LABOR COLLECTIONS IN THE WESTERN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS, AT THE UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO, BOULDER.

Professor James F. Willard, head of the Dept. of History from 1907 to 1935 and history professor Frederick L. Paxson at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, devoted much of their time to collecting manuscripts throughout the state which led the foundation of the Western Historical Collections (WHC) at the University. During World War I, Willard received the first financial support specifically for historical records development. This period was the official beginning of WHC. With the decline during the 1920s of the West's hardrock mining industry, collecting of materials from the fading bonanza towns resulted in major groups of records being found. The University Library accepted complete responsibility for the development of the Western Historical Collections in 1959, and with this change, a full-time, permanent, and qualified staff was hired. In 1964, the curator, John A. Brennan, a history professor, began to change the direction of acquisition from frontier and pioneer era material to 20th century manuscripts concerning political, social, and economical history emphasizing labor, politics, women, and non-profit organizations.