The records reflect varying degrees of participation in Wisconsin associations--and to a lesser extent national groups and those of other states--which were concerned with social problems ranging from juvenile delinquency to mental health. Sarah Campbell's particular focus was the family and its social role. As community services consultant for the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services she collected brochures, mailing lists, newsletters, clippings, correspondence, and minutes and generated her own correspondence and voluminous notes; as a resource contact for these many groups she compiled a “resources file” of bibliographies and catalogs, articles, papers and addresses, and lists of resource persons in the field of family issues. Most of this latter part of the collection concerns family life education, including sex education and family planning; parenting; personal, marital, and family counseling; and documents some of the controversy surrounding sex education in the schools, including material from both “The Movement to Restore Decency” and SIECUS (Sex Information and Education Council of the United States).
The collection also includes material about community organization and social action. Because these documents represent Sarah Campbell's private files rather than the official records of organizations, the association materials are limited by the extent of her participation; for instance, minutes and newsletters are often incomplete. However, the largest file groups--the Wisconsin Family Life Association, the Dane County Council on Family Living, and the Adult Education Association of Wisconsin--are complete enough to give a good idea of the structure, activities, and procedures of these agencies. It must also be remembered that Mrs. Campbell's activities overlapped such that many of her papers could be placed in more than one file. This is especially true of her interest in resources for family life education, both written and human, a concern which can be seen throughout the collection.
The DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE (later DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES) (DPW/DHSS) series includes sporadic records of this Wisconsin state agency. Those records which refer to other organizations are generally found in those series; what remains are documents concerning staff training in community action and leadership, some internal correspondence concerning the structure and function of the Department such as material about its 1968 reorganization, and correspondence dealing with helping organizations plan activities and find resources (see also COLLECTED RESOURCES).
There is some evidence that Campbell was not involved in the DANE COUNTY-FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION/COUNCIL ON FAMILY LIVING organizations until about 1962 and that she received the earlier records from a predecessor. The Dane County Council's minutes are complete to 1964.
The most comprehensive material on any one group is in the WISCONSIN FAMILY LIFE ASSOCIATION series. Not only are Campbell's records present but also included are some of the correspondence files of other officers, originally called “president's files.” Campbell held a number of positions, including president, newsletter editor, and program committee member, and much of her file consists of notes. The newsletters are incomplete and much of the material sent for inclusion has been separated to OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND EVENTS. Also see COLLECTED RESOURCES for family life education material, particularly newspaper articles about sex education.
Campbell's masters degree was in adult education and she was one of the founders of the ADULT EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OF WISCONSIN. The series includes examples of a recurring element in this collection: materials of prototypes of real or proposed Wisconsin associations. Here, for instance, are descriptions of organizations in Canada and Michigan which among others may have influenced the structure of the AEA-W. The summer conferences were held through the University of Wisconsin School of Education; Campbell helped to plan the 1966 conference.
The OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND EVENTS series, arranged chronologically within the classifications “Wisconsin” and “Other States and National,” includes papers of many groups, conferences, and activities. Many of these Mrs. Campbell participated in through the Department of Health and Social Services, such as the annual conferences of Governor's Committee on Children and Youth and the Wisconsin Association for Mental Health Leadership Training Institute in which she presented a workshop on “Resources in Family Life Education.” Lists of resources are present in the latter file as well as in the National Council on Family Relations newsletters (“Available from the NCFR”); also see COLLECTED RESOURCES. The WFLA was an association member of the NCFR and some everyday NCFR correspondence can be found in the WFLA “Administrative Correspondence and Notes” files. The most nearly complete file of this series is the “Richland County Family Life Council” folder which includes rough minutes of two years of meetings. Some of the resources mentioned in the DPW/DHSS series are organizational papers in the “Other States and National Organizations” files, such as those of the Minnesota Council on Family Relations.
The sex education controversy in which the WFLA took an interest is documented somewhat in the COLLECTED RESOURCES “Papers, Speeches, and Pamphlets,” and “Articles, Clippings, and Reprints” family life files. Here too are many of the resources referred to in the DPW/DHSS files. Clippings also contain statistical information (divorce rates, etc.) and reports on political activity. Statute excerpts, such as the Wisconsin “Family Code,” are also included. Lists of human resources can be found in the WFLA series. Resource lists used by WFLA, DCCFL, and DPW/DHSS are among the “Lists and Catalogs” materials put out by non-profit agencies as well as commercial publishers, as are lists collected by Aaron Tilton, a family lawyer and a president of WFLA.
A small group of materials which could not be linked with any particular organization are in the MISCELLANY group. Included here are ideas and notes, for instance, plans for a family life center and a description of one proposed in Minnesota. “Ideas” are found throughout the collection; see particularly Campbell's folder within the WISCONSIN FAMILY LIFE ASSOCIATION series.
