Inventory of the Merle Hoffman Papers, circa 1944-2012 and undated , bulk 1961-2000

The Correspondence Subseries includes internal Choices memos and e-mails. The subseries is in alphabetical order. See the Personal Series for additional Choices correspondence.

One of the largest subseries. Includes informational materials on abortion and other health issues, research files from clinic studies and patient surveys, and records of the clinic's involvement in various projects and organizations. There is a significant amount of material on the Choices East (Moscow) project, Hoffman's unsuccessful attempt to establish a women's health clinic in Moscow in the early 1990s. A small portion of the Choices East files are in Russian.

The subseries is subdivided into Abortion, Choices East, Patient Information, Research, and General Subject Files. Within each section, files are organized alphabetically. The Abortion files also document staff involvement in the National Coalition of Abortion Providers, the National Abortion Federation, and other pro-choice organizations. See the Oversize Material for additional Research files.

Includes files on a variety of lawsuits involving Choices, contract negotiations, and other legal matters. Especially noteworthy are materials documenting Choices's long-term relationship with Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York, its disputes over Medicaid billing, and numerous statements of public support for Choices during an attempt to evict the clinic from its facilities in 1998. Files are arranged alphabetically.

Documents Choices's public education programs and its relationship with other community organizations, especially those which served as referral sources. For more information on Choices's efforts to develop referral sources, see the Marketing Subseries. See also the files on managed care health insurance plans in the Legal Papers and the Operations Subseries. Arranged in alphabetical order.

Primarily documents the professional status, educational history, and licensure of Choices physicians and other medical staff. A few staff members have more extensive personnel files. Files are organized by name, with the individual's position in parenthesis. A small number of personnel subject files are located at the end of the name files.

Files on general personnel policy are located in the Personnel subdivision of the Operations Subseries.

Contains materials that record day-to-day security measures at Choices. In addition, documents the pro-choice movemement's attempts to combat anti-abortion violence and Operation Rescue protests in New York City. Choices staff was heavily involved in these efforts. The subseries contains files on a variety of pro-choice organizations and on Operation Rescue itself. Folders are arranged in alphabetical order.

Contains working files kept by individual staff members relating to the day-to-day functioning of the clinic. Files are labeled by name, with the approximate job title or department shown in parenthesis. The files are arranged in alphabetical order.

Choices organizational charts and staff rosters are available for reference in the Research Room's inventory files; please contact Research Services. For additional administrative material, see the Operations Subseries. Note that some staff members divided their time between Choices and On the Issues magazine; these individuals have staff files in both series. Statistical and marketing analyses in the Staff Files have been removed to the Oversize Material Series.

Comprised of materials documenting Choices advertising, brochures, and marketing plans. Marketing files also include statistics on clinic utilization, patient demographics, and referral sources. Files are in alphabetical order. Additional marketing-related material can be found in the Outreach Subseries and the Staff Files Subseries. See the Oversize Material for additional clinic utilization and referral statistics.

This largest subseries in the Choices Series is divided into Facilities, Mental Health, New York Government, Personnel, and General Operations. It contains files related to the day-to-day operations and policies of Choices Women's Medical Center, and includes meeting minutes; procedural manuals; material on medical policies and problems; files on various contractors and outside service providers; and other administrative material. Files are arranged chronologically within each category.

The New York Government files include assessments of Choices's medical services by various state and city agencies, often as part of the Medicaid review process. Note that folder titles in the New York Government group refer to the New York State government unless otherwise specified. The Mental Health files include records of Choices's Rape Treatment Program in the early 1990s and its Mental Health Center in the mid- to late 1990s. The Personnel files deal with personnel policies, staff training, and staff events.

Personnel files for individual employees can be found in the Personnel Subseries. Additional administrative records can be found in the Staff Files Subseries.

Contains numerous Choices documents, including procedural manuals, forms, and other materials concerning the clinic's medical practices and administration.

Electronic documents have been transferred from their original computer disks to the electronic records server. Files originally located on the same disk have been kept together on the server, in subdirectories labeled by disk number. These disk numbers do not reflect Hoffman's own labels or arrangement of the disks; the numbers were assigned to the original computer disks in the order they were received. This original order has been re-arranged in alphabetical order by supplied title as described below.

This inventory provides a summary of the contents of each computer disk. It does not list individual electronic files. Computer disks are listed alphabetically. For each disk, a brief descriptive title of the contents is followed by the disk number, the original disk label, and the number of files on the disk.

There are also a few Choices electronic documents located in mixed-file groups in the Personal Series Electronic Format Subseries.

For access to the electronic records, please consult with Research Services staff.

Contains a nearly complete run of On the Issues magazine, arranged chronologically, with two issues missing. On the Issues appeared annually, with some irregularities, from 1983 to 1990. It began quarterly publication in mid-1990. Before mid-1993, each issue was given its own volume number. In 1993, a new series of annual volume numbers was initiated. The first issue in the new series was volume 2, number 3. From 1990 to 1992, the Winter issue was the last issue of the calendar year; from 1994 to 1999, the Winter issue was the first issue of the year. There was no Winter 1993 issue published.

Folders contain communications regarding the editorial, distribution, business, and advertising aspects of producing the magazine. Arranged alphabetically.

Consists primarily of printouts of electronic draft versions of On the Issues articles. Electronic draft versions of articles for earlier issues can be found in the Electronic Format Subseries. Articles are arranged alphabetically by author last name.

Includes a variety of material documenting the activities of the editorial staff and the magazine's contributors. Contents include contributors' contracts and correspondence, files on annual staff retreats, subject files on topics of interest to Editor-at-Large Phyllis Chesler, and other story idea files. Arranged alphabetically.

