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The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences–Biological Laboratory Collection

 Collection
Identifier: BIAS

Scope and Content

The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences Biological Laboratory Collection is composed of material accrued in the administration of the Bio Lab by director Dr. Charles B. Davenport with the close guidance and funding by the Bio Lab trustees. These materials have been moved several times through various lab administrations and research projects and were not in original order. These documents include the Bio Lab Trustee series, consisting of one box of minutes of 1898-1922 reflecting fiscal, administrative and curriculum issues. Nine boxes of documents from the administration of the summer and year-round biological study programs 1898 – 1922 comprise the Bio Lab Administrative series. These two series reflect historically interesting facets of a scientific institution that survived privatization, World War I and fiscal challenges of a tuition-financed educational institution. The BIAS Trustee series is one box of material documenting the oversight by BIAS, the parent organization. These minutes reflect the arts and science entities within BIAS that were competing for resources and the eventual 1924 launch of the independent successor institution, the Long Island Biological Association. The fourth series, Bio Lab Account Ledgers consists of 4 boxes of ledgers with detailed handwritten entries of students’ information, finances and sundry items. These ledgers provide an overall depiction of life during the beginning of the twentieth century in Cold Spring Harbor. Documents found in this collection reflect the interaction and interrelationship of this Biological Laboratory with the Village and citizens of Laurel Hollow, the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences and the neighboring institution the Carnegie Institute of Washington Station for Experimental Evolution.

The collection is arranged into 8 series:
  1. Laboratory Administrative Files (1890-1922)
  2. B.I.A.S. Board Files (1915-1924)
  3. Laboratory Trustees Files (1898-1922)
  4. Laboratory Account Ledgers (1902-1941)
  5. Laboratory Student Index Files (1899-1934)
  6. Laboratory Fundraising (1890-1930)
  7. Photographs (1890-1920)
  8. Ephemera (1893-1924)

Series 1 - Biological Laboratory Administrative Files (1890-1922). 6.5 linear feet (9 boxes). Nine boxes of documents from the administration of the summer and year-round biological study programs comprise the Bio Lab Administrative series.

Series 2 - B.I.A.S. Board Files (1915 -1924). 0.5 linear feet (1 box). 1 box of material documenting the oversight by the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. These minutes reflect the arts and science entities within B.I.A.S. that were competing for resources and the eventual 1924 launch of the independent successor institution, the Long Island Biological Association.

Series 3 - Biological Laboratory Trustees Files (1898-1922). 0.5 linear feet (1 box). Consists of one box of minutes of 1898-1922 reflecting fiscal, administrative and curriculum issues.

Series 4 - Biological Laboratory Account Ledgers (1902-1941). 5 linear feet (4 boxes). Consists of 4 boxes of ledgers with detailed handwritten entries of students’ information, finances and sundry items.

A detailed list of the box contents can be found at http://library.cshl.edu/special-collections/biological-laboratory/collection-inventory.

Dates

  • Creation: 1890 - 1941

Creator

Access Restrictions

Some restrictions apply, see Archivist for details. Access is given only by appointment, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Use Restriction

Archival materials must remain in the archival reading area. Item duplication is to be done by archivists. Fees are applied to copies made. Digital photography is permitted by users. Due to the very fragile nature of some materials in this collection, some are available through photocopies; others must be used under the supervision of an archivist.

Historical Note

At the end of the 19th century, the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences founded a laboratory for training high school and college teachers in marine biology. As biologists and naturalists of that time worked out the consequences of Darwin’s theory of evolution, they often established their laboratories at the seashore, where there was an abundance of animals and plants for study. In 1889, John D. Jones gave land and buildings (formerly part of the Cold Spring Whaling Company) on the southwestern shore of Cold Spring Harbor to the Brooklyn Institute for Arts and Science (BIAS). BIAS used the Jones gift to established its presence in Cold Spring Harbor as the Biological Laboratory (Bio Lab) engaged in science research and training of secondary school teachers. In 1917 the Bio Lab officially became one of the four departments of the BIAS (along with the Brooklyn Art Museum, Brooklyn Botanical Garden and Brooklyn Zoo) and an endowment was raised from contributions of interested Cold Spring Harbor neighbors. In 1924 BIAS turned over the administration and ownership of the Biological Lab to the Cold Spring Harbor community and it incorporated as the Long Biological Association (LIBA). LIBA was initially administered by Director Reginald Harris, and continued as a scientific research and educational institution, funded by local residents and a far reaching list of private donors.

Extent

17 Boxes ; 9.5 linear feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The collection represents material generated, accumulated, and maintained by the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (BIAS) Biological Laboratory founded in 1890 for training high school and college teachers in marine biology in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. The BIAS Biological Laboratory Collection ends in 1924 when the Biological Lab and its functions were transferred to the Long Island Biological Association. The collection is divided into four series: BIAS Trustees, Bio Lab Trustees, Bio Lab Administration, and Bio Lab Account Ledgers.

Arrangement Note

This material was processed to series level and the material is arranged chronologically within the series with the exceptions oversized material that has been housed separately. An inventory has been created for this collection. Like material was grouped into series by the processing archivist to assist researchers. Where folders were clearly identifiable as belonging to another institution (as determined by date, person, or subject), the processing archivist removed the folders for refilling in the relevant Related Collections. It is recommended that this collection be researched in conjunction with Related Collections.

Provenance

These records have been stored on site since their creation, originally in administrative offices under various Laboratory Directors until their removal to the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Library and Archives. Documents within the collection identify these records as those belonging to the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences The Biological Laboratory. During most of its existence the organization shared directors, certain staff and buildings, with three related peer institutions: 1) Carnegie Institute of Washington 2) Eugenics Record Office (established as a separate entity in 1910, but whose building, files and records were donated to Carnegie Institution of Washington in 1918); and 3) The Long Island Biological Association. This shared leadership created an intermingling of these institutions’ administrative files. Where folders were clearly identifiable as belonging to another institution as determined by date, person, or subject, the processing archivists removed the folders for placement in the relevant Related Collections. Where folders contained material which overlapped multiple collections, the folder was kept in this collection and reference notes added. It is recommended that this collection be researched in conjunction with Related Collections. This collection was processed in June 2012.

Related Materials

The following collections at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Archives house materials related to Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences - The Biological Laboratory Collection: Carnegie Institution of Washington at Cold Spring Harbor Administrative Records, Long Island Biological Association Collection, the Reginald Harris Collection, the Charles Davenport Collection, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington - Eugenics Record Office Collection. These can be accessed through the CSHL Archives Digital Collections Database (http://archives.cshl.edu/).

Acknowledgement

This project “Arrangement and Description of the Hidden Collections of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s Legacy Institutions, 1890-1974” was made possible in part by a grant from the Documentary Heritage Program of the New York State Archives, a program of the State Education Department.

Related Names

Subjects

Record Groups

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
The Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences–Biological Laboratory Collection
Status
Completed
Author
Finding Aid Prepared by E.D. Pessala. Finding aid updated by Em Longan, August 2021.
Date
2012
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Archives Repository

https://www.cshl.edu/archives/
Contact:
Library & Archives
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
One Bungtown Rd
Cold Spring Harbor NY 11724 USA
516-367-6872