Bank Street Archives

Guide to the Archives

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Bank Street College Archives
    Dates: 1916-2006
    Language of Material: English
    Location: Bank Street College Archives New York, NY

  • Administrative History

    In 1984, Bank Street entered into an agreement with the Milbank Memorial Library of Teachers College, Columbia University to serve as a repository for the records of Bank Street College of Education. Bank Street’s papers were transferred and organized by the staff of Special Collections at Milbank Memorial Library with support from Bank Street and Teachers College faculty. Due to the closing of Milbank’s Special Collections, the records were returned to Bank Street in 2003.

  • Historical Note

    Bank Street College of Education, founded in 1916 as the Bureau of Educational Experiments (BEE), has had a major impact on the development of education in the twentieth century. The current name of the college was taken from its previous location in Greenwich Village, NY at 69 Bank Street. In the circle of early childhood educators, the name “Bank Street” has come to mean an approach to the education of children that emphasizes child development and interaction, a tutorial method of educating teachers and a philosophy that highlights human and social values. Lucy Sprague Mitchell, along with her husband Wesley Clair Mitchell and Harriet Johnson, founded the Bureau of Educational Experiments. Their purpose was to combine expanding psychological awareness with democratic conceptions of education. With a staff of researchers and teachers, the Bureau set out to study children–to find out what kind of environment was best suited to their learning and growth, to create that environment, and to train adults to maintain it. Their mission has guided the development of Bank Street from a single experimental bureau to a multi-faceted organization that includes a Graduate School of Education, a School for Children and a Division of Continuing Education. Along the way, Bank Street has produced books, software and television programs, developed model outreach programs, and served as a consultant to government agencies, public schools, community organizations and private institutions.

  • Scope and Content Note

    The records of Bank Street College of Education document administrative activities, teaching, research, and outreach programs of the College and its predecessor, the Bureau of Educational Experiments, from the founding of the Bureau in 1916 through the 2000s.

  • Arrangement

    The collection is divided into record groups based on the organizational structure of the College, their finding aids on ArchivesSpace are linked. The archive also contains three Manuscript Collections as part of the Special Collections, whose findings aids have not yet migrated to ArchivesSpace.

  • Administrative Information

    Conditions Governing Access

    Please note that due to the sensitive nature of their contents, access to certain records may be restricted. Assistance with research questions is available by contacting the Archivist & Special Collections Librarian Grace Handy. The Archivist will respond to research requests submitted by email, phone or mail or a visit to the Archives may be arranged in advance.

    Preferred Citation

    [Collection title, Call number, Box number], Bank Street College Archives, New York, NY

  • Search the Archives

    To search the Bank Street archives, visit our ArchivesSpace site or explore our Special Collections.