Office of the Executive Director Collection, 1902–2017
Scope and Content
The Office of the Executive Director Collection consists of paper documents recording the professional and, occasionally, personal lives of the men and women who have served as associate secretaries, presidents, and / or executive directors in the MLA’s office of the executive director. Materials include business and personal correspondence, invitations, biographical information, résumés, speeches, and other papers.
Dates
- 1902–2017
Conditions Governing Access
Records from 1902 to twenty-five years from today’s date are open for research. Records dated fewer than twenty-five years from today’s date are closed to research in an effort to protect the privacy of the individuals and institutions described. Material may be protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, United States Code). Reproduction is permitted at the discretion of the association.
Extent
7.6 Linear Feet
Arrangement
The collection comprises three series and multiple subseries:
Associate / Assistant Secretaries
Executive Directors
Presidents
Files within each series are arranged chronologically by the year, or final year, of the individual’s service. For those who served in multiple positions, their files are grouped together under their highest position (associate / assistant secretary > president > executive director). For example, John H. Fisher served as both an associate secretary and as an executive director. His materials are arranged in the Executive Directors Subseries, organized under 1971, the final year of his service as the MLA’s executive director.
Processing Information
These records were entirely dispersed until 2014 at which point the pre-1970 materials were collected, partially processed, and arranged under the General Chronological Collection. In 2018 the post-1969 files were processed as part of the NEH-funded project to process the General Chronological Collection. These materials were pulled from the General Chronological Collection and stored under the Office of the Executive Director Collection in effort to organize files within the office of their generation. These materials were collected, organized, and cataloged. The pre-1970 materials are scheduled to be processed at the end of the NEH-funded project.
Repository Details
Part of the Modern Language Association Archives Repository
Modern Language Association
85 Broad Street
Suite 500
New York New York 10004 USA
archives@mla.org