Arranged into three further divisions: Direct Mail Marketing, Issue Publicity, and General Marketing Files. The Direct Mail Subseries documents the magazine's mass mailings to potential subscribers. The Issue Publicity Subseries consists of press releases and other publicity for specific articles or issues of the magazine. Arranged alphabetically within each group.

Folders contain production schedules, art director's files, and other materials related to the layout and final editing of each issue. Distribution reports provide evidence of where the magazine was marketed on the newsstands and how large a circulation the magazine attained in these venues. The subseries is divided into two sections, the first organized chronologically by magazine issue and the second alphabetically by subject. See the Oversize Material for additional layout materials and distribution reports.

Contains working files of On the Issues staff members, primarily editors and production assistants. Production assistant staff files include considerable subscriber correspondence. Files are organized by name, with the approximate job title or department shown in parentheses. On the Issues staff rosters are available for reference in the Reading Room's inventory files; please contact Research Services. See the Staff Files Subseries in the Choices Series for additional material on many of these staff members.

Consists of personnel files, financial records, and other material related to the general administration of the magazine.

Disks contain article drafts, mailing lists, advertisement text and graphics, a reader survey, and other files pertaining to the publication of On the Issues.

Electronic documents have been transferred from their original computer disks to the electronic records server. Files originally located on the same disk have been kept together on the server, in subdirectories labeled by disk number. These disk numbers do not reflect Hoffman's own labels or arrangement of the disks; the numbers were assigned to the original computer disks in the order they were received. This original order has been re-arranged alphabetically by supplied title as described below.

This inventory provides a summary of the contents of each computer disk. It does not list individual electronic files. Computer disks are listed alphabetically. For each disk, a brief descriptive title of the contents is followed by the disk number, the original disk label, and the number of files on the disk.

There are also a few On the Issues electronic documents located in mixed-file groups in the Personal Series Electronic Format Subseries.

For access to the electronic records, please consult with Research Services staff.

Offers a mixed selection of Hoffman's communications with fellow activists and friends, chiefly from the 1970s through the 1990s, although there are some letters from earlier years. Arranged alphabetically by name.

Provides supporting materials for Hoffman's professional publications on women's health care, her rally speeches, press releases, and many other public expressions of her political activism. The subseries also contains material on her cable access talk show, "On the Issues," as well as student papers written by Morgan during the 1970s. See the Audiovisual Series for additional interviews and debates, as well as for video recordings of Hoffman's cable television show "On the Issues." Arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Primarily concerns abortion, including informational material produced by various pro-choice organizations. Abortion-related subject files are grouped separately at the beginning of the subseries. See the Politics and Activism Subseries and the Clippings Subseries for additional pro-choice publications and other materials.

Documents Hoffman's participation in pro-choice and other political organizations. In addition, it includes files on her individual political activities, especially her support of and donations to political candidates. Hoffman's husband Martin Gold established a political action committee, the National Liberty Committee, in the early 1980s. In the 1990s, Hoffman established the Diana Foundation to serve as a conduit for her donations to various individuals and causes.

The New York Pro-Choice Coalition was organized by Hoffman in 1985, and was active until approximately 1990. The Coalition organized annual pro-choice rallies, shared information and coordinated security measures among member organizations, and dealt with the New York City government on abortion and clinic security issues. Minutes and meeting materials are placed first in the subseries, organized by meeting date. Meetings were generally held at least once, usually twice a month. Meeting files contain agendas, minutes, attendance lists, announcements from member organizations, and correspondence or other materials related to the meeting agenda. All other files are organized chronologically at the end of the subseries. See Oversize Materials for additional financial records.

Contains the appointment books and daily planners maintained by Hoffman and her personal assistants, and includes both personal and professional appointments. In some cases, there are two or three calendars for the same time period, with substantially different content. In these cases, Hoffman and her personal assistants may have maintained separate records of Hoffman's schedule. Arranged chronologically.

Consists of phone message books with carbon copies of messages left for Hoffman by others. Many messages are related to her work at Choices. There are occasional messages for other Choices staff members. Arranged chronologically.

Hoffman's scrapbooks form the bulk of this subseries. The scrapbooks consist primarily of newspaper clippings, but also contain some correspondence, publications of pro-choice organizations, photocopied photographs, and other materials.

Includes educational memorabilia, one early diary, legal papers, and biographical information, arranged alphabetically by folder title.

Contains some writings by Hoffman and Phyllis Chesler, correspondence, graphics, mailing lists, and animal rights materials. There are also disks containing mixed files belonging to two or more series (for instance, Choices and On the issues).

Electronic documents have been transferred from their original computer disks to the electronic records server. Files originally located on the same disk have been kept together on the server, in subdirectories labeled by disk number. These disk numbers do not reflect Hoffman's own labels or arrangement of the disks; the numbers were assigned to the original computer disks in the order they were received. This original order has been re-arranged alphabetically by supplied title as described below.

This inventory provides a summary of the contents of each computer disk. It does not list individual electronic files. Computer disks are listed alphabetically. For each disk, a brief descriptive title of the contents is followed by the disk number, the original disk label, and the number of files on the disk.

For access to the electronic records, please consult with Research Services staff.

Contains visual documentation of Choices clinic procedures and day-to-day operations.

Primarily consists of proofs, author portraits, and other materials used in the magazine's production. Arranged alphabetically.

Includes extensive photographs of pro-choice rallies and other political events attended by Hoffman during the 1980s. The subject of other photographs varies widely, ranging from formal portraits, to childhood snapshots, to her vacation at the feminist Camp Sister Spirit. Arranged alphabetically by folder title.