University history

A vintage photograph of librarians carrying books up a set of steps.

Several print and online reference tools exist to assist researchers in locating materials in the University Archives. Discovery tools range from general collection descriptions in the University’s online catalog to detailed inventories, databases, indexes, and other specialized descriptive material.

Special Collections and University Archives staff are always available to assist researchers.

University Timeline
A woman selects a book from a library shelf. The picture is vintage and shown in black and white.

Collection guides

The majority of university records in the Archives are arranged by the creating department in individual records or collections. Record collections have an assigned AC (Archives Collection) or other call numbers for identification and retrieval. Each collection guide (sometimes referred to as a "finding aid") includes an administrative history of the department or organization or a biographical history for faculty papers.

Search any term, and then limit to "collection" as a starting point.

A vintage photograph of backend library workers.

Library Search

The Library Search discovery tool can be searched for both published material and the archival holdings of the University Archives. Records exist for most processed collections in the archives and include a general description of contents, span dates, size, and a brief description of the creator or creating office of the records. 

Use the Library Search

Good background sources

Here are several histories on the University: