Social Movements Collection ca. 1959-1989, 2000, and n.d.

Access and use

Location of collection:
University of Virginia, Special Collections Dept.
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
University of Virginia
P.O. Box 400110
160 McCormick Rd
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4110
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Brenda Gunn
Phone: (434) 924-1037
Phone: (434) 243-1776
Fax: (434) 924-4968
Restrictions:

There are no restrictions.

Terms of access:

See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.

Preferred citation:

Social Movements Collection, Accession #9430-f, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Summary

Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Social Movements Collection, Accession #9430-f, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Background

Scope and content:

This collection consists of papers concerning various radical political organizations and social action groups in the United States, including the University of Virginia, chiefly collected by Charles Finn, ca. 1959-1989, 2000, and undated, ca. 5,500 items (20 Hollinger boxes, 8.5 linear feet). Social action groups included in the collection span both radical left and right wing groups including Students for a Democratic Society, Southern Student Organizing Committee, The Weather Underground, Freedom From Religion Foundation, National Organization for Women, Jerry Falwell, The Moral Majority, National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, and a diversity of other environmental, religious, social and political organizations. The majority of the items are dated between 1970 and 1988. Related printed material has been transferred to Rare Books and catalogued separately. There is a large section of material on various organizations active at the University of Virginia, and specifically there is a section of material concerning the May 1970 Strike (Box 16) including event schedules, correspondence, and a student thesis written about the strike.

concerning University Student Protests, particularly Students for a Democratic Society, pasted on a wooden board

Biographical / historical:

Charles Patrick Finn was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania in 1947. Finn began working for the University of Virginia Library system in 1969 in the Serials section of the Cataloging Department, and remained at Alderman Library until his death in 1988. Finn was one of the founders of the Library's Committee for a Social Movements Collection, which acquired items from social movement groups including newsletters, posters, buttons, mailings, clippings, and stickers throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Finn was an anarchist and was active in politics and the anti-war movement throughout his life. In his own words, Charlie described collecting social movements materials: "My hobby can better be described as an avocation: analysis of the Indochina War and the problems and struggles that conflict has drawn attention to. For me, Vietnam has remained an obsession so that radical political action to end that war and change society takes precedence over more 'conventional' hobbies."

Acquisition information:
This collection was given to the University of Virginia Library by John Shepherd for the estate of Charles P. Finn, Charlottesville, Virginia, on April 3, 1989.
Arrangement:

These papers have been organized into three series: Series I: Topical Files (Boxes 1-18); Series II: Memorabilia (Box 19); and Series III: Personal Papers of Charlie Finn (Box 20). The Topical Files have been organized by social movement group at the folder level, and chronologically within folders. The Memorabilia files include buttons, stickers, and other accessories. They have been organized by type of memorabilia and social movement group. The Personal Papers of Charlie Finn series includes correspondence, papers from the University of Virginia Library system, and miscellaneous written notes.

Physical description:
Ca. 5,500 items (20 Hollinger boxes, 8.5 linear feet).