unlv.1995.12 Guide to the Ardis Kearns Collection Finding aid written by Nikol Price; revised by Dana Miller Special Collections, UNLV Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.August 1997 Finding aid encoded by Dana MillerMay 2007 Descriptive Summary Ardis Kearns Collection1956-1987 (inclusive),1960-1978 (bulk) MS 95-12 Kearns, Ardis 12 document boxes (approx. 5 linear ft.) University of Nevada, Las Vegas. UNLV Libraries. Special Collections. Las Vegas, Nevada 89154-7010.The Ardis Kearns Collection centers on the issues and projects Kearns encountered during her tenure with the Las Vegas and Nevada chapters of the League of Women Voters in the 1960s and 1970s. Documents and materials in the collection reflect Kearns’ interest in political movements, various facets of criminal justice, juvenile delinquency, environmental issues and community beautification and land use, among others. English Preferred Citation:

Ardis Kearns Collection. MS 95-12. Special Collections, UNLV Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

 Acquisition Information:

Donated by Ardis Kearns, 1995.

 Processed by:

Nikol Price, August 1997.

 Access:

This collection is open for research.

Publication Rights:

For permission to reproduce or publish from this collection, please contact the Director of Special Collections.

 Biographical Sketch

Ardis Kearns was active in the League of Women Voters beginning in 1964. May 25th of that year the organization held its first meeting, and Kearns was instrumental in its beginning. However, in 1968 she briefly resigned from the board to actively campaign for Hubert Humphrey. (It is against League policy for its board members to actively campaign for one party or one political entity.) Kearns continued her League membership even as she resigned from its leadership.

In 1975 she was elected as the president of the Nevada League of Women Voters. Her motto for the two year term was “League Does Make a Difference.” In addition to her extensive work with the NVLWV, Ardis Kearns was a member of the Southern Regional District Allocation Committee on Police and Criminal Justice from 1974-1977. She was married to Hal Kearns.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of six topical series: Juvenile Delinquency, Criminal Justice, Clark County Land Use, Energy, League of Women Voters, and Publications. The documents and publications come from Mrs. Kearns activity with the League of Women Voters on both the state and local levels. Types of materials found in the collection include notes, publications, reports, and correspondence on women's organizations, and various social and political issues. Each series is described separately in the inventory below.

 Arrangement of the Records

The collection is divided into 6 series:

Series 1.Juvenile Delinquency Series 2. Criminal Justice Series 3. Clark County Land UseSeries 4. EnergySeries 5. League of Women VotersSeries 6. Publications

N/A

For related topics and further information see the following collections:

League of Women Voters (Las Vegas Valley) Collection, MS 24.

Southern Nevada Women's Political Caucus Collection, MS 94-46.

 Subject Headings Individuals:Kearns, Ardis Organizations:League of Women Voters of Nevada -- Records and correspondence. League of Women Voters of Las Vegas (Nev.) -- Records and correspondence Subjects:Criminal justice, Administration of--Nevada--Clark County--Citizen participation Women--Nevada--Clark County--Societies and clubs Places:Clark County (Nev.) -- Politics and government Inventory: Series 1. Juvenile Delinquency, 1967-1971 (1 box)

Materials in the Juvenile Delinquency Series deal with the problem of youth within the criminal justice system. They discuss the need for juvenile incarceration and programs like Boys Town that give juveniles discipline without the trappings of a prison. There are also documents on the effect of marijuana use on juvenile delinquency.

 BoxFolderContents 11Assembly and Senate Bills,19712Controlling Juvenile Delinquency in Nevada 3Juvenile delinquency, 1969-Nov 19704Juvenile Delinquency Bill, Jan 1971-Feb 19715Juvenile Delinquency, Marijuana 1967- Feb 19716Juvenile Delinquency, newspaper clippings Apr 1969-July 1969 7 Juvenile Delinquency Notes8Juvenile Incarceration, Aug 1968-Mar 19709Juvenile Services, 1967- Mar 1967Series 2. Criminal Justice, 1964-1983(3 boxes)

The Criminal Justice series contains documents from Kearns’ work on the Southern Regional District Allocation Committee on Police and Criminal Justice. It covers a wide variety of subjects from handguns to prison health care, and from incarceration alternatives to police and community relations. This series contains League documents about criminal justice and encompasses the years 1964-1983.

BoxFolderContents21Criminal Justice, 1966-19742 Criminal Justice, Jan 1975-Dec 19753Criminal Justice, Feb 1976-Apr 19834Criminal Justice,n.d.5Criminal Justice,n.d.6Criminal Justice,n.d.7Standards and Goals Committee, Feb 1968- Oct 19788Standards and Goals Committee,n.d.31Court Reform, Feb 1977-Jan 19782Crime and Justice: You are Involved3Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, May 12, 19874League Criminal Justice Report5National Advisory Commission’s Criminal Justice Standards and Goals6Pretrial Release7 Pretrial Release, Des Moines program8Prison, Oct 1970- Apr 19739Prison Health Care, May 1972- May 197610Work Furlough, 1967- Jun 197341Handguns, June 1968- Sep 19762Police / Community Relations, Oct 1964- Nov 19743Police Task Force, Nov 1977- Mar 19784Police Task Force, Aug 1974- Apr 19775Southern Regional District Allocation Committee, Apr. 1975-19776Southern Regional District Allocation Committee Criminal Justice Plan, June 1974-Oct 19757Southern Regional District Allocation Committee Criminal Justice Plan,n.d.8Southern Regional District Allocation Committee on Police,n.d.Series 3. Clark County Land Use, 1962-1986(2 boxes)

Materials in the Clark County Land Use Series outline community concerns for the use and beautification of Clark County during years of tremendous growth. The earliest document contained in the collection is a May 1957 paper on parks and recreation. This series contains a lot of information on planning and zoning; the two prevalent issues being a proposed sign / billboard ordinance and underground utilities. Information about the aborted Marina Vegas development is also in this series.

