The Tamiment Library is a

research library A research library is a library that contains an in-depth collection of material on one or several subjects.(Young, 1983; p. 188) A research library will generally include an in-depth selection of materials on a particular topic or set of top ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

that documents

radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

and

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...

history, with strengths in the histories of

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and Political movement, movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or Social hierarchy, hierarchy, primarily targeting the state (polity), state and capitalism. A ...

, the

New Left The New Left was a broad political movement that emerged from the counterculture of the 1960s and continued through the 1970s. It consisted of activists in the Western world who, in reaction to the era's liberal establishment, campaigned for freer ...

, the Civil Rights Movement, and utopian experiments. The Robert F. Wagner Archives, which is also housed in

Bobst Library The Elmer Holmes Bobst Library ( ), often referred to simply as Bobst Library or just Bobst, is the main library at New York University (NYU) in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The library is located at 70 Washington Square South between LaGuar ...

at NYU, documents American labor history. Together the two units form an important center for scholarly research on

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

and the left. The Tamiment Library has a non-circulating collection of about 50,000 books, focusing on politics, political theory, labor, and radical literature and art movements. There are approximately 15,000 non-current periodical titles, including proceedings of labor union conventions, underground newspapers, internal bulletins of radical organizations, and

scholarly journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the dissemination, scr ...

s. In addition, the library has a collection of about one million pamphlets and

ephemera Ephemera are items which were not originally designed to be retained or preserved, but have been collected or retained. The word is etymologically derived from the Greek ephēmeros 'lasting only a day'. The word is both plural and singular. On ...

, including broadsides, leaflets,

manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

s, reports, and other documents. The Tamiment Library and Wagner Archives together hold archival collections on organizations and individuals in the labor movement and left history, with special strengths in the New York City region.

History

Tamiment Library

The Tamiment Library was founded in 1906 as a part of the Rand School of Social Science, a worker-education school sponsored by the

American Socialist Society American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

and modeled after the workers’ school at Ruskin College, Oxford, England. The Library was named the

Meyer London Meyer London (December 29, 1871 – June 6, 1926) was a Lithuanian-born American politician from New York City. He represented the Lower East Side of Manhattan and was one of only two members of the Socialist Party of America elected to the Unit ...

Library after the long-time Socialist who represented the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

of Manhattan, and only acquired its current name in the late 1970s. From its first days,

Camp Tamiment Tamiment, first known as Camp Tamiment, was an American resort located in the Pocono Mountains of Pike County, Pennsylvania, which existed from 1921 through 2005. Originally established by the Rand School of Social Science in New York City as ...

, a theater

summer camp A summer camp, also known as a sleepaway camp or residential camp, is a supervised overnight program for children conducted during the summer vacation from school in many countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer residential camps ...

established in 1921 in the Poconos by people associated with the School, began to support the New York institution. Between 1937 and 1956, the Camp paid from 50 to 75 percent of the School's expenses. In 1956, Camp Tamiment purchased the School, then closed it and attempted to integrate its educational and cultural programs into the Tamiment Institute. The Library remained open and was renamed the Ben Josephson Library, after the Camp's managing director. In 1963, the Tamiment Library was donated to New York University (NYU) following the revocation of tax-exempt status of Camp Tamiment by the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

.Larry Cary, "The 35-Year History of the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives," ''American Communist History,'' vol. 12, no. 1 (April 2013), pg. 18. NYU saw the addition of the Tamiment collection as a means to expand its scope as a research library. Through the early 1970s the collection was housed in a brick building owned by the Machinists' Union on Manhattan's West 15th Street.Cary, "The 35-Year History of the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives," pg. 20. By the late 1970s the location of the collection had moved to

Elmer Holmes Bobst Library The Elmer Holmes Bobst Library ( ), often referred to simply as Bobst Library or just Bobst, is the main library at New York University (NYU) in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The library is located at 70 Washington Square South between LaGuar ...

of NYU. The first professional librarian to be associated with the Tamiment collection was Louise Heinze, who would be succeeded by Dorothy Swanson late in the 1960s. Swanson would remain in this position for 27 years, expanding the collection greatly by actively seeking out and obtaining the papers of political activists and organizations of both the historic as well as the emerging

.Cary, "The 35-Year History of the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives," pg. 19. Staff hiring was broadly ecumenical, including collection assistants Ethel Lobman, a longtime member of the

Trotskyist Trotskyism (, ) is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Russian revolutionary and intellectual Leon Trotsky along with some other members of the Left Opposition and the Fourth International. Trotsky described himself as an ...

Socialist Workers Party and Peter Filardo, formerly an employee of the Communist Party-associated American Institute for Marxist Studies, founded by historian

Herbert Aptheker Herbert Aptheker (July 31, 1915 – March 17, 2003) was an American Marxist historian and political activist. He wrote more than 50 books, mostly in the fields of African-American history and general U.S. history, most notably, ''American Negro ...

. These two archivists were instrumental in obtaining major additions to NYU's collection from these seminal "Old Left" organizations.

Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives

The idea for a single archive to preserve the records of New York City's vibrant trade union movement was first advanced in the early 1970s by Stephen Charney Vladeck, son of Socialist trade union activist Baruch Charney Vladeck.Cary, "The 35-Year History of the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives," pg. 22. Vladeck, a prominent labor lawyer, was concerned about inadequate scholarship and teaching about the history of the labor movement and saw the need for establishment of a central repository for historical documents. Vladeck was able to make use of personal connections to convince the New York Central Labor Council (CLC) and the Tamiment Institute, still headed by Ben Josephson, to co-sponsor the creation of the new labor archive. In 1977, New York University was brought on board and together the three entities established the new labor archive, named after Senator Robert F. Wagner Sr. of New York, sponsor of the

National Labor Relations Act The National Labor Relations Act of 1935, also known as the Wagner Act, is a foundational statute of United States labor law that guarantees the right of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, an ...

of 1935, legislation which guaranteed workers the basic right to organize trade unions.Cary, "The 35-Year History of the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives," pg. 23. The Central Labor Council's support was especially critical to the success of the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives as was the use of the Wagner name, as it gave mainstream legitimacy to the effort and helped to motivate several fairly conservative unions to provide document accessions to the collection.Cary, "The 35-Year History of the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives," pg. 24. The "Tamiment" name had been closely associated with the Socialist Party and New York University was not perceived as friendly to the interests of organized labor – a pair of potential stumbling blocks which were neatly alleviated by the alternative name and official support of the CLC. The Wagner Labor Archive hired its first employee, Larry Cary, in 1978 and made use of grant money from the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

and the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

to help launch the project.Cary, "The 35-Year History of the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives," pg. 25. Succeeding Cary at the helm of the Labor Archive was labor historian Debra Bernhardt, who later took over for Dorothy Swanson as head of the combined Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives.Cary, "The 35-Year History of the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives," pg. 26. Bernhardt died in 2001 at the age of 47 and was in turn succeeded, following an extensive search, by labor historian and archivist Michael H. Nash in 2002. Nash was responsible for acquiring the archives of the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...

for preservation.

Major acquisitions

The

Abraham Lincoln Brigade The XV International Brigade was one of the International Brigades formed to fight for the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. History The XVth Brigade mustered at Albacete in January 1937. It consisted of English-speaking volunte ...

Archives (ALBA) collection, formerly located at Brandeis University, was acquired by the Tamiment Library in 2001. The collection is the largest and most important resource for the study of the participation of American volunteers in the Spanish Civil War. It includes the papers of more than 200 volunteers, oral histories, films, photographs, posters, and selections of the microfilmed records of the International Brigades that were taken to the Soviet Union after the Spanish Civil War. In March 2007, the archives of the

were donated to the library. The massive donation came in over 2,000 cartons, and included 20,000 books and pamphlets – some of which dated from the founding of the party – as well as thousands of photographs from the archives of the ''Daily Worker''. The library also holds a copy of the microfilmed archive of Communist Party documents from Russian State Archives of Social and Political History held by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. Also notable was the acquisition of the papers of former

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

officer Philip Agee, a defector to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, as well as the papers of black civil rights activists Esther and James Jackson, ''

Nation A nation is a type of social organization where a collective Identity (social science), identity, a national identity, has emerged from a combination of shared features across a given population, such as language, history, ethnicity, culture, t ...

'' magazine editor

Victor Navasky Victor Saul Navasky (July 5, 1932 – January 23, 2023) was an American journalist, editor, and author. From 1978 to 1995, he edited the liberal weekly magazine '' The Nation''. From 1995 to 2005, he was the magazine's publisher and editorial di ...

, and papers of radical lawyer

William Kunstler William Moses Kunstler (July 7, 1919 – September 4, 1995) was an American attorney and civil rights activist, known for defending the Chicago Seven. Kunstler was an active member of the National Lawyers Guild, a board member of the American Ci ...

and historian

Howard Zinn Howard Zinn (August 24, 1922January 27, 2010) was an American historian and a veteran of World War II. He was chair of the history and social sciences department at Spelman College, and a political science professor at Boston University. Zinn ...

Collection in the 21st century

As of 2013, the collection of the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives included more than 100,000

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a Hardcover, hard cover or Bookbinding, binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' ...

s, as well as other radical ephemera.Cary, "The 35-Year History of the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives," pg. 21.

Footnotes

External links

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives
official website.
"Anarchist Collections in the Tamiment Library: Highlights from the Collections,"
www.flickr.com/
"CPUSA: Ninety Years of History, a Tamiment Library Exhibit,"
www.flickr.com/

www.nyu.edu/ * ttp://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/tam/googlemap.html "New York City Labor History Map,"www.nyu.edu/
Labor Arts official website.
small>—Cooperative project collecting images of the cultural artifacts of working people and their organizations. {{Coord, 40.7295, -73.9973, display=title Archives in the United States History of social movements New York University University and college academic libraries in the United States Research libraries in the United States Libraries in Manhattan Special collections libraries in the United States Labor relations in New York City