The records of the Consumers Cooperative of Berkeley, cover the years 1939-1991. The earliest efforts of its constituency are recorded in the handwritten minutes of the Co-op Unit Council that convened on May 1, 1939. The best perspective on Co-op operations can be found in the minutes and reports of the Board of Directors and in the Co-op News scrapbooks which feature clippings that reflect the viewpoints and practices of a variety of Co-op home economists. The collection includes a voluminous series of Board of Directors minutes, 1939-1977, that document all facets of business and administrative affairs as well as member participation. All corporate levels and departments are documented in the minutes and committee files, or "packets" as they were sometimes described by a Co-op record keeper. The largest group of files are those that document Co-op operations and management during the years 1952-1989. Much of this material consists of subject files compiled by education director Nancy Snow and the Co-op News scrapbooks and clippings files reflecting the concerns and activities of the Home Economist Program. The bankruptcy of the Co-op is also well documented in the form of legal files.
