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American Civil Liberties Union Records

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Held at: Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers [Contact Us]

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

American civil liberties union

The ACLU is the preeminent civil liberties organization in the United States. The ACLU describes itself as "our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country." Since its inception in 1920, the ACLU has played a part in nearly every significant American social or political issue in the 20th century. This includes important work in the areas of civil rights, children and women's rights, freedom of speech (and all First Amendment questions), and due process, among many others.

For a more detailed history of the ACLU, please see the history in the finding aid for the processed portion of the ACLU Records.

These records document the administration and work of the ACLU's national office, regional offices, and legal projects, with particular emphasis on the areas of civil rights, children and women's rights, freedom of speech (and all First Amendment questions), and due process, among many others. The records include case files, correspondence, meeting minutes, research files, and files of staff members. A large portion of the records are related to the numerous cases that the ACLU was involved in on a wide range of civil liberties issues. Records are included from the national office, ACLU projects, notably the Arts Censorship Project, Capital Punishment Project, Children's Rights Project, Reproductive Freedom Project, and Women's Rights Project, and the Mountain States Regional Office, Southern Regional Office, and Washington Regional Office.

Historical sketch based on In Defense of American Liberties: A History of the ACLU by Samuel Walker. See also Samuel Walker's The American Civil Liberties Union: An Annotated Bibliography.

Portions of the ACLU Records have been digitized. To find out where to access digital content, please see the American Civil Liberties Union Records Guide.

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 1, The Roger Baldwin Years is available in digital format at certain institutions, as well as on microfilm.

Public records of the ACLU from 1917 to 1989, from American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 2, are available in digital format at certain institutions, as well as on microfilm. These records include minutes of the board of directors, mailings to the board of directors, biennial conference papers, policy guides, the national legal docket, organization manuals, constitution and bylaws, legal briefs, and publications.

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 3, Regional Offices Files Series, Subseries 5B, Southern Regional Office, has been digitized and is also available to members of the Princeton community or through certain institutions.

Materials are transferred from the ACLU annually.

The American Civil Liberties Union records have been divided into four subgroups, many of which have multiple finding aids. This finding aid can be used to search across all ACLU records; a list of finding aids is below:

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 1, The Roger Baldwin Years, 1917-1947

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 2, 1947-1995 (bulk 1950-1980)

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 2, Organizational Matters Series, 1947-1995

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 2, Project Files Series, 1964-1979

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 2, Subject Files Series, 1921-1990

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 2, Legal Case Files Series, 1933-1990

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 2, Printed Materials Series, 1917-1995

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 2, Audiovisual Materials Series, circa 1920-1995

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 3, 1864-2006 (bulk 1970-1995)

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 3, Organizational Matters, 1919-2006 (bulk 1970-2000)

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 3, Project Files Series, 1877-2000 (bulk 1970-1995)

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 3, Subject Files Series, 1969-1996

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 3, Legal Case Files Series, 1864-2001 (bulk 1965-1995)

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 3, Regional Offices Series, 1894-2005 (bulk 1970-1990)

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 3, Printed and Audiovisual Materials Series, 1918-2006 (bulk 1978-2006)

American Civil Liberties Union Records: Subgroup 4, 1933-2002 (bulk 1970-2000)

For an overview of the entire ACLU collection, instructions on searching the collection and requesting materials, and other information, please see the Guide to the American Civil Liberties Union Records.

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Materials in MC001.03.05 in Box 4506 have been treated for mold; however, materials may still be fragile and exhibit signs of damage. Researchers should exercise caution when handling these materials. Not all materials were salvaged.

ACLU collections have been processed by Adriane Hanson in 2010-2012; in 2011-2013 by Maureen Callahan; by Paula Jabloner in 1994-1996 with the assistance of Daniel Linke. Finding aid written by Maureen Callahan in February 2013.

The last box number in all ACLU Subgroups is 5727 as of January 13, 2020.

Development records, personnel records, confidential legal records, and mold-damaged records were separated from the collection during processing.

Publisher
Public Policy Papers
Finding Aid Author
Maureen Callahan
Finding Aid Date
2013
Sponsor
Subgroups 2 and 3 of the ACLU records were processed with the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
Access Restrictions

This agreement describes the limits on access to portions of the American Civil Liberties Union Records as provided by paragraph six of the agreement between the American Civil Liberties Union and the Princeton University Library dated on March 1993. These restrictions may be revised from time to time at the initiation of either party.

Consistent with its support of freedom of information and informed public discourse on matters of public interest, the American Civil Liberties Union Records will be completely open to researchers. However, sections of the Records shall be closed for stated periods of time to protect privacy, confidentiality, and attorney-client privilege. The following categories of records shall be restricted as indicated below:

Personnel Records - Records which deal with personnel issues, whether in personnel files or in other files maintained by the ACLU shall be closed during the lifetime of the person to whom they apply. When scattered personnel records are present in open files, they shall be governed by this paragraph. This restriction shall not apply if the person or persons to whom the record applies have given their permission in writing to disclose said information.

Administrative Records - Records maintained by ACLU administrators (Board and Executive committee members, officers, executives, department heads, project directors, etc.) shall be closed for twenty years after the creation of the record or ten years after its deposit in the Princeton University Library, whichever is later, but in no case for more than 30 years after the creation of the record. Personnel records will continue to be closed as provided above.

Development Records - Records relating to financial support from foundations or other legal entities but not individuals or their family foundations shall be closed for the same period as administrative records. Records relating to financial support by individual donors or their family foundations shall be returned to the ACLU if other more substantive issues relating to policy are not raised by the correspondence. When other issues are relevant, these records shall be closed for the same period as administrative records. Where opened the portions relating to individuals or their family foundations shall be treated like personnel records as provided below.

Legal Case Records - Legal Case Files shall be segregated into four categories:

1) Open Records - publicly-available materials relating to the case (public court records such as briefs, transcripts, exhibits, and judgments as well as other records such as press releases and media coverage) shall be open immediately upon transfer to Princeton.

2) Work Product Privileged Records - correspondence, memoranda, drafts of briefs prepared in anticipation of litigation, written statements of witnesses, and notes of mental impressions or personal recollections prepared or formed by an attorney shall be open twenty years after the closure of the case.

3) Attorney-Client Privileged Records - any document reflecting an exchange with a client or a potential client (including but not limited to written correspondence, memoranda to the file, notes, or any other report of communication to or from a client or potential client) made for the purpose of furnishing or obtaining professional legal advice and assistance shall be closed for seventy-five years for all clients, except for children where the period of closure shall be one hundred years.

4) The access rules set forth above do not apply to the following materials: classified documents; documents that have been placed under seal by a court or are subject to a protective order; documents that identify by name or otherwise clients that have been represented anonymously or pseudonymously; the terms of any confidential settlement or agreement. All such documents shall remain permanently closed unless the records are declassified, unsealed, the protective order is modified, or the client or the client's legal representative waives the privilege in writing.

Use Restrictions

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

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