Special Collections at Purdue
The Archives and Special Collections (ASC) division supports the discovery, learning, and engagement goals of Purdue University by selecting, preserving, and making available for research primary source materials of enduring value. The ASC division supports scholarly communication by managing distinctive cultural heritage collections, many of which have never been published, and making them available both onsite and online to researchers worldwide for scholarly research and publication.
After collections are acquired, preserved, and cataloged, they are often digitized, as resources are available, providing 24-7 access to raw evidence of the past. These primary source materials stimulate scholarly inquiry through their unique nature, and can offer previously undiscovered evidence of a past person, event, or community. ASC staff receive frequent requests from scholars worldwide who are seeking permission to publish items from the collections. ASC also collaborates with the Purdue University Press in publishing previously unpublished manuscripts in its collections, publishing new editions of out of print rare works, and programming such as exhibitions and events tied to forthcoming Press titles.
To make the collections available as broadly as possible, ASC creates guides, or finding aids, to assist researchers in using each archival collection. These finding aids are contributed to ArchiveGrid and Archive Finder, two major finding aids databases used by archival repositories worldwide. Catalog records are also created for all rare books and archival materials, placed in the Libraries online catalog and contributed to OCLC’s WorldCat, a major bibliographic database used by scholars worldwide. Collections that are digitized are easily discovered through major search engines like Google, and content related to Indiana history is also shared with the Indiana Memory portal, used by libraries, museums, and archives statewide.
Special Collections
Rare books, personal papers and manuscripts, and historic archival documents are collected as part of Special Collections. These collections are often built and maintained through gifts made by Purdue faculty, staff, and alumni. Sample collections include the Goss Special Collection of rare books on the history of science and engineering, created by W.F.M. Goss, first dean of engineering at Purdue University; the Krannert Special Collection of rare books on the history of economic thought; and the papers of noteworthy individuals affiliated with Purdue, such as Amelia Earhart, Neil Armstrong, Eugene Cernan, Bruce Rogers, George Ade, and John T. McCutcheon. Special areas of collecting focus include: the history of science, technology, engineering, and agriculture; flight and space exploration; psychoactive substances research; and women’s archives, particularly as they relate to women affiliated with Purdue University or Indiana history.University Archives
The University Archives is the official repository for collecting the historical documents, photographs, official publications, ephemera, and memorabilia produced by Purdue University. ASC is charged by the University President with the responsibility to steward and preserve the items that document and comprise the historical record of Purdue University. These records exist as evidence of the growth and activities of the University and its employees, and their existence is critical to both researchers studying the history of higher education and university administrators seeking information on past decisions and events. Files are typically collected by university departments and when the files are no longer active they are transferred to the archives for long-term preservation and to enable shared access to them by researchers and staff. Archivists provide guidance to university faculty and staff in managing, preserving, and transferring their files to the archives. Sample collections include reports, correspondence, and meeting minutes of the Board of Trustees, President’s Office, and Faculty Senate; early campus maps; publications such as the yearbook, student newspaper, literary and alumni magazines; and early photographs of people, events, buildings, and university activities.
Resources at Purdue
ASC Development Policy – Outlines the overall subject focus and priorities for our collections.
Guidelines for Transferring University Records to the Archives – Examples of the types of materials ASC collects, along with guidance on donating materials.
e-Archives – Search the collections in Archives and Special Collections. Scanned photographs of Purdue University faculty and students, campus scenes, buildings, and activities can be searched and viewed online alongside texts relating to Purdue history, such as the Debris yearbook and the Board of Trustees minutes.
Archon online finding aids system – To view guides and finding aids to all archival collections that reside in the Archives and Special Collections, many of which have not yet been digitized and added to e-Archives.
Overall Libraries online catalog system – All rare books and university publications in Archives and Special Collections are cataloged and can be searched.
