Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the Archives located?
The University Archives is located on the east end of the first floor of Staley Library in Room 112. Most of the furniture contained in this room comes from the old Gorin Library, Millikin University's first free standing library building. To reach the archives by phone, call (217) 424-3982.
The University Archives is open from 8-5, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. In unusual circumstances it may be possible for other arrangements to be made. If you are in need of other accommodations for using archival materials, contact Amanda Pippitt .
Who can help me with a question I have?
Amanda Pippitt is the University Archivist. Please contact her with any questions regarding transfer of items to the archives, questions on use of the archives and its policies, or other administrative concerns.
Todd Rudat serves as Archival Associate. He is available to help you in the archives during the posted hours.
A variety of items documenting Millikin University's history are included in the University Archives. These include photographs, department and organization documents, scrapbooks of alumni, a full run of all editions of the Millidek, and bound issues of the Decaturian. The Archives is continually adding information to its Collections page. Check this page first when looking for Millikin University information.
Who may use the University Archives?
The University Archives are open to all members of the Millikin University community and other users with a need for the materials in the collection. All users will need to fill out a User Registration form indicating the purpose of their use of the collection.
The items in the Archives are unique items that document the history of the university and in most cases are the only copy of that particular item. In order to preserve and make available these historical documents for future users, it is necessary to restrict both how items are used in the Archives and the circulation of these items.
Why isn't the Archives open all the hours the library is?
Due to the unique nature of the items in the collection, the room must be staffed at all hours it is open. Given the size of the library's staff and the specialized training of archives personnel it is simply not possible to staff this room during all of the library's open hours.
Can I search for Archives items in MILLINET?
The rare books and other published items in the Archives can be located in MLLINET (Staley Library's online catalog) by searching in the same manner you do to locate other books. Currently items in the Archive's manuscript collection are not cataloged in MILLINET. It is our hope to begin to do this in the future, thus making it much easier to locate items in the collection.
How do I know what is in the Archive's manuscript collections?
We are in the process of creating finding aids which will provide information about specific collections in the Archives. A finding aid provides detailed information about a manuscript collection including biographical or historical information about the individual or organization, a scope and content note that indicates what is in the collection, and a detailed box and folder contents list that will help you locate the information you are looking for. Until our finding aid list is more complete, however, your best resource to find out what is in our collection is to speak with the University Archivist or the Archival Associate.
Where does the Archives get its items from?
The items included in the Archives come from a variety of sources. Many of the items are records that come from university offices. A number of the collections were donated by faculty and administrators when they retired. Additional items have been generously given to us by alumni and serve to help us document the student experience at Millikin University.
Why are there special rules in place to use the materials?
Due to the unique and irreplaceable nature of the items in the collection it is our desire to preserve these for future use. In order to facilitate this we must ask users to handle these items gently and to only use PENCIL when making notes on your own paper from materials in the collection.
I need to use Archive materials, but I can't come to Decatur. What can I do?
We will provide up to one hour of limited research for users who are not from the local area. For specifics on what this might entail contact Amanda Pippitt, University Archivist.
What photographs are in the Archives?
The Archives contains hundreds of photographs that span Millikin's history. The photograph collection dates from the start of the university in 1901. The most complete collection we have dates from 1975 to March 2001 and includes negatives and contact sheets. For the years 1968-1975 we have photographic negatives, but no contact sheets and few of these are labeled. We also have a great number of slides dating from the 1950s to the 1990s.
This page created July 6, 2005 URL: http://www.millikin.edu/staley/archives/default.htm Copyright: Millikin University Board of Trustees |
or Phone: 217-424-3982 |
