Mooney, Curator, tmooney@nebraskahistory.org
Library Curator: Cindy Steinhoff Drake,
nshs05@nebraskahistory.org
- The NSHS Museum of Nebraska History, two blocks directly SOUTH of the Library Archives Building, houses (and displays) the state’s 3-dimentional collections, whereas the Library Archives Building houses the papers, photos, film and published materials of historical value to the state’s citizens.
- Anyone can obtain the NSHS folder for organizations wishing to donate material
1) Provide INVENTORY list when delivering to NSHS
2) Be aware that the material becomes the property of NSHS for them to preserve, catalog and make accessible to the state’s citizens
3) Suggested a regular “schedule” to assure continuity for collections & within ranks of the organization (August/September of odd years just before new officer elections)
4) Do NOT donate anything the organization may need immediate/frequent access to. In other words, don’t donate items like financial records under seven years old.
- Process for donation: Check with NSHS Library Curator to see if item(s) may already be in the library. If the Library Curator determines the item(s) should be added to the NSHS Library collection, the Curator will send donation forms to be signed and returned.
NOTE: NSHS will be evaluating space limitations in 3-5 years. During this time the NSHS will be working with other repositories in the state to determine the most appropriate placement of collections. The may be a more appropriate repository for these kinds of materials.
Members may access the collection by coming to the Library Archives Building
REFERENCE ROOM during regular business hours and filling out a request form for
SPECIFIC time period or items. The items will be brought by a staff member to the
Reference Room for supervised viewing. Additional information about using the Reference Room is available at www.nebraskahistory.org/lib-arch/services/reference/index.htm
NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY COLLECTION RECORD
RG3557.AM: Nebraska Writers’ Guild (Neb.)
Records: 1923-1997; mostly 1933-1985
Nebraska: Organization of Professional Writers
Size: 2.5 cu.ft.
The Nebraska Writers’ Guild was organized in 1925 for the “promotion of good fellowship among Nebraska writers (by residence or affiliation); to encourage the recognition of professional writing and writers in the production of fine literature; and to foster the development of the talent of those who desire to write and who show definite possibilities of authorship.”
Active members, admitted only by vote of the Executive Council, must be persons who have “published and placed on sale through the regular channels of the book trade one or more books and/or have received payment for fiction, verse, or articles accepted by magazines or newspapers of recognized merit.”
The Guild holds two meetings a year and publishes a Bulletin and a Newsletter. It has held book fairs to display publications of members, and in 1967 it published an anthology of members’ writings.
This collection of the records of the Nebraska Writers’ Guild, consisting of three boxes of manuscript material and eight oversize items shelved with the collection, is arranged in ten series: 1) Minutes, 1933-1942; 2) Correspondence, 1929-1976; 3) Biographical and bibliographical information about Nebraska writers; 4) Financial records, 1943-1965; 5) Programs, 1928-1966; 6) Publications of the Nebraska Writers’ Guild, 1929-1976; 7) Records regarding publication of the Anthology, 1967-1968; 8) Scrapbooks, 1930-1985; 9) Clippings, 1923-1963; and 10) Miscellany.
The most significant portions of this collection, containing information about the lives and work of Nebraska writers, can be found in Series Three, Six and Eight. Series Three contains membership application forms and survey questionnaires, which were completed by Nebraska writers and returned to the Guild. The records contain biographical and bibliographical information about these authors. Series Six contains publications of the Nebraska Writers’ Guild including its Bulletin and its Newsletter which describe activities of the Guild ad its members. Also in this series is the Anthology, a collection of short stories, essays, and verse by Guild members published in 1967. Included in Series Eight are the scrapbooks which contain newspaper clippings on the activities of the Guild and of its members. Series Nine contains some clippings similar to those in the scrapbooks.
The official records of the organization are incomplete. Series One contains minutes of some of the meetings between 1933 and 1942. Series Two includes correspondence of various officers from 1929 to 1976. An incomplete file of programs of the Guild’s semi-yearly meetings is contained in Series Five. Series Seven includes records relating to the publication and sale of the Anthology in 1967. The Miscellany includes the Guild’s constitutions, invitations, and copies of a few publications by members.
Parts of this collection have been received from time to time, courtesy of various officers of the Nebraska Writers’ Guild.
SERIES 1 MINUTES, 1933-1942
Box 1
Folder 1 1933-1942
SERIES 2 CORRESPONDENCE, 1929-1976
Box 1
Folder 1 1929-1976
1996 (1 letter)
1997 (1 letter)
SERIES 3 BIOGRAPHICAL AND BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ABOUT
NEBRASKA WRITERS
Box 1
Folder 1 Membership applications, 1957-1958
Folder 2 Survey of information about Nebraska writers, A-Z
Folder 3 Survey of books published by members of the Nebraska Writers’
Guild, A-Z
SERIES 4 FINANCIAL RECORDS, 1943-1965
Box 1
Folder 1 Treasurer’s Record Book, 1943-1947
Folder 2 Bank statements, 1947-1951 and 1960-1963
Folder 3 Receipts for dues paid, 1960-1965
SERIES 5 PROGRAMS, 1928-1966
Box 2
Folder 1 Programs of meetings of the Nebraska Writers’ Guild, 1928-1966
Folder 2 Programs of other events, 1946-1951
SERIES 6 PUBLICATIONS OF THE NEBRASKA WRITERS’ GUILD, 1929-1976
Box 2
Folder 1 Nebraska Writers’ Guild Bulletin, 1929-1950
Folder 2 Nebraska Writers’ Guild Bulletin, 1951-1976
Folder 3 Nebraska Writers’ Guild Newsletters, 1947-1949
Folder 4 Anthology, 1967
SERIES 7 RECORDS REGARDING PUBLICATION OF THE ANTHOLOGY, 1967-1968
Box 2
Folder 1 Announcement of the Anthology project
Folder 2 Manuscripts considered for publication
Folder 3 Correspondence, 1967-1968
Oversize
Item 1 Galley of the Anthology
Item 2 Off-set negatives of the Anthology
SERIES 8 SCRAPBOOKS, 1930-1985
Oversize
Volume 1 1949-1955
Volume 2 1930-1952
Volume 3 1956-1959
Volume 4 1959-1964
Volume 5 1960-1968
Volume 6 1968-1970
Volume 7 1983-1985
Volume 8 1975-1983
SERIES 9 CLIPPINGS, 1923-1963
Box 3
Folder 1 1923-1963
SERIES 10 MISCELLANY
Box 3
Folder 1 Constitution of the Nebraska Writers’ Guild, 1925 and 1965
Folder 2 Report on book exhibit, 1929
Folder 3 Invitations, banquet tickets, list of items donated to NSHS in 1970
Folder 4 Copies of publications by Nebraska writers
APD/cat 12/15/1976
Added Entries:
WOMEN IN NEBRASKA
AUTHORS. NEBRASKA
Chronological Index—6
WRITERS. NEBRASKA