Friends Historical Library Quaker meeting reference files
Scope and Contents
PG6 Quaker meeting reference files consists primarily of publications by and about Quaker meetings and committees, including pamphlets, newspaper clippings, ephemera, and other materials (mostly secondary source), collected at various times from various sources, and organized by meeting. It also includes directories (including lists of Quaker member organizations and individual Quakers) and epistles (letters exchanged between Quaker organizations, especially from one yearly meeting to another; often used to articulate Quaker doctrine and discipline). Some almanacs are stored with the collection, but are cataloged individually in Tripod, Swarthmore's library catalog..
Unless otherwise specified, most titles refer to monthly meetings. There are also some quarterly meetings, yearly meetings, committees, and other meeting types.
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1900 - 2020
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is available for research use.
Conditions Governing Use
Some of the items in this collection may be protected by copyright. The user is solely responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder or their heirs/assigns to reuse, publish, or reproduce relevant items beyond the bounds of Fair Use or other exemptions to the law. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/.
Biographical / Historical
MONTHLY MEETING: The basic unit of Quaker administration, which holds regular monthly business meetings. Only members can participate. It has responsibility for care of members, authorizes removals and marriages, maintains discipline, considers the queries, manages meeting property, fosters social concerns, and reports regularly to the quarterly meeting.
QUARTERLY MEETING: Meetings for business held four times per year, attended by representatives of all monthly meetings in a region. It is an intermediary between the monthly and yearly meeting, serves as an appellate body for disciplinary matters, and considers problems too large for a local meeting to solve. A quarterly meeting holds the authority to establish or discontinue a monthly, preparative, or particular meeting for worship. It collects financial assessments from each monthly meeting in accordance with the quota established by the yearly meeting.
YEARLY MEETINGS: Large autonomous bodies of Quakers, meeting for several days once annually to conduct business, formulate the discipline, receive reports and concerns from its constituent meetings, review the state of the Society, and communicate with other yearly meetings and non-Quaker organizations.
Extent
60 linear ft.
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
PG6 Quaker meeting reference files consists primarily of publications by and about Quaker meetings and committees, including pamphlets, newspaper clippings, ephemera, and other materials (mostly secondary source), collected at various times from various sources, and organized by meeting. It also includes directories (including lists of Quaker member organizations and individual Quakers) and epistles (letters exchanged between Quaker organizations, especially from one yearly meeting to another; often used to articulate Quaker doctrine and discipline). Some almanacs are stored with the collection, but are cataloged separately.
Arrangement
This collection is organized into four series, and then filed alphabetically by meeting name.
Series
- A
- Clippings and ephemera
- B
- Directories
- C
- Epistles
- D
- Almanacs
Other Finding Aids
The almanacs in this collection are are cataloged in Tripod, Swarthmore's book catalog
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials were collected at various times from various sources by Friends Historical Library staff.
- Title
- Friends Historical Library Quaker meeting reference files
- Author
- FHL staff
- Date
- 2022
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2024: This finding aid was reviewed in order to change or contextualize any outdated, harmful terminology related to Indigenous Peoples, except where it appears in a title, quotation, or subject heading.
Find It at the Library
Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting repoductions from Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College Library
