SPECIAL   COLLECTIONS

Collection Descriptions Wabash Valley Visions & Voices Cordell Research Fellowship Available Publications Exhibits Schedule of Fees

General Description & Policies Open Hours External Links Local Activities Department Personnel Student Assistants

General Description & Policies

Located on the third floor of Cunningham Memorial Library, the Special Collections Department contains books, manuscripts, pamphlets, prints, photographs, maps, and memorabilia housed in 13 major collections and several repositories. Since 1973, Special Collections has provided a display and research facility for use of its holdings. In 1986, an extensive renovation took place which increased the size and functionality of Special Collections so that it could meet the needs of the University for years to come. Yet, both with the acquisition of several collections since 1986 and with significant additions made to existing collections in the last decade, the holdings have spiraled to approximately 125,000 items. Space management has become a priority in order to ensure the viability of the research and support missions of Special Collections for decades to come.

Everyone who handles materials in Special Collections is expected to have clean hands. Food and drink products are not allowed in the Cordell Room or in the Lobby, the designated research areas, when materials are present. Any disallowed food, drink, or personal item may be retrieved at the end of a research visit or when the researcher leaves the department on a break.

Most materials in Special Collections are kept in areas that are inaccessible to the public. However, individuals are invited to browse in the outside corridor and in public areas, where rotating and permanent displays are kept on view. The need to safeguard specific items may result in restricting the use of some individual items or collections. Alternatives may be sought, including the provision of facsimile reproductions. In other instances, an attendant may need to be present to assist users in turning pages. In the handling of photographs, researchers may be asked to wear cotton gloves.

Only pencils and writing pads or personal laptop computers may be used for taking notes. Special Collections have laptop computers available for the use of a researcher. Published guidelines for use or reproduction of materials are displayed on the reception podium. Bags, briefcases, and other allowed personal items must be kept on the floor. As is customary in special collection settings, users' personal belongings are subject to examination.

Photocopies and digital objects are available, depending on the condition of the material requested and in accordance with copyright restrictions. Request forms are available in the department, and staff will respond to requests by e-mail and correspondence. Applicable fees are listed in a separate document .

Off-campus researchers are encouraged to call or write prior to a visit to assure the availability of materials or to arrange off-hour use of holdings. Assistance via telephone, facsimile transmission, and the Internet is available. More than one collection, despite the indicated different purposes among them, may contain material germane to a particular topic. The connections among seemingly disparate collections is addressed on a different page.

Finally, let it be known that in addition to donors, many librarians have been involved in the development of the materials held in the Special Collections Department. A listing of these individuals with their main contributions has been provided. By the same token, many individuals and groups have donated books. A donor list is available for persual, as well.

Call 812/237-2610 or e-mail a member of the department (see below) to arrange for tours or to inquire about access to the department and its holdings during non-open hours.

[If your browser-dependent e-mail client fails to work, use the provided form instead and direct it to the department or to an individual listed below.]

Collection Descriptions & Links (Listings, Databases, Etc.)

Cordell Collection of Dictionaries

Cunningham Collection (American Education)

Debs Collection (Debs, Socialism, Isms, Etc.)

Faculty Collection

Floyd Family Collection (Indiana Textbooks)

Herrmann Collection (Human Memory)

Historic Music Collections (Kirk, Wilmette, & Conrady)

Indiana Collection

Indiana Writers Project/Program Collection

Laurence Urdang Archive

Manuscripts and Repository Holdings (Mitford Mathews, Paul Hagan, NAEYC, Etc.)

Neff-Guttridge Collection (Lincoln Era) .

Rare Books Collection (Bunce Collection, Obscure Publications Collection, Etc.)

Walker Collection (Nineteenth-Century Textbooks, Etc.)

External Links

Eugene V. Debs Foundation

Repositories of Primary Sources

Smithsonian Institution Libraries (Includes Link to Other Libraries)

Local Activities

Local Dictionary & Other Research

Wabash Valley Visions & Voices: A Digital Memory Project for West Central Indiana
Utilizing Contentdm , digital collection management software, the WV3 digital memory project presents media concerning the heritage of Wabash Valley residents from past to present. The material represents the selected holdings of an expanding group of regional participants. The ISU Library has contributed a significant amount of material to the project, much of it found in Special Collections. You are invited to visit the project often to enjoy its rapidly growing content. For information about the project, contact the project coordinator, librarian Cinda May , or phone 237-2534.

Personnel

*Fax phone number is the same for everyone in the department.

Cordell Research Fellowship Program
An endowment has been established to help defray some of the expenses of individuals traveling to Terre Haute to use the Cordell Collection of Dictionaries for research. For information about eligibility and guidelines, print out the announcement , contact the department by telephone at 812 237-2610, or e-mail Special Collections . A web-based e-mail form is also available.

Available Publications

• Catalog of Dictionaries, Word Books, and Philological Texts, 1440-1900: Inventory of the Cordell Collection, Indiana State University . By David E. Vancil. Greenwood Press, c1993. Hardcover, 397 pp. Out of print. Reproduced with permission of ABC-CLIO, LLC. [ PDF version selectable.]
• Compiler Name Authority Records (Incunable Dictionaries: A Checklist and Publishing History) . 2003.
• Dictionaries Published Prior to 1501, With Original Place and Date of Publication Followed by a List of Subsequent Publication Dates: A Digest of Incunable Dictionaries: A Checklist and Publishing History . 2003. Revised 2006.
• English Dictionaries from 1604 through 1900: The Warren N. and Suzanne B. Cordell Collection of Dictionaries . By Robert Keating O'Neill. Greenwood Press, 1988. Hardcover, 480 pp.
• Fifteenth-Century Linguistic and Lexicographical Works in the Cordell Collection: Catalogue of an Exhibition Held by the Cunningham Memorial Library of Indiana State University . By Anton. C. Masin. Friends of the Library and the Cunningham Memorial Library, 1986. Paper, 13 pp. [ PDF version selectable.]
• The Floyd Family Collection: Catalog of Textbooks and Related Materials , 1999. By David E. Vancil and Dennis Vetrovec. Paper or hardcover, 171 pp.; [ PDF version selectable.]
• Incunable Dictionaries: A Checklist and Publishing History . By David E. Vancil. Friends of the Cunningham Memorial Library, 1994. 223 pp. [ PDF version selectable.]
• Indiana Federal Writers Project/Program Papers: Guide to the Microfilm Edition at Indiana State University , 1992. By Robert L. Carter and David E. Vancil. Paper, 114 pp.
• Indiana Federal Writers Project/Program Papers: the Microfilm Edition at Indiana State University , 1992, rev. 1999. 31 reels available as a set or by the reel.
• Indiana State University Special Collections , 2006. Guide by David Vancil. Layout by Library Public Relations. 2 pp. [6 panels]. [ PDF version selectable.]
• Supplement to Catalog of Dictionaries, Word Books, and Philological Texts, 1440-1900 , 2001. By David E. Vancil. [55 pp.; additions through 2000; arranged by main entry. [ PDF version selectable.]
• Walker Collection: Catalog of Textbooks, 2001. By David E. Vancil. Hardcover, 215 pp. [ PDF version selectable.]

Cunningham Memorial Library
510 North 6 1/2 Street Terre Haute, Indiana · 47809
(812) 237.2580
Updated April 8, 2013     Maintained by: Special Collections
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