SCOPE AND CONTENT  

The Tom L. Anderson Papers consists of correspondence, clippings, printed materials, reports, speeches, articles, manuscripts, scrapbooks, and yearbooks. Dr. Anderson was President of the National Association of the Deaf and was also President of the Gallaudet College Alumni Association. He was well-known in the field of vocational training for the deaf.

The collection, which consists of approximately 3,400 pages, dates from 1907-1969. The bulk of the collection consists of articles, correspondence, and publications. The bulk of dates are mostly between 1936 and 1948, which was during his presidency of both organizations. The strength of the collection is centered mostly on concerns for the welfare of deaf people.
 
The largest subject in the collection is focused on the National Association of the Deaf issues. Dr. Anderson worked tirelessly for employment opportunities for deaf people such as vocational training for the deaf people. The significant subject in the collection is about the employment of deaf people during World War Two. Another significant aspect of the collection is about the clash of correspondence between Dr. Anderson and Paul A. Strachan of the American Federation of the Physically Handicapped. The biggest accomplishment of Dr. Anderson's career was that he was chosen to be on the National Rehabilitation Advisory Council.
 
The collection includes Gallaudet College Alumni Association correspondence, of which he was President, general articles written by Dr. Anderson; and personal correspondence from his friends and colleagues. 
 
Dr. Anderson wrote a manuscript called, "Vocational Training for the Deaf" which was published about 1942. Also included in the collection are publications, mainly on deaf people and organizations. He wrote an interesting and informative article "What of the Sign Language?", and an interesting paper called "Rules and Regulations for "Ducks" (for Preparatory students at Gallaudet) written in 1907.