SRU > Library > Departments > Archives > Collection Overview
Archives: Collection Overview
Mission Statement
In support of the educational mission of Slippery Rock University, the mission of the University Archives is to identify, collect, organize, describe, preserve and facilitate access to materials that document the historical record of the people, programs, policies, facilities, activities, and achievements of Slippery Rock University.
Objectives
The Archives serves as the institutional memory of Slippery Rock University and plays an integral role in the management of information resources in various media and formats. The objective of the Archives is to identify, acquire and maintain materials of enduring value that chronicle the development of the University and document its functions and activities over time. These functions and activities include conferring credentials, conveying knowledge, conducting research, fostering socialization, providing public service, promoting culture, and sustaining the institution. The materials that are collected and preserved provide evidence about the University, creating a record with enduring research value.
The Archives collects materials of various types and formats including both official university records and unofficial records that provide documentation of university-related programs and activities. Official university records are non-current documentary materials created, received, and maintained by university personnel in conducting the official business of the university. Archival records are maintained because of their enduring administrative, legal, fiscal, and/or historical value. They are preserved and made available for current and future research use.
Scope of the Collection
Collecting priorities include records and materials that document the activities of the administration, faculty, staff, students and alumni of Slippery Rock University. These include, but are not limited to:
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Administration: minutes and other papers of the Council of Trustees and administrative officers; records relating to infrastructure, building construction and physical modifications to the campus; budgets and fiscal reports; biographical information including oral histories; and university policies.
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Faculty and staff: files of distinguished faculty and staff; biographical information including oral histories; records pertaining to governance, collective bargaining, and committee work; curriculum development; and academic departmental records.
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Students and alumni: Slippery Rock University students’ theses and dissertations; records of student organizations; student and alumni publications, scrapbooks and memorabilia.
University publications are also a collecting priority, as are extra-institutional records such as those associated with accreditation and consultants’ surveys and reports. Significant publications, studies, reports, and news stories about the university by non-university sources are also collected.
Geographical Area
The collection focus is limited to records and materials generated by or specifically about Slippery Rock University. Records pertaining to the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and the western Pennsylvania region are collected to the extent that they pertain or relate to the university.
Formats
The records and materials collected take many forms including published
and unpublished materials, manuscripts, photographs, photo negatives,
slides, printed and electronic records, audio-visual recordings, microfilm,
maps, and architectural drawings.
Types of Materials
Record types include university publications, newsletters, brochures, yearbooks, student newspapers, university directories and faculty/staff rosters, minutes, handbooks, theses, memoranda, correspondence, reports, oral histories, realia, memorabilia, and ephemera.
Organization and Access
The Archives is located in room 318 of Bailey Library, and is open from 8:30 to 4:30 Monday – Friday. Researchers are encouraged to notify the Archives in advance of visiting. Please call (724) 738-2635 or e-mail rockarchives@sru.edu to make an appointment.
Material in the University Archives is arranged by a classification system developed and maintained by the Archives staff. As far as possible, this system applies the traditional archival principle of provenance as the basis for arrangement: that is, material is arranged in accordance with the person or office that created it rather than by subject. The University Archives classification system closely follows the Slippery Rock University administrative organization chart. Finding aids are available in the Archives to facilitate access, and selected materials are included in the library’s online catalog.
Clientele
The Archives serves the research needs of the university administration, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the general public. It maintains a policy of equal access to all researchers. Archives patrons are expected to abide by the guidelines outlined in the Reading Room Rules.
Copyright
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, USC) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, archives and libraries are authorized to furnish a photocopy or reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction in not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship or research.” If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse a copying request if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
Furthermore, in cases of works subject to the 1976 Copyright Law as amended by the 1991 Visual Artists Rights Act, written permission must be secured by the applicant from the artist, his/her agent, or the copyright owner and provided to the Archives before a photograph of the artwork will be released.