A Guide to the Papers of the Twin Oaks Community ,
A Collection in
Special Collections
The University of Virginia Library
Accession Number 9840-x
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Special Collections, University of Virginia Library
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections LibraryUniversity of Virginia
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USA
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Processed by: Special Collections Staff
Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Written permission of the Twin Oaks Communities Board is required for access.
Use Restrictions
See the University of Virginia Library’s use policy.
Preferred Citation
Papers of the Twin Oaks Community , Accession #9840-x, Special Collections, University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.
Acquisition Information
This collection is a deposit made to the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library of the University of Virginia from the Twin Oaks Community in Louisa, VA 23093 on September 26, 2001.
Biographical/Historical Information
Twin Oaks is a collective settlement established in 1967 in Louisa County, Virginia and inspired by B.F. Skinner's "Walden Two. " The leadership of the Twin Oaks Community is a group of two or three members who serve on a board called Community Planners, the terms of which rotate after a designated period of time. Members write opinion and idea papers and post ideas on a community bulletin board in order to contribute their input regarding all of the decisions made by the community planners.
Scope and Content
This collection consists of 600 items, 3.5 Hollinger boxes, and 2 linear feet and includes information about the Twin Oaks Community in Louisa, Virginia from 1970-1989 and 1997.
Most of the papers are organized by Councils composed of Twin Oaks members, including the Agriculture Council, Culture Council, Health Council, Income Council, Office Council, Outreach Council, and Planning Council. These papers consist of meeting minutes, reports, planning notes, and surveys.
Areas of special interest include opinion and idea papers that are written by members, planner's meeting minutes that reveal the inner workings of Twin Oaks and individual personalities and relationships of the members and planners. (Opinion and idea papers and planner's meeting minutes can be found under each council depending on the subject.)
There is extensive information about the Income Council and the products and services of Twin Oaks such as hammocks, tofu, indexing for the government and designs for numeric keyboards.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged alphabetically by Councils and is chronological within each folder. There are opinion and idea papers for almost every topic that is pertinent to Twin Oaks, and they are included throughout this collection under each Council.
Contents List
Notebook; quarterly fixed asset summaries and projections; paper on cost accounting system.
Printed material of federal and state food laws and regulations.
Reference booklet about using government publications in Alderman library; notes on patent; maps of University campuses and libraries; a guide to reference books in the UVA Darden School Library; library directory.
Opinion and idea papers from members about personal health issues; greeting cards for child birth; list of people who have suffered from the "plague" 1984; Opinion and idea paper on wheel-chair accessibility at Twin Oaks; health trip policies.
Report on hammock chair; letter announcing Twin Oaks' participation at the Chicago Expocenter for the world's largest Casual Furniture show
Various reports and papers of the New Industry Crew.
Opinion and idea papers on ways of increasing income, the project evaluation process of activities to replace their hammock industry, a publications related business, income from writing abstracts, the politics of occupational safety, and footrests for chairs; New products proposal; Income funds statement of cash flows; instructions for keypad widget project.
Opinion and idea papers about updates on the "Rope Machine, " about income activities at home, and on a survey analysis of their hammock industry; Case study about possible activities to replace their hammock industry; report on backpackers; income activities of their many business services.
Miscellaneous information about cable manufacturers and computer distributors; Overview of conversation with Keith regarding cables; Inmac winter '81 catalog of computer supplies, accessories and cables; information from Craig Data Cable Company about their products.
Frontier Cooperative Herbs flyer; Letters to various people asking for suggestions on new money-making ideas; Alliance of Warehouses and Federations Newsletter.
Rough draft of revised New Industry Proposal Form; report on the Planning Council criteria discussion; Income and Funds Statement; Criteria for a Twin Oaks Industry; industry expenses.
Notes from Direct Mail and Mail Order Handbook.
Research on getting factory subcontracts; Notes on an interview regarding how to do "Time Studies;" information on various business in Richmond and Charlottesville.
Booklet on business plans for small service firms and simple breakeven analysis for small stores; invoice; letter from a materials testing company; Cost of goods worksheet.
Evaluation of the chair project; articles on capital budgeting; report on incremental cost analysis; report about comparing payback on projects; booklet on how to read a financial report.
Checklist on evaluating financial management in your organization; Booklet on management training seminars; Booklet on cash flow planning.
Reply card about catalogs and ordering information; invoice; herb seed order information.
Guidelines for market research questionnaire; report on a New Industry Crew trip to Washington, D.C.; review of evaluating New Product Proposals; Successful Communications Techniques Booklet; Marketing Course Outline.
Meeting minutes and notes.
Meeting minutes and notes.
Flyer for Twin Oaks Organic Candy.
Various furniture catalogs; Opinion and idea paper about new wood products; notes from a brainstorming session.
Article on alternative growing practices; Right Livelihood Business Conference; Notes and pamphlets.
Notes on the Solar Batch Heater; guidelines from the National Bureau of Standard regarding energy-related invention evaluation requests.
Estimated cost worksheet for various wood projects; overhead costs worksheet; route sheet for various projects.
Information on wood stoves.
Information on energy businesses; Notes on odd jobs.
End of quarter summaries; business report on new industry studies.
Notes and calculations on returns of investments; Brochure for a course on how to use returns to make a profit; Business Monthly newsletter.
Proposal to assist Twin Oaks Community; letters to planners and accounting dept; report about Gesundheit loan; worksheet.
Report on a proposal for an improved accounting system; report on an accounting system project; letters from several different accounting firms.
Fixed asset action summaries and purchases breakdown summary.
East Wind Community balance sheets; Cash flow loan to East Wind; planner's approval; promissory note.
Report on Twin Oaks policies about money; Community gift policy; proposal about a new system for getting personal money; surveys about obtaining personal money.
Community meeting notes on vacation earnings policies.
Proposal for less traffic; letter about shipping policy; proposal for a comprehensive office plan; office services questionnaire; notes about office space problems.
Bruce's computer proposal; computer update; financial request for new computer equipment; Community meeting regarding computers.
Population and Employment data; Publication: Virginia Economic Indicator vo. XII no. 6 June 1978.
Visitor logbook with comments from visitors; Visiting Twin Oaks manuals.
Notebook.
Meeting notes, including plans for discontinuing business with Pier One; article on economics values and goals, updates on membership satisfaction goals.
Handbook, policies, decisions, opinion and idea papers and plan writing worksheet.
Theoretical paper on how to approach a project.