Contents

Collection Overview

Historical Note

Scope and Contents of the Collection

Organization of the Collection

Search Terms

International Institute for Girls in Spain Records, 1881-1986

Finding Aid

Finding aid prepared by Maida Goodwin.

Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

© 2003

Historical Note

The International Institute for Girls in Spain evolved out of a school founded by a Protestant missionary in Santander, Spain, in 1877. The Institute was incorporated in Massachusetts in 1892 as a non-denominational Christian organization "for the purpose of establishing and maintaining an institution for the education of girls in Spain."

The following is a brief outline of the major events in the history of the IIGS. A published history of the early years of the Institute, Misioneras, feministas, educadoras: Historia del Instituto Internacional by Carmen de Zulueta (Madrid: Editorial Castalia, 1984), is available in the archives reading room. Short histories of the Institute in English and Spanish can be found within the records in Series IV - Historical Materials and Memorabilia, and in Series XI - Publications.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The records of the International Institute for Girls in Spain consist of 24 linear feet of correspondence, memorabilia, minutes, reports, photographs, publications, and other papers (in English and Spanish) relating to the history and activities of the IIGS and its cooperation with other educational organizations in Spain and the U.S. The records are a rich source for the study of educational reform and women's education in Spain, Spanish-U.S. cooperation, and the experience of Protestant missionaries in Catholic Spain.

In the early 1970s the Corporation assigned the task of organizing the bulk of the records to retired IIGS librarian Enriqueta Martin. Left unfinished, Miss Martin's arrangement was disordered when the records were moved in the late 1970s. Her work survives in two forms: an annotated card file (Series VII - Lists) and notes attached to individual items within the records. These notes (in Spanish) describe, comment on, or refute the contents of each item and have been left in place as part of the record.

The bulk of the material consists of files maintained in this country in the Boston office of the Corporation and by long-time Corresponding Secretary Mary Sweeney. Evidence contained in the records indicates that most of the early records produced and maintained in Spain were lost or destroyed during the Spanish Civil War. However, records kept in this country such as reports and published correspondence by founders Alice Gordon Gulick and William Hooker Gulick, and early directors such as Susan Huntington give insight into the early activities and progress of the school. The work of the Institute is best documented starting in 1950 due to the extensive records kept by Corresponding Secretary Mary Sweeney.

Surviving records produced and maintained in Spain consist of correspondence files of the director (Series II), library records (Series VI), personnel files (Series IX), photographs (Series X), memorabilia (Series IV), and student papers (Series XIV). These records are most complete for the period between 1950 and the late 1970s.

The records are divided into fifteen series: Academic Programs; Correspondence; Financial; Historical Materials and Memorabilia; Legal; Library; Lists; Minutes, Agendas, and Calls to Meetings; Personnel; Photographs; Publications; Reports; Speeches; Student Papers; and Affiliated Organizations and Programs.

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Search Terms

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Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into fifteen series:

• I. Academic Programs
• II. Correspondence
• III. Financial
• IV. Historical Materials and Memorabilia
• V. Legal
• VI. Library
• VII. Lists
• VIII. Minutes, Agendas, and Calls to Meetings
• IX. Personnel
• X. Photographs
• XI. Publications
• XII. Reports
• XIII. Speeches
• XIV. Student Papers
• XV. Affiliated and Related Organizations

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Series I. ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

This series consists of circulars, clippings, course work, plans, proposals, syllabuses, class lists, and schedules for programs and proposed programs sponsored or administered by the IIGS. The material dates almost exclusively from 1950 through the late 1970s, when the Institute's major programs were in English, library science, and Psychology. The material is arranged alphabetically by program name.

Related material can be found in Series XII - Reports, the correspondence of the Director with the Corresponding Secretary in Series II, and in the Minutes of the Corporation and its committees in Series VIII.

Series II. CORRESPONDENCE

This series is divided into seven subseries, Boston Secretary, Clerk, Corresponding Secretary, Director, President, Treasurer, and General.

Boston Secretary consists of the correspondence files of the Corporation's secretary in Boston, Mass. The material is primarily corporation membership record-keeping and is divided into six sections: Clerk, Corresponding Secretary, Director, President, Treasurer, and General. Correspondence with all individuals other than those holding positions in the first five sections is filed in the last section, General.

Correspondence files of the Clerk of the Corporation appear in the second subseries filed chronologically. The bulk of the material pertains to Corporation activities in the U.S.

The Corresponding Secretary (now known as "Executive Secretary") is the Corporation's main link with the staff in Spain. The correspondence contains ongoing reporting of the activities of the Institute in Madrid, extensive material on the selection of staff and scholarship students, and on arrangements for IIGS foreign scholars' study in the U.S. The files are divided into seven sections: Boston Secretary, Clerk, Director, Liaison Committee, President, Treasurer, and General. As with the Boston Secretary's files above, the 'General' section consists of correspondence with all individuals not covered in the preceding sections. The Liaison Committee section contains correspondence to members of the committee which assumed the duties of the-Corresponding Secretary for four years after the retirement of Mary Sweeney in January 1964.

The files in the fourth subseries reflect the Director's duties as head of the educational and service staff at the Institute and as the Corporation's representative in dealings with the Spanish government and the educational community in Madrid. The files also show the Director's participation in the selection of staff and scholarship recipients and her/his responsibility for the maintenance of IIGS building(s).

The subseries is divided into six sections: Clerk, Corresponding Secretary, President, Representative in Spain, Treasurer, and General. The section "Representative in Spain" contains correspondence with Enriqueta Martin who acted on the Corporation's behalf in Spain during World War II while Institute activities were curtailed. Mary Sweeney was the director appointed by the Corporation during this period but she remained in the U.S. and Enriqueta Martin represented the Institute in a semi-official capacity.

