October is American Archives Month, which is an opportunity for
archives to raise awareness about archives, showcase their
holdings, and, basically, let people know what we as archivists
do. We give tours of our department throughout the year to
classes and other groups, in part because our collections,
unlike those of most libraries, are stored in closed stacks
which are are normally not accessible by the public. As a part
of this year’s Archives Month, this post will include a brief
explanation of what a Special Collections and University
Archives is all about and a blog version of the Special
Collections tour . To start, what exactly is an archives or, for
that matter, a Special Collections? A Special Collections, often
within a library such as Parks Library here at ISU, contains
rare and unique materials including rare books, publications,
artifacts, films, and a variety of primary source materials.
Primary materials can include diaries, correspondence,
scrapbooks, and photographs. Pictured to the left ar