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Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Publications (MSCA and Member Organizations)
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Series
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Reference code
CA MUA MG 2076-10
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Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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1920-1969 (Creation)
- Creator
- Montreal Council of Social Agencies
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Physical description
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Archival description area
Name of creator
(established 1921)
Administrative history
The Montreal Council of Social Agencies, a coordinating organization for English-speaking, non-Roman Catholic social agencies, was formed in 1921 by John Howard Toynbee Falk, head of McGill's Department of Social Studies, later the McGill University School of Social Workers. Although details of the organization of the MCSA have been modified over the years, the basic structure remained constant: a Board of Directors, elected from the member agencies, directed the MCSA through administrative standing committees and, more importantly, set up numerous special committees to study specific social problems under the aegis of area advisory groups for health, aging, urban renewal, recreation, etc. The overwhelming emphasis of the MCSA on planning and research reflects its role as animator, information exchange and coordinator of a great variety of social agencies and groups, from major hospitals and fund-raising organizations to church groups and boys' clubs. In 1968, the MCSA merged with its French homologue, the Conseil de Développement Social; it ceased operations in 1976.
Custodial history
Scope and content
These are materials published by the Council as such, or independently by its members. With respect to the former, the MCSA issued numerous documents produced in the course of its operations (initially from the New Birks Building, 10 Cathcart Street, and sometimes, also in early days, from no stated location; then from 1421 Atwater Avenue and subsequently its long-standing 1040 Atwater Avenue address). Many of these it listed in a cumulative Index to Publications composed of four chronological·Series· (file 464), nominally starting in 1919 and ending in 1968, though the first actual entry in the Index is dated 1934. The contents of the Publications (MCSA and Member Organizations) Series, however, span 1920 - 1969; and, while they do not comprise every item published by headquarters or members, do reflect those in practice filed as the series title indicates. (The Council routinely published its Annual Reports and the proceedings of Annual Meetings, but these are classified together as a separate series) .
The materials contained in Publications (MCSA and Member Organizations) embrace a range of categories, but prominent are the Commentator and Comment newsletters; service directories and guides; briefs, reports, studies and surveys; and institute, conference and workshop proceedings. Following the Council's usage, many of these materials also appear in other series. While the large majority were published by the MCSA, a few, like Administration of a Chronic Disease Hospital: ' Maimonides Hospital and Home for the Aged (file 1132), Montreal Parks and Playgrounds Association Incorporated: A Half Century of Community Service, 1902-1952 (file 1133), or the collection of articles by the Royal Victoria Hospital's Social Service Department (file 1052), are productions of member organizations.