The records of the Madison Jewish Community Council (and its predecessors, the Madison Jewish Welfare Council and Madison Jewish Welfare Fund) and its affiliated programs are arranged alphabetically in nine series. The series are: ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS, CAMP SHALOM, COMMUNITY RELATIONS COMMITTEE, GAN HA YELED, JEWISH CULTURAL SERIES COMMITTEE, JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICES, MADISON MIDRASHA, SENIOR ADULT SERVICES, and WOMEN'S SERVICE ORGANIZATION. The records document the Council's role in raising funds for national and overseas Jewish organizations and developing, coordinating, and funding local social, educational, and cultural programs from 1940 to 1987. Also well documented are the activities of various council-sponsored programs. Of these, the records of CAMP SHALOM and the SENIOR ADULT SERVICES program are the most plentiful and complete. Records from 1940 to 1969 consist almost entirely of minutes and are available only on microfilm.

ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS pertain to the Madison Jewish Community Council (MJCC) as a whole. A file of annual reports provides a year-by-year record of goals and achievements from 1957 to 1980. Financial and fundraising campaign records detail the organization's annual campaigns and allocation patterns, primarily from the late 1960s to early 1980s. By-laws and minutes of annual meetings, the Board of Directors, and various committees document the formation and expansion of the Council, the development and implementation of cultural programs and social services, and the relationship between the Council administration, the United Jewish Appeal, and Council-sponsored programs. Minutes from 1940 to 1969 are available on Micro 643 and Micro 668 and include articles of incorporation and other legal documents. Micro 688 includes a 1968 report of the Youth Activities Study Committee which resulted in programs designed to intensify identification with the Jewish community. A file of the Youth Committee, formed in 1971, documents the Madison Jewish Community Council's sponsorship of recreational activities for children and consists mainly of announcements and correspondence. Correspondence, minutes, and reports of the Jewish Education Committee and Blue Ribbon Committee on Education also reflect the Madison Jewish Community Council's concern for Jewish children in Madison and its interest in promoting and coordinating Jewish education from 1970 to 1975. Publicity materials in the form of newsletters (1951-1967) and printed flyers, brochures, and programs (1961-1985) are also filed under ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS. A group of photographs, primarily from the 1980s, depict Council officials, fundraising campaigns, and related activities.

CAMP SHALOM records document the day-to-day operations and activities of the Madison Jewish Community Council day camp from 1973 to 1984, and are arranged alphabetically by subject. Included are files regarding staff and individual campers, policy and program materials reflecting the camp's Jewish cultural and religious orientation, budgets, committee minutes, final reports, evaluations of the camp written by parents, and photographs of children and counselors engaged in camp activities. References to Camp Shalom from its inception in 1954 to 1969 can also be found among the microfilmed minutes listed under ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS.

The COMMITTEE RELATIONS COMMITTEE files consist of just four folders from the 1970s and 1980s.

The series GAN HA YELED documents the operation from 1970 to 1984 of a nursery school which affiliated with the Madison Jewish Community Council in 1970. The bulk of the records are arranged chronologically by session. These session files contain correspondence, memoranda, minutes, program materials, and registration lists. A file on curriculum goals reflects the development of Jewish cultural and religious programming.

Efforts to promote awareness and appreciation of Jewish cultural heritage among adults and to stimulate discussion of issues concerning the Jewish community are reflected by the files of the JEWISH CULTURAL SERIES COMMITTEE. Correspondence and printed flyers document the committee's sponsorship of films, plays, concerts, and lectures from 1975 to 1982.

JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICES (JSS) was formed in 1978 to preserve and strengthen Jewish family life by coordinating existing social welfare programs and providing professional social work services to Madison's Jewish community. That Jewish Social Services was an outgrowth of Senior Adult Services is documented in the “Senior Adult Program” and “Surveys, Reports, Proposals” files listed under the records of SENIOR ADULT SERVICES. Records of JSS are arranged alphabetically by subject and reflect its sponsorship of various programs for individuals and families. Annual reports describe the agency's goals and achievements while Board of Directors minutes document the development of policies and programs. Also well documented is the agency's membership in the United Way of Dane County from 1978 to 1985. United Way files include applications, outlines of formal presentations, reports, and detailed statistics on JSS clients.

MADISON MIDRASHA began in 1975 as a community-wide Jewish educational program for students of secondary school age. The bulk of the files contains course materials and are arranged alphabetically by subject or course title. Administrative matters and efforts to develop a comprehensive Jewish curriculum are documented in the minutes of various committees. Personnel records consist mainly of applications for teaching positions. Student records include enrollment lists, individual attendance sheets, and instructor's evaluations of student performance.

The bulk of the SENIOR ADULT SERVICES files document its programs and social welfare services for elderly Jews from 1972 to 1982. A survey of the socio-economic conditions and needs of this population was conducted under the auspices of the Madison Jewish Community Council in 1971. Survey results, reports, and final recommendations to the Council can be found in Box 24. Also filed here under Reports and Evaluations are monthly and annual statistics on cases and services provided. A few files scattered throughout the series contain information on individual clients. Photographs from 1975 to 1977 and from 1984 to 1985 depict Purim and Passover celebrations, nursing home visitation, the Lechayim program, and other activities sponsored by Senior Adult Services.

The WOMEN'S SERVICE ORGANIZATION, founded in 1973, was formed to conduct an annual fundraising drive, the Women's Campaign, to help coordinate the activities of Jewish women's organizations in Madison, to provide hospitality to new Jewish families, and to sponsor volunteer education programs. The series contains minutes and correspondence from 1975 to 1985 and fragmentary and incomplete files on specific activities. The role of the Women's Service Organization in Madison Jewish Community Council fundraising is more thoroughly documented in the series ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS under “Campaigns” and “Board of Directors reports.”

The Library of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin has a complete file of the Madison Jewish Community Council publication, The Monthly Reporter.