Special Collections and Archives

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Special Collections and Archives

• What do they have there and how do I find what I
  want?

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What Can I find there?

• Four types of materials
• University Archives
• Manuscript Collections
• Pennsylvania Collections
• Rare books

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Guidelines for Using Collections

• Collections do not circulate.
• All materials in Special Collections are to be
  used in the Reading Room located in Stapleton
  Library, Room 302.
• Duplication services are available.
• Please contact Special Collections at
  724-357-3039 or hwick_at_iup.edu or
  rgyeager_at_yahoo.com for assistance.

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1. University Archives

• University Archives is the repository for
  non-current, inactive official university records
  that have sufficient value to warrant their
  permanent preservation.

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• May include
• Yearbooks, catalogs, photographs
• Office papers, correspondence, forms
• Bound record books, films
• Sound recordings, maps , blueprints
• Machine-readable material, or other document,
• Anything made by or received by any University
  office

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University Archives

• Finding aids
• Record Groups, http//www.iup.edu/page.aspx?id756
  45
• Digital collections continue to grow and include
• Digital Projects, Images, IUP Publications, and
  much more, http//www.iup.edu/page.aspx?id85309
• IUP Libraries Digital Collections,
  http//www.iup.edu/page.aspx?id67713

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2. Manuscript Collections

• Includes unpublished papers of individuals,
  companies, and associations.
• Unique materials that supplement and support
  research by faculty, graduate and undergraduate
  students, and private scholars.
• Materials that document the history of the region
  and  materials in business, industry and labor
  related to the coal, iron and steel and
  transportation industries.
• Examples
• Papers of Irwin Marcus or Civil War Soldiers
• Papers of the United Mine Workers locals or R P
  Coal

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Finding Manuscript Collections

• Finding Aids -- Manuscript Collections,
  http//www.iup.edu/page.aspx?id75041
• Digital Collections
• Digital Projects and Exhibits, http//www.iup.edu/
  page.aspx?id85309
• IUP Libraries Digital Collections,
  http//www.iup.edu/page.aspx?id67713

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3. Pennsylvania Collection

• Books that document the history of Pennsylvania
• Check Pilot http//pilot.passhe.edu8001/
• Location will be Special Collections

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3. Rare Books

• Includes valuable and unique materials owned by
  the library.
• Old books
• Unusual books
• English and American Literature of the 19th and
  20th Centuries
• Search the IUP Libraries on-line catalog,
  http//pilot.passhe.edu8001/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi
  ?DBlocalPAGEFirst

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Rare Books

• Editions limited to under 250 copies
• Works printed prior to 1799 for European works
  and prior to 1825 for American works
• Association works, e.g., items associated with
  significant or famous individuals, often with
  autographs.
• Such as George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia,
  (1938) which includes notes and corrections to
  the text made by Orwell.

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Rare Books

• Examples of fine printing or binding, including
  unique items
• Books from notable printing presses

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Rare Books

• Books relating to the Manuscript Collections
  and/or the University Archives, e.g., De Re
  Metallica, the first publication devoted to
  scientific mining practices which is a strong
  complement to the Industrial Manuscripts
  Collections.

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• First Editions
• Various individual titles, including works by the
  following authors
• Herman MelvilleJames McNeill WhistlerNorman
  MailerGeorge OrwellWashington IrvingMargaret
  AtwoodLydia SigourneyJohn Greenleaf
  WhittierHenry David ThoreauJames JoyceEdward
  Abbey

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How do I find them?

• Check Pilot http//pilot.passhe.edu8001/
• Location will be Special Collections

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Requesting and Using Published Material From
Special Collections

• Rare books and Pennsylvania Books are published
  materials
• Get the call number
• Fill out request form
• Material will be brought to you
• You must use them in special collections reading
  room

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Requesting and Using Archives and Manuscript
Materials

• Much of the material found in Special Collections
  and Archives has not been published formally or
  widely distributed
• Often raw data or primary sources including
• diaries, letters and personal papers,
  organization records, company records,
  newspapers, oral histories, photographs,
  artifacts, broadsides and publications.

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Do you really need these?

• Manuscript sources are not the best places to
  begin research
• Declaration of Independence might not mean much
  if you didnt know the context
• Letters mean much more if you understand the
  background of who wrote them, who they were
  written to, the time period and place where they
  were written

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Do You Really Need Manuscript or Archival
Material?

• Good idea to begin with secondary sources
• For example if you are looking for history of the
  University you check published histories before
  go trying to look through 130 years of University
  catalogs, newspapers, and photographs
• Read a history of the United Mine Workers or the
  labor movement before you try to look through the
  papers

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When Do You Need Manuscript Collections?

• When you already have background and historical
  context for the topic
• Have exhausted secondary sources and no published
  materials exist

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How are things organized?

• Because archival materials have not been
  published they are organized in a special way

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• Archivists analyze and describe collections in
  order to inform researchers
• of their contents
• documentary value
• access restrictions
• and arrangement

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• Archivists create descriptions and list the
  contents of a collection in documents called
  finding aids.
• A finding aid may be a summary of the collection,
  an inventory, or a list of record folder titles
  and may take the form of a printed guide or an
  electronic document
• And although they often vary in the level and
  amount of descriptive information they provide,
  finding aids typically contain the following
  components

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• Collection Name
• Collection call number which will begin with
• RG
• MG
• Box and folder numbers
• Description of items

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To Request and Use Items

• Use Search Collections link to find information
  in our collections http//www.lib.iup.edu/sitemap.
  shtm
• Use finding aids to locate information
• University Archives
• http//www.lib.iup.edu/depts/speccol/All20Finding
  20Aids/rgindex.html
• Manuscripts and Collections http//www.lib.iup.edu
  /depts/speccol/eadindex.html
• Fill out request form
• Generally collections are made up of multiple
  boxes and folders. To request items you will
  need
• Collection Name and number
• Box and folder numbers

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• Materials must be used with care in our reading
  room
• For more information on our Special Collections
  and Archives visit our web page at
  http//www.lib.iup.edu/depts/speccol/index.shtm
• For more information on finding and using
  archival materials in general and on the Internet
  go to http//www.library.umass.edu/spcoll/resear
  ch/searchp2.html