National Association of Social Workers and Predecessor Organizations records
Scope and Content
The bulk of the records is from the seven organizations for professional social workers that merged in 1955 to form the National Association of Social Workers. They were the American Association of Social Workers, the American Association of Psychiatric Social Workers, the National Association of School Social Workers, the American Association of Group Workers, the Association for the Study of Community Organization, and the Social Work Research Group. Collectively they document the development from vocational placement bureaus into professional organizations concerned with raising professional standards and improving education offerings and working conditions. Secondarily they reflect the impact of war and of Great Depression-era social and economic programs on social workers and on the people they served.
Dates
- Creation: 1917-1970
Language of Materials
English
Use of Materials
Open for use in Social Welfare History Archives reading room.
Copyright
The National Association of Social Workers retains copyright.
Historical Note
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) was established in October, 1955, following five years of careful planning by the Temporary Inter-Association Council (TIAC). Seven organizations – American Association of Social Workers (AASW), American Association of Medical Social Workers (AAMSW), National Association of School Social Workers (NASSW), American Association of Psychiatric Social Workers (AAPSW), American Association of Group Workers UAW Association for the Study of Community Organization (ASCO), and Social Work Research Group (SWRG) – merged to form the NASW.
Extent
92 Linear Feet
Abstract
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW), the membership organization for professional social workers in the United States, was established in October, 1955. Included in the collection are the records of seven predecessor organizations – American Association of Social Workers (AASW), American Association of Medical Social Workers (AAMSW), National Association of School Social Workers (NASSW), American Association of Psychiatric Social Workers (AAPSW), American Association of Group Workers UAW Association for the Study of Community Organization (ASCO), and Social Work Research Group (SWRG) – that merged to form the NASW. The records document the development from vocational placement bureaus into professional organizations concerned with raising professional standards and improving education offerings and working conditions. Secondarily they reflect the impact of war and of Great Ddepression-era social and economic programs on social workers and on the people they served.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in ten record groups, each comprising the records of a separate organization -- the seven predecessor organizations that merged in 1955; two transitional organizations that operated during the merger process; and the post-1955 records of the National Association of Social Workers itself. The ten record groups are:
- Record group 1. American Association of Social Workers (AASW), 1918-1955
- Record group 2. American Association of Medical Social Workers (AAMSW), 1917-1956
- Record group 3. National Association of School Social Workers (NASSW), 1922-1955
- Record group 4. American Association of Psychiatric Social Workers (AAPSW), 1921-1958
- Record group 5. American Association of Group Workers (AAGW), 1936-1955
- Record group 6. Association for the Study of Community Organization (ASCO), 1944-1955
- Record group 7. Social Work Research Group (SWRG), 1946-1955
- Record group 8. Temporary Inter-Association Council (TIAC), 1946-1955
- Record group 9. National Committee on Social Work in Defense Mobilization (NCSWDM), 1950-1955
- Record group 10. National Association of Social Workers (NASW), 1955-1970
Other Finding Aid
A detailed description of most of this collection is included in University of Minnesota Libraries, Descriptive Inventories of Collections in the Social Welfare History Archives (Greenwood, 1970), pp. 203-392.
Acquisition Information
The National Association of Social Workers records were a gift of the National Association of Social Workers board of directors, received in July 1964. The records of the Washington office were added in 1971.
Processing and Finding Aid Information
The NASW records were received, administered, and described in two distinct entities. The initial accession, received in 1964 and comprising primarily the pre-1955 records of the predecessor organizations, were arranged and described upon arrival. A large shipment of records from the organization's Washington office, received in 1971, was described in less detail and administered as a separate "supplement" collection. The description of all NASW records, including smaller subsequent accretions, will be integrated into a single finding aid in this online version in the future.
Subject
- American Association of Group Workers (Organization)
- American Association of Medical Social Workers (Organization)
- American Association of Psychiatric Social Workers (Organization)
- American Association of Social Workers (Organization)
- Association for the Study of Community Organization (Organization)
- National Association of School Social Workers (Organization)
- National Association of Social Workers (Organization)
- National Committee on Social Work in Defense Mobilization (Organization)
- Social Work Research Group (Organization)
- Temporary Inter-Association Council (Organization)
- Title
- National Association of Social Workers and Predecessor Organizations records, 1917-1970
- Author
- Mary Jane Fout, Andrea Hinding, Loren W. Crabtree, and Pamela J. Matson; revised by David Klaassen
- Date
- 2010
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Collecting Area Details
Contact The Social Welfare History Archives Collecting Area
