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Chapter 4 Archives

Historical Holdings

The University Archives' historical materials consist of permanent institutional records created by university departments and offices; photographs; collections of private papers created by Oregon State University faculty, alumni; or organizations; official university publications; memorabilia; motion picture films and videotapes; and oral histories.

• Permanent Institutional Records
  Permanent institutional records created by university departments, offices, committees, or organizations include (but are not limited to) correspondence, annual and biennial reports, final research and special reports, policy statements and procedure manuals, meeting minutes, architectural drawings, and celebration records. These materials document the development and functioning of Oregon State University since its establishment as a land-grant institution in 1868. They are organized into approximately 160 record groups by originating college, department, office, or organization.
• Photographic Collections
  Photographic collections include approximately 200,000 images made and/or assembled by university staff, commercial photographers, and individuals. They document campus buildings and development; instruction and research; faculty, staff, students, and alumni; Extension Service programs; and the state of Oregon. The Archives' photographs are organized into about 235 photograph groups by office of origin, donor, subject, or photographer.
• Manuscript Collections
  Manuscript collections are the personal papers of faculty, administrators, and alumni as well as the records of student, faculty, and staff organizations; honorary societies; and professional organizations in extension, agriculture, and education. These collections include correspondence, speeches, manuscripts of publications and reprints, diaries, teaching materials, research files, photographs, scrapbooks, and sound recordings.
• Publications
  Almost all publications produced by the University and its offices, departments, and affiliated organizations are routinely acquired by the Archives. These include catalogs, newsletters, brochures, bulletins, students publications such as the Beaver yearbook and the Daily Barometer campus newspaper, directories, faculty and student handbooks, schedules of classes, OSU Press monographs and series, and selected Extension Service and Experiment Station publications. The Archives' holdings include about 500 groups of continuing and inactive publications.
• Memorabilia Collection
  Individual items of historical value such as programs, posters, brochures, clippings, buttons, pennants, stickers, and other ephemera comprise the Memorabilia Collection. It includes information about OSU buildings and campus development; academic departments and programs; research, extension, and outreach; faculty, staff, and alumni; students organizations; intercollegiate and intramural athletics; and other campus events, activities, and issues. It also includes limited information about Corvallis, Benton County, and the mid-Willamette Valley region.
• Motion Picture Films and Videotapes
  The Archives holdings include about 3,600 motion picture films, reels or videotapes of final productions and unedited footage of intercollegiate athletics, lectures, musical performances, and other special events at the University as well as final productions prepared by the Extension Service and the University's communications units.
• Oral Histories
  Transcripts and sound recordings of oral history interviews with faculty, alumni, and residents of Corvallis and Benton County document Oregon, OSU, and local history. The oral histories were made by OSU students, the former Horner Museum, and OSU faculty and staff.

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