BoxFolderContents51CD (Designed Commercial) Ordinance, Feb 1966- May 19682City Planning and Zoning, Mar 1966- Jun 19703Clark County Zoning Statutes4Planning and Zoning, Apr 1965- Aug 19685Planning and Zoning,n.d.6Sign Ordinance / Billboards, Oct 1966- Feb 19717Use of Community Land, Apr 1966- May 19868 Zoning, Oct 1962- Sep 19839Zoning, Sign Ordinance, Jan 1965- Jun 196861Annexation, Jan 1968- May 19682 Ground Transportation, Feb 1975- Apr 19753"Improving the Mess We Live In"4Marina Vegas Development5Marina Vegas Newspaper Clipping, Aug 1970- Apr 19716Marina Vegas Publication, Nov 19707Market Analysis for Proposed Marina Marina Vegas Development,Dec 19708Newsprint, Jun 1966- Jul 19689Underground Utilities, Jul 1966- Jul 197110 Underground Utilities, Jul 1970- Aug 197111Vegas Heights Redevelopment, Jul 1964- Dec 1968Series 4. Energy,1967-1978, n.d.(1 box)

The Energy Series contains documents Kearns collected on environment-friendly forms of energy production. Issues of air and water pollution are also explored.

BoxFolderContents71Air and Water Pollution, Jan 1967- Mar 19782Air and Water Pollution, n.d.3Energyn.d.4Pollution Control ( California Edison), Oct 1969- Apr 1970Series 5. League of Women Voters,1957-1987(4 boxes)

Most prominent are materials by and about the League of Women Voters. This series contains information on the issues Kearns was involved in during her time in the League. Notes from League conventions and leadership training materials for its board members are also included. There is also some useful information on Nevada elections during the sixties and seventies. In addition, Kearns collected material on national issues such as voting rights for eighteen year olds and the Equal Rights Amendment.

BoxFolderContents81Las Vegas LWV Treasurer Record, Mar 1973- Jun 19752Leadership Training3League of Women Voters Information (1 of 2)4 League of Women Voters Information (2 of 2)5League of Women Voters Leadership6League of Women Voters Meeting Information, Jan 1965- May 19767League of Women Voters, Miscellaneous8League of Women Voters of Nevada 50th Anniversary9National LWV Conventions, 1974 and 197610Nevada LWV Board meeting, 1975 and 197691Election Extra Fact Sheet, Nov 19702Equal Rights Amendment, 1971- 19783Equal Rights Amendment, n.d.4ERA Newsprint5Getting Involved in the Voting Process, Feb 1965-19786Las Vegas Voice, November 4, 19687League of Women Voters 18 Year Old Vote, Feb 1964- Jul 19718League of Women Voters 18 Year Old Vote, n.d.9League of Women Voters Election Information10Voter Registration, 196611Zel Lowman for Assembly News101Consolidation of Las Vegas and Clark County Governing Units, Mar 1966-Mar 1976 2Foreign Policy3 Government Ethics4Government Research Newsletter, May 19665Legislative Newsletter, Apr 19676Nevada Financial Information, 1965-19677Parks, Aug 1963-19678Parks Newspaper Articles, Nov 1965-Sep 19669Parks and Recreation, May 1957- Nov 197010 Parks and Recreation111Ardis Kearns in the League, 1968-19762Child Care, 1963-19753Correspondence, Jun 1964- Dec 19754Correspondence, Jan 1976- Feb 19875 Miscellaneous 6Peace Corps and VISTA7Publication8The Democrat, Jul 19759U.S. Bicentennial Clippings10VolunteerismSeries 6. Publications, 1956-1977(1 box)

The Publications Series contains both publications that were retained and a list of those that were removed from the collection.

BoxFolderContents121List of documents removed from Foreign Policy Leaders Guide, 1966-1968 2List of documents removed from publications3List of publications removed from collectionn/aCommunity Based Corrections in Des Moines, US Department of Justice 1973n/aCommunity and Park Design Plans, Eisner-Stewart and Associates, April 1966n/aCorrections, National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, January 1973n/aThe Ill-Housed, League of Women Voters n/aLand Use Exchange, League of Women Voters 1977n/aLaws for Youth, District Attorny’s Young Citizens Council,n/aLiberty and Security, League of Woman Voters October, 1956n/aOutdoor Recreation- Vol. 1, 2 and 8, National Association of Counties Research Foundation n/aPeople Power, League of Women Voters of Nevadan/aPolice, National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals, January 1973n/aRegional Planning Council Annual Report, 1974n/aSuggested Land Subdivision Regulations, Housing and Home Finance Agency,September 1962 n/aTule Springs Park, Franklin J Bill, April 1967n/a1970 Nevada Voters Handbook, Bureau of Governmental Research, University of Nevada Reno 1970END OF INVENTORY