SPEC Kit 347: Community-based Collections · 151
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
American Musicological Society records
http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/ead/ead.html?q=american%20musicological%20society&id=EAD_
upenn_rbml_MsColl221&%23ref8
American Musicological Society records, 1934-1992
http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/ead/ead.html?q=american%20musicological%20society&id=EAD_upenn_rbml_MsColl221&%23ref8[6/23/15, 2:33:45 PM]
better equipped to recruit members locally, and to address the concerns of
individual members. While members continued to pay dues directly to the AMS,
some chapters collected supplementary dues. Additionally, the AMS paid chapters a
per capita allotment to finance events and administration. To monitor the size and
activities of chapters, the secretary collected reports from each chapter once a year,
detailing financial records, membership, officers, and organized events. For
additional monetary support, chapters might apply to the Chapter Fund Committee,
whose job it was to evaluate proposals and award money.
Many of these chapters grew up spontaneously around a city or university, as a
result of an individual member’s initiative. In consequence, the system of regional
division lacked order the Midwest Chapter spanned a thousand miles and drew
hundreds of members, while other Chapters had difficulty gathering any members at
all. In 1969, President William S. Newman formed The Chapters and Regions
Committee to address this problem. This committee surveyed all existing chapters
and proposed a plan to redraw the geographical Chapter divisions. Unfortunately,
many chapters were resistant to change, and while some reforms were adapted,
many members were offended other chapters virtually ignored the changes.
Material in this series includes correspondence between the AMS and chapter
officers, chapter reports, programs of chapter events, and lists of chapter officers.
Additionally, records of the Chapters and Regions Committee include
correspondence, questionnaires distributed to chapters, and the final report of the
committee. The records of the Chapter Fund committee include correspondence
between the committee and chapter officers, as well as between the committee chair
and the treasurer.
Financial
The Society depended on member dues for its basic operating expenses. Additional
sources of income include gifts and bequests by members, some of which funded
particular projects others supported annual prizes. Additionally the Society received
grant support from the ACLS and the NEH. The financial aspects of the Society were
managed in early years by the Treasurer Alvin Johnson later took on this role in
combination with that of Executive Director. It was his job to prepare budgets, file
tax reports, pay bills, distribute reimbursements, fill publications orders and manage
the endowment fund. This series includes financial statements, audits, tax reports,
treasurer’s reports, and receipts.
Administrative
This series includes the Society’s certificate of incorporation, along with its revision
in 1942. Also included are copies of the constitution and drafts of amendments,
together with correspondence regarding these amendments. Miscellaneous papers
belonging to the secretary are also included, along with descriptions of the duties of
various officers, and historical lists of the terms of officers, board members and
council members.
The archive was established around 1970, when Clayton Henderson was appointed
Archivist. This subseries contains correspondence with Henderson regarding the
archive and the history of the Society that Henderson intended to write. Also
included are notes regarding the papers, notes on interviews with senior members,
copies of printed histories of the Society, and photocopies of early papers. From the
late 1980s, when the collection was moved to the University of Pennsylvania, there
are letters of negotiation and legal documents, as well as reports on the status of
the collection.
Endnotes
[1] Letter from John Roberts to Jane Stevens, June 1, 1987.
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