International Institute for Girls in Spain records
Scope and Contents
The records of the International Institute for Girls in Spain consist 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.
Dates of Materials
- 1871 - 1993
Creator
- Instituto internacional (Madrid, Spain) (Organization)
Language of Materials
English and Spanish
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research use with the following restrictions on access:
Salary information is permanently closed.
Conditions Governing Use
Smith College retains copyright of materials created as part of its business operations; however, copyright in other items in this collection may be held by their respective creators. For reproductions of materials that are governed by fair use as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission to cite or publish is required. For instances which may regard materials in the collection not created by Smith College, researchers are responsible for determining who may hold materials' copyrights and obtaining approval from them. Researchers do not need anything further from Smith College Special Collections to move forward with their use.
Biographical / Historical
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.
Boston Secretary (Executive Secretary Office Secretary)
- ?
- Elizabeth Brown
- c. 1922- c. 1939
- Ella D. (Leave) Baker
- c. 1940- c. 1950
- Nora Sweeney
- c. 1963
- Constance Mazlich, c. 1963
- c. 1964
- Lois Randall, c. 1964
- ?
- Isabel O'Brien
Extent
28.271 linear feet (59 containers)
Abstract
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 collection contains correspondence, memorabilia, minutes, reports, photographs, and publications.
Arrangement
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
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The International Institute For Girls in Spain records were a gift to the Smith College Archives from the IIGS Corporation. The records arrived in 3 shipments in 1980, 1984, and 1986.
Processing Information
Processed by Maida Goodwin.
Processing Information
Please note that prior to 2018, folder inventories were not always updated when new material was added to the collection. As a result, folder inventories may not be complete and folder numbers may be incorrect.
- Title
- Finding aid to the International Institute for Girls in Spain records
- Status
- Legacy Finding Aid (Updated)
- Author
- Maida Goodwin
- Date
- 2003
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Sponsor
- Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Revision Statements
- 07/26/2017: This resource was modified by the ArchivesSpace Preprocessor developed by the Harvard Library (https://github.com/harvard-library/archivesspace-preprocessor)
- 2005-09-23: manosca103 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15).
- 2018-12-10: Finding aid updated as part of the College Archives Survey
Repository Details
Part of the Smith College Archives Repository