Archives & Special Collections

Tags: Correspondence, Manuscripts, primary sources

In a previous post, I described collections we hold related to Political Science. One of these collections contains manuscripts, publications and memorabilia related to 17th Congressional District Representative Leslie C. Arends (1935-1975). Thanks to the talents and efforts of Physical Plant employees, we were able to move a cleaned and polished Arends’ desk, previously stored in Sheean Library, into the archives’ reading room last year. And with funds from the Ames Library’s budget this year, we were able to have a local upholsterer repair and clean the chair that was donated with the desk. Physical Plant transported the chair from its Mennonite storage room to the upholsterer and then into the archives this week. Both pieces now provide the Archives’ Student Assistants with an ample work surface that’s also elegant and inspiring!

Now, what to do with his bull whip, wall tapestry and golf clubs…?

Tags: Artifacts, Manuscripts, Politics, primary sources

What is a finding aid? Basically, it’s our version of a catalog. It helps archivists and patrons find out what material we hold and where it lives.

For a number of years we’ve been trying to get an interactive, 2.0 type of finding aid online. We’re still trying to make that dream a reality, but in the interim we’ve got a pdf linked from the archives’ website and available for direct download.

Keep in mind that that we make frequent updates to this document in-house and will only update the posted version twice each semester (mid-term and after finals), so let me know if you can’t find something you expect us to have!

Tags: Archives, Books, Manuscripts

Special Collections houses a number of mysteries some enterprising researcher may be able to mine for treasures. Here are a few items and what little information we have about them:

Five photo albums from the 19th Century, some with people identifed, some not, and only one with clues about the people’s relationship to IWU.

Barry Lennon Farm Records, 1842-52

Correspondence and photos from World War I soldiers

Correspondence from several World War II servicemen to Nell (Carmichael) Livingston

Notes, reports and ephemera of Henry Filip, physicist at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in the 1970s

A journal with some ledger-type of entries (1842-45) but mostly a beautiful, albeit dense handwriting. The name that appears the most is Thomas Storm Hubbard. Interestingly, on one page where he writes his names several times there also appears, in large letters, the word “Fearlessness.”

Tags: Correspondence, diaries, Manuscripts, primary sources, Science, Secondary sources, war

The collection we call “Conduct of Life” holds over 200 books from secular and religious perspectives dating from 1560. The topics include moral, social and practical considerations aimed at youth of both sexes and women. French, Latin and English seem to the the languages represented in this collection, but you can browse the entire list from our online catalog by following the directions on this guide.

Note: A few of the titles in the catalog are also held in the Main Stacks.

Tags: Books, men, primary sources, Secondary sources, women

Memorial Day seems like a good time to highlight military-related documents held at IWU. Students, alumni, faculty and administrators have served in all U.S. wars since IWU’s founding. Diaries, correspondence, service records and recollections are held in both our archives and special collections.

Examples of these documents include service applications of the WWII-era Nurse’s Cadet Corps, alumni responses to a post-WWII survey of activities, correspondence from WWII soldiers to IWU student Nell Carmichael, correspondence and sketches from alumnus and Professor of Art Fred Brain to his family during WWII, index of WWI veterans plus photocopied clippings of articles related to their service, Nursing Superintendent Maude Essig’s WWI diary, and administrative meeting notes and student reporting on war-related activities on campus and abroad.

We lack significant documentation on the WWII-era S.A.T.C. and welcome donations related to this group’s purpose and activities on campus. Some dilligent researcher’s eyes may uncover details on this and other student groups’ efforts in existing documentation, and all our records are open and available for that work. Leave a reply (below) to contact me about arranging a visit!

Tags: Archives, Manuscripts, primary sources, Special Collections, Student Life

Special Collections holds a number of volumes in French. One part of these holdings was described at the time of donation as ”French Socialist Literature,” but topics vary and include literature and politics with dates ranging from the early-1800s to mid-1900s. Selected titles follow:

Clerget, Pierre. La Suisse au XXe Siecle: Etude Economique et Sociale. Paris: Colin, 1908.

Duffeyte-Dilhan, J. Aux Femmes: De La Beaute Physique et Morale. Paris: Janet, 1857.

Francis, de Sales, Saint. Lettres de Saint Francois de Sales: Addressees a des Gens du Monde. Paris: Techener, 1865.

Gide, Charles. Les Societes Cooperatives de Consommation. Paris: Colin, 1910.

Janin, Jules Gabriel. Un Hiver a Paris. Paris: Curmer, 1843.

Kern, Alfred. Le Bonheur Fragile. Paris: Gallimard, 1960.

Lesseps, Ferdinand de. Souvenirs de Quarante Ans Dedies a Mes Enfants. 2 vols. Paris: Nouvelle Revue, 1887.

Tags: Books, French, Special Collections

The Ames Library’s Digital Initiatives Team launched IWU’s electronic record storage and access system in fall 2008. Digital Commons serves as the central location for outstanding student work, faculty scholarship, University records, and campus history. It holds 3,552 works to date. To launch this repository, the archives supplied research honors theses and scores dating back to the 1960s, as well as peer-reviewed student journals.

Our goals are to:

• Promote and disseminate academic and creative achievements of students and faculty
• Ensure preservation of and persistent access to said work
• Increase discovery of IWU scholarship and artistic expressions
• Foster scholarly collaborations with colleagues
• Document and record IWU’s history and progress

If you create or control documents related to University history and have been wondering how to store them electronically, leave me a comment below and I will walk you through what DC @ IWU can do for you. If you are interested in getting faculty or staff members’ scholarly or creative works into DC, or wish to recommend outstanding student scholarship from your department, contact our Scholarly Communications Librarians Stephanie Davis-Kahl: sdaviska {at} iwu.edu.

Tags: Archives, Art, Journals, Music, Papers

April is National Poetry Month, and I thought I’d mention a few places where poetry can be found in our vaults.

Special Collections
We have a growing collection of Beat Generation material. This is primarily poetry in book and magazine/journal review format but biographies and some criticism is held here, too. More of the primary and secondary source material is available in the main library stacks. A title list is available, but each title is also cataloged and so they’ll turn up if you search in our online holdings, too.

Individual titles in special collections are usually accompanied by an inscription or autograph of an author such as 39 Poems by John Ciardi; The Unicorn and Other Sonnets by Thomas S. Jones, jr.; For My People by Margaret Walker, Threads by Dorothy Quick.

Archives
We hold various incarnations of IWU student-compiled journals containing poetry from the literary societies of the late 19th century through to today’s Tributaries and material on the Tounge & Ink conferences.

Tags: Archives, Books, Journals, primary sources, Secondary sources, Special Collections

1 : Board of Trustees
2 : Office of the President
3 : Other University Administrators
4 : Administrative Offices & Auxiliary Services
5 : University Publications and Reports
6 : Special Events
7 : Schools/Colleges
8 : Departments & Programs
9 : Athletics
10 : Faculty and Staff Governance
11 : Student Organizations
12 : Alumni Organizations
13 : Students’ & Alumni Bio Files & Publications
14 : Faculty & Staff Bio Files & Publications
15 : Associated Colleges
16 : IWU History
17 : Friends & Benefactors
18 : Special Formats
19 : Awards & Honors
20 : Buildings & Grounds

Only a fraction of what’s available in the archives on the library’s fourth floor is available online, so the chances for digging into collections that haven’t been fully explored are good.

Stay tuned for posts highlighting both digitized and physical-only formats …

Tags: Archives, Books, Campus Life, Manuscripts