Defiance League of Women Voters records

The Defiance League of Women Voters collection is comprised primarily of bylaws, minutes, newsletters, news clippings, and handbooks. There are two sets of bylaws contained in the collection, national and local. The national bylaws give information on the way the organization should be run including material about the members, officers, conventions, and finances. This concerns the entire organization and the chapters across the country. The local bylaws contain similar information but on a local level. It details membership, elections, and meetings of the Defiance chapter specifically.

The minutes detail the secretary’s notes on the local meetings held. They are arranged in chronological order and give the reports of the officers, any discussions, and new members of the chapter. The minutes are taken for every months meeting and also tell the date and location that the meeting took place.

The “Vision” is the Defiance chapter’s monthly newsletter which gives information about the events of the chapter. Locations of meetings, lists of new members, messages from the president, and topics of discussion are all contained in these newsletters. They are arranged in chronological order.

There is also a collection of newspaper clippings with articles about the Defiance League of Women. No dates are given as to their publication and only two specify their original location, in the Defiance Crescent-News. In the articles it describes local meetings and events put on by the chapter. In some cases they also contain pictures of the events published next to the corresponding article.

The handbooks contained in the collection include a city history, a president’s handbook, and a guide to local programs. The history was written and released by the members of the Defiance chapter in 1968. It contains not only the history of the foundation of the city but also information regarding the economy, politics, and community. The guide in the collection details the planning and development of local programs. It also includes different guidelines for the members of the chapter. The handbook is given to incoming presidents and helps to explain how to run certain parts of the chapter and their responsibilities. Addresses and phone numbers of officers and directors throughout the state of Ohio are included as well.