Collections : [Bridgeport History Center, Bridgeport Public Library]

he International Reading Association, today known as the International Literacy Association, is an international non-profit organization that focuses on reading instruction and accessibility across all languages and nationalities. The Fairfield County Council began in 1959. It currently exists as the Southern Fairfield Reading Association, part of the Connecticut Reading Association. The group helped to sponsor workshops for teachers to improve instruction, support initiatives for students, and fundraise.

Within the records of the Fairfield County Historical Society are annual reports and minutes that help to provide an overview of the group's activities both before they moved into the building gifted to the by P.T. Barnum and afterwards. In addition to correspondence and some preserved research that members generated, it is possible to have an overall sense of how the group operated and their interests, up into the mid-1890s.

Bridgeport has been the home to a large and proud Hungarian population for over a century. Focusing on the First United Church of Christ, Bridgeport, this collection documents both the church and the larger Hungarian community in Bridgeport up into the 21st century.

This collection contains documents produced by the women-only, Bridgeport-based book club. These are primarily brief accounts of monthly meetings.

Contained in this collection are various rolls and proceedings of the national and state conventions and encampments of the Grand Army of the Republic and Women's Relief Corps, as well as related miscellaneous materials spanning from 1882-1938.

Little information is currently available regarding the Hatfield-Crabbe Manufacturing Company in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It appears to have manufactured car jacks and lifts. The collection is primarily correspondence, which reflects sales, inquiries, and some development of products.

H.E.C.U.S., or the Higher Education Center for Urban Studies, began in 1968 as a consortium of Fairfield County colleges and universities. The goal of H.E.C.U.S. was for academic institutions to collaborate with local communities to develop various programs, study local needs, and implement real change. It also worked to reach out to low income and minority students to help get them through college. This collection of documents tells the story of the organization from its founding in 1968 to its closure in 1977 and features program information, publications regarding city problems, committee minutes, and more.

The Huntington Telephone Company was founded in 1903 and operated out of Huntington, Connecticut for the whole of its existence. Began in response to the need for a local phone exchange, the records in the collection document the finances and activities of the company until it was sold to the Southern New England Telephone Company in 1948, offering insight into the early days of telecommunications in Connecticut.

The International Association of Fire Fighters was founded in 1918 for paid full-time firefighters. Due to the inherent nature of the work, firefighting requires strong protections and regulations. This collection focuses on those efforts during the 1960s and into the early 1970s.

The International Institute – known variously as the International Institute of Greater Bridgeport, the Nationalities Service Center of Greater Bridgeport, the International Institute of Connecticut, and now the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants – was founded in 1918. Originally a part of Bridgeport's YWCA, the International Institute was originally created to provide social support and encourage the Americanization of young female immigrants and first-generation girls. Over time, the mission has expanded to support immigrants as well as refugees from war torn regions of the world, help individuals gain American citizenship, offer family resources, provide information, assist with family reunions, and much more. The material within the collection focuses primarily on the Institute from the late 1940s to the 1970s, documenting not only the transition of services provided, but the immigrants that America and specifically Bridgeport welcomed. Please note that this collection has restrictions due to sensitive information within.