The fifth and sixth subseries contain the files of the President and the Treasurer of the Corporation each filed chronologically. The President's files contain letters written of behalf of the Corporation and the Treasurer's files are principally about Institute and Corporation finances.

The seventh subseries, General, is divided into four sections. The first, 'Miscellaneous' consists of correspondence of staff members and Corporators of the IIGS who are not in one of the six major positions in the first five subseries. The second section, 'Ilene Avery', consists of personal correspondence of one of the Institute's directors which reflects her involvement in the educational community in the U.S. and Spain, but is not directly related to Institute business. The third section is the correspondence of 'Enriqueta Martin', long-time librarian of the Institute and director of the Library Science Program. Her correspondence has been separated from the bulk of the general correspondence because of her long service and intense involvement with the Institute. The fourth section is the correspondence of 'Mary Sweeney' from the period immediately following her retirement as Corresponding Secretary on January 1, 1964. This correspondence has been isolated because she continued to perform many of the duties of the Corresponding Secretary while not actually holding the post.

Correspondence in each of these sections is arranged chronologically.

Series III. FINANCIAL

The records in this series consist of accounts, budget summaries, annual and other forms of financial reports, and topical files on building, donations, rents, salaries, and tuition. None are complete. Some of the records were maintained in Spain by IIGS staff and others by the Treasurer in the United States and are so identified on the folder title list where possible.

In addition to covering daily operating expenses and annual budgets, the records also contain some information about policies and the IIGS financial relationship with Estudio.

Related material may be found in the Treasurer's Correspondence - Series II and in the Minutes - Series VIII.

The records are arranged alphabetically by type and then chronologically within each type.

Series IV. HISTORICAL MATERIALS AND MEMORABILIA

This series is divided into four subseries: General, Biography, Reminiscences, and Memorabilia.

The General historical materials consist of clippings, pamphlets and manuscripts on the history of the Institute, endorsements of Institute activities, and appeals for funds. Biography contains clippings, tributes, memorabilia, and manuscripts by and about some of the major individuals in the history of the Institute such as founders, benefactors, staff, and alumnae. Reminiscences contains transcripts and notes on interviews with alumnae and staff, a manuscript on the Library Science Program, and a set of responses to a questionnaire sent to alumnae. Memorabilia consists of such items as floor plans, diplomas, report cards, a guestbook, invitations, programs, scrapbooks, and school songs from various periods in the Institute's history reflecting activities in Spain and the U.S.

Within each subseries the material is arranged alphabetically by subject.

Series V. LEGAL

This series consists of major legal documents in the history of the Institute arranged chronologically. Included are agreements and leases with the Spanish government and the US Department of State, material on bequests to the Institute, building sales, changes in by-laws, and personnel complaints.

Series VI. LIBRARY

This series is made up of acquisitions lists and notes and miscellaneous papers pertaining to the maintenance of the IIGS library.

Series VII. LISTS

This series is made up of lists of students, staff, and corporators of the Institute filed chronologically and the card file listing of IIGS records made by Enriqueta Martin in the early 1970s.

The card file is arranged according to Martin's file (carpeta) numbers.

Series VIII. MINUTES, AGENDAS, AND CALLS TO MEETINGS

This series consists of incomplete sets of minutes of the major governing groups of the IIGS Corporation in the U.S., some of the Corporation's committees, and some groups of Institute staff.

The material is arranged by committee or group and filed chronologically. Within each group, where such material occurs, agendas and calls to meetings are filed in a separate chronological sequence.

Series IX. PERSONNEL

This series consists of forms, receipts, and certificates on personnel, plus curriculum vitae for staff, student assistants, and participants in the IIGS Foreign Scholars Program.

The forms, receipts, and certificates are arranged chronologically. The curriculum vitae are arranged alphabetically.

Series X. PHOTOGRAPHS

This series consists of photographs, negatives and slides, each filed separately. The photographs and negatives are divided into six parallel sections by subject: Buildings, Events, Staff, Students, Affiliated Organizations and Programs, and Miscellaneous.

The slides, which appear to have been made to accompany a talk on the history of the Institute (n.d.), are arranged chronologically.

Series XI. PUBLICATIONS

This series is made up of newsletters, published reports, catalogs, and historical and informational pamphlets published by staff and students of the Institute in Spain or by the Corporation in the U.S. The scrapbooks in Series IV contain issues of publications not available in this series.

The material is arranged in two sections as follows: named series are filed by title, and other items are filed by type of publication.

Series XII. REPORTS

This series consists of unpublished reports prepared by Institute staff, committees, advisory and affiliated groups, directors, and corporators, filed chronologically. Reports that were clearly designated as intended for meetings of the Board or its committees, or were entered into the minutes, are filed with the minutes (Series VIII). Reports that were published are filed in Series XI - Publications. Similar material can be found throughout the files of the Corresponding Secretary in Series II.

Series XIII. SPEECHES

This series consists of texts of seven speeches given at Institute or Corporation gatherings.

Series XIV. STUDENT PAPERS

This series is made up of papers in Spanish and/or English written by Institute students as part of their course work. They are arranged by title. Paper topics include: the history of the Institute, reports of IIGS activities, women's education, education in Spain, library science, and current events.

Series XV. AFFILIATED AND RELATED ORGANIZATIONS

This series consists of circulars, clippings, correspondence, memorabilia, minutes, reports, and miscellaneous papers produced by organizations affiliated with but not sponsored by the Institute. Groups represented include alumnae organizations, educational groups with which the IIGS collaborated, and groups that rented space in the IIGS building (s).

The material is arranged by organization name.