Special Collections & Archives

Wesleyan generally prides itself on its reputation for political activity. Recently, according to the November, 30^th edition of the Argus, 50 student, faculty, and citizen protesters marched down to the Army recruitment office in Metro Square in protest of the war in Iraq.

Forty years ago, the University was in similar circumstances during the Vietnam War. On February 6, 1969, about 200 students gathered at North College and effectively blocked a Navy recruiter from meeting with students, and made it clear to the University that they objected to the war and military recruitment. The events, covered in several local newspapers, immediately became a decisive factor in how the administration chose to navigate its policy between appeasing students and faculty deeply opposed to the war and military recruitment on campus, and between a military establishment with the legal right to offer its career options to students. Both sides of the conflict used considerable leverage to pursue their aims. During the 1970-1971 school year, the University was accused by certain faculty members of recruiting students for espionage, holding government executive sessions behind closed doors at military request and violating academic freedom, and of concealing information of such proceedings from the community. However, during the same time, Wesleyan also found itself accused by the US Marines Corps, who then informed the Secretary of Defense, of barring military personnel from campus in violation of the NASA Act. The University seems to have been able to appease both sides, and the tensions waned as the war ended in 1973.

This collection is mostly comprised of correspondences amongst faculty members, and between the University and the military. It also contains a lot of interesting newspaper articles about the protests and changes in University policy, as well as some interesting personal documents and essays from specific faculty members that shed some personal light on what was going on at Wesleyan, behind closed doors, during this tumultuous time.

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We recently posted a bunch of new finding aids (guides to collections) on our website

Benjamin Arthur Caleb Papers, 1851-1861
Laban Clark Papers, 1794-1935
Deutsche Verein Records, 1909-1960
Monday Club Records, 1892-1995
Dana Plante (Class of 1959) Collection, 1954-1960
Phyllis Rose Collection, 1977-1984
Beatrice Witkin Papers, 1949-1988

With the help of our great student employees, we’ll be putting more finding aids online throughout the school year.

Next time you wonder when a Wesleyan building was constructed, or who this Davison guy was, or just how the Douglas Cannon came to be the unofficial Wesleyan mascot, stop by Special Collections & Archives and take a look at our Vertical Files. These are subject files where we keep clippings, memos, reports, notes, and other material about Wesleyan-related people, places, and things.

Because these files are readily accessible and organized by topic, they are great places to start your research. By looking at the files on, say, Olin Library, you will find lots of information about the architects, design, dates of construction, and changes over the years. Once you have the basic facts, it is much easier to figure out which archival collections (our collection of architectural plans- the Henry Bacon Papers-) will have the sort of information you really need.

And remember: the friendly staff members in SC&A are always delighted to help you in your research!

We are testing an online repository for the theses and dissertations of Wesleyan students. You can browse the uploaded theses here. Why are we putting these online?

-Students’ work will be available around the world 24/7, not only at Wesleyan. Currently, paper copies of honors theses are only available in Special Collections & Archives during reading room hours.

-It will allow Wesleyan’s great scholarship to be distributed more widely. We already know that Wesleyan students do amazing research in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences and math. Let’s show the rest of the world, too!

-Students will easily be able to show their theses to future employers, graduate schools, etc. Online theses make it so easy to demonstrate the work done at Wesleyan.

As of now, it appears the project will go forward and become an additional way that theses and dissertations will be submitted. It’s an exciting time to be here!

Wesleyan has a terrific tradition of student activism and participation in campus groups. In Special Collections & Archives, we want to collect materials that document student activities so that future researchers can find out what Wesleyan was like back in 2007 (and 2006, 2005, etc.)! The only way for us to gather this material is for student groups to let us know they have items to donate. Contact us at any time for information, supplies (like boxes and folders), and advice. We will keep your materials safe and make sure your events and accomplishments are not forgotten.

Here are ten quick tips for leaders of student groups:

1. Document the activities of your group: keep minutes of meetings, save copies of publications and flyers.

2. Label your materials with full names, dates, and descriptions of events or circumstances.

3. Keep your records together in one central place.

4. Develop a straightforward filing system that works for you. There’s no one best way to do this.

5. Store your records away from dampness, dust, excessive heat, and sun.

6. Avoid using paper clips and rubber bands. If you have documents that need to be kept together, use stainless steel staples or plastic clips.

7. Develop a routine of transferring inactive records to the University Archives at the end of the semester, year, or leader’s term of office.

8. Consider the fate of your non-paper documents. Electronic records can pose software and hardware access problems. Save cds, memorabilia, photographs, posters, and tapes, as well as traditional paper documents.

9. Get to know the staff of the Wesleyan University Archives: Suzy Taraba, University Archivist (x3375); Valerie Gillispie, Assistant University Archivist (x3863); and Linda Hurteau, Archives Assistant (x3859).

10. WHEN IN DOUBT, DON’T THROW IT OUT!

We now have an online finding aid for our collection of Nineteenth Century Administrative Records. A finding aid is like a super detailed catalog record, which gives you a description of the types of materials found in the collection, and a box by box description of where items can be found. Finding aids are a great help for researchers, since they can pinpoint exactly the items they need, rather than going through each document.

The Nineteenth Century Administrative Records includes the original charter of Wesleyan University, financial information about tuition and donors, student records (including who received demerits!) and even fun stuff like lists of “materials” and “apparatus” belonging to the Wesleyan University Laboratory. It’s fascinating to find out what Wesleyan was like over a hundred years ago by using archival collections like this one.

In addition to collecting materials about Wesleyan, we also have a good amount of Middletown, Connecticut items. These include books, maps, personal papers, photographs, and scrapbooks. Our most recent scrapbook accession were the Marion Vaine scrapbooks. Marion Vaine was a longtime Middletown resident and Wesleyan employee, and through the sharp eyes of a local resident, her scrapbooks were discovered at a church rummage sale and donated to Wesleyan.

The scrapbooks have concert and play programs, travel souveniers, greeting cards, newspaper clippings, and other materials that help document the live of a Middletown woman from the 1920s to the 1960s. This photo shows a clipping from one of the scrapbooks, detailing the winners of a dress making competition at a local store.

These scrapbooks aren’t fancy, but they are a great way to learn about our community. We encourage students and others to consult us about our Middletown resources–there’s a lot to discover!

On this President’s Day weekend, we remember the architect Henry Bacon, who designed the Lincoln Memorial as well as Olin Library and Van Vleck Observatory, among other buildings on Wesleyan’s campus. Bacon worked with the Board of Trustees in the early 20th century to create a building development plan for Wesleyan’s future.

Special Collections & Archives has a collection of Henry Bacon Papers, including a splendid collection of photographs taken during the construction of the Lincoln Memorial. The photo below shows sculpter Daniel Chester French and a work crew as the statue of Lincoln was assembled.

The Science Library now has brand new compact shelving to hold periodicals, books, and archival materials. With the growth of our collections, we’ve been scrambling for space for years, so the new shelving is much appreciated! As always, the archival material is in an enclosed area off limit to patrons, but just as before, any collection can be requested for use by filling out a request form available in Special Collections & Archives. It may take 24-48 hours to retrieve a collection, so please request items ahead of the time you actually want to use them.

Wondering what we have? Take a look at our Collections Listing, and check our list of Finding Aids for more detailed descriptions. Still not sure? Contact us–we can help you find what you’re looking for!