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Special Collections & University Archives

special collections room
  • Location: Knight Library, 2nd floor North
  • Mail: UO Libraries--SPC
  • 1299 University of Oregon
  • Eugene OR 97403-1299
  •  
  • (541) 346-3068 (Paulson Reading Room)
  • Fax: (541) 346-1882
  • spcarref@uoregon.edu
  • Hours

Welcome to Special Collections & University Archives

Here you will find an unmatched and irreplaceable record of Northwest history and culture. Our major Manuscript collection strengths include illustrated children's literature, popular fiction, intentional communities, women in society, and missionaries, in addition to important institutions and personalities of the Northwest such as Sen. Wayne Morse. University Archives holds the official records and the history of the University of Oregon. Our Photograph collections document the University as well as the people, history and landscape of the Northwest. Rare books include illuminated medieval manuscripts, fine press editions, and the Oregon Collection of printed materials on the Northwest or by Northwest authors.

Hours

See our Google calendar

Term hours through March 19:
Open Monday-Friday 10-4:30, Saturday 11-4:30
Closed Sunday

News & Notes

  • Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) had a partial closure during summer term 2009 to allow all staff and students to work on some department-wide projects. The three overall objectives were (a) to increase available storage space, (b) improve storage of and access to collections, and (c) work through various departmental backlogs, and to fulfill these objectives without creating an inconvenience to SCUA patrons.

    While we had many successes, the most notable achievements were: (a) shifted the entire thesis/dissertation collection from offsite storage to Knight (700+ linear feet); (b) added 350+ shelves, reconfigured 1,600+ shelves and shifted 7,000+ boxes, resulting in 2,325 linear feet of available shelving at Knight (with total available space for approximately 5,000 boxes at Knight and Baker); and (c) finalized the processing of nearly 1,000 linear feet of Manuscripts and University Archives materials; greatly improved storage of and access to a number of important collections, including the Jackson County Records, the Paul Wiener architectural drawings, and the Henry Beau musical score collection.

    As a result of these accomplishments, SCUA is in a better position to serve its patrons and to continue to collect, preserve and provide access to important documents and historical material. The progress made over the summer has also put SCUA into a good position for future gains, such as writing well-defined collection development and de-accessioning policies, establishing workflows to effectively process incoming accessions and de-accessioned materials, and implementing a more effective space management program.  For the full report, please click here

  • Check out our new blog: https://libweb.uoregon.edu/tools/blogs/scua/
  • Security Cameras: Our public areas are now monitored by security cameras. Information provided by these cameras is used only for the protection of our collections and the people who work with them. Our policies regarding these cameras are under review by the University and, when finalized, will be posted on this web site.
  • Campus "Guest" logins:  Researchers visiting the University of Oregon can gain access the internet by having a faculty or staff member sponsor guest access. Researchers from Oregon State and Portland State now have UO network access without intermediation. For more info see http://it.uoregon.edu/help/guests
  • OHS budgetary woes: The Oregon Historical Society <www.ohs.org> plans to significantly reduce access to its collections of books, manuscripts, and photographs. UO is part of a group working to address this state heritage crisis.
  • New classroom: Our new classroom is designed for teaching with primary source materials and provides a comfortable, flexible space with appropriate security and technology. To reserve the classroom for a primary source instruction session, contact Special Collections Instruction Program. See our pages on Curriculum Support to learn more about teaching with our collections.
  • Envisioning Oregon is a statewide collaborative project to preserve the living memory of our era and preceding eras through acquiring important collections of historical and literary manuscripts, photographs, organizational records, and sound and video recordings in an intentional and coordinated manner. Across the state, we understand that no single institution working alone can accomplish the immense task of collecting the rich documentary heritage of Oregon. All repositories in Oregon need to work together to identify and gather the most important collections in our state. For more info see http://libweb.uoregon.edu/speccoll/envision.html.
  • Archivist's Toolkit is software designed to help manage collections and expedite describing them for public use. We are excited by the efficiencies this software will offer us.

General Information

Please request architectural drawings 48 hours in advance of your visit. Materials with the "Storage" designation are stored off-campus and require a minimum of two working days for retrieval. For security reasons, materials of extremely high value or contentious content will not be available on Saturdays unless you have made prior arrangements with us to ensure the availability of additional staff.

Special Collections & University Archives is the repository for the Libraries' rare materials and for the official documentation of the University. Many of our items are fragile and irreplaceable, so we require careful handling and monitored use of all materials. Materials may only be used within the Paulson Reading Room, and no self-service duplication of materials is permitted. While some of our collections are listed in the online catalog, many more require use special tools. Our staff is happy to help you find what you need.

Reference assistance is available at no cost. Researchers are encouraged to notify us in advance of planned visits, so we may have materials on site. Off-site materials require one week's notice for availability. Research assistance is available for $60 per hour. Please submit all research requests in writing: e-mail spcarref@uoregon.edu or send fax to 541-346-1882.

Maintained by: N. Helmer, spcarref@uoregon.edu
Last Modified: 01/05/2010