Digital Collections allow you to access materials online. These materials include images, scans of documents, photographs of objects, and audiovisual resources such as oral histories and videos.
Our Digital Collections website includes materials from our most popular collections, such as yearbooks, student newspapers, and photographs. But Digital Collections do not include everything in the Special Collections and University Archives - they only include materials available online. To search all the materials we have available, search our Finding Aids.
Start on the Special Collections and University Archives homepage.
There are two ways to view our digitized collections materials:
See these links highlighted below:
SCUA Homepage:
Both links will direct you to our Digital Collections webpage.
Digital Collections Webpage:
Using the "Search our Digital Collections" searchbar, you can enter specific terms (e.g. "Lida Lee Tall") or scroll down the page to browse all the collections.
Search results will list all the items related to your search term with brief descriptions, subjects, and thumbnails (see below). You can click on any of the items to learn more.
Digital Collections search results:
Using the "Filter Results" section on the right, you can filter search results by date, creator, subject, or collection. The main searchbar will give you results from all of our available digital collections unless you choose specific collections you want to search.
Library materials you may have used in the past, like books, journals, and magazines, are produced along with hundred or thousands of identical copies. Sometimes the publisher or creator will make a digital copy of an item, and other times outside libraries create digital copies that they share. So many institutions working together means no single library has to create digital copies of all of its materials. They can share digital copies with each other, which gives you access to a wide range of digital materials.
The materials in the Special Collections and University Archives are very rare, and often one-of-a-kind, which means there is nowhere else in the world with the same item. This means it's up to us to create digital versions right here in Cook Library. Scanning images, organizing files, and creating transcripts and abstracts takes a long time. Therefore, we focus on creating digital copies of our most popular and most valuable materials first.
Just because there is not a digital version of a collection doesn't mean it's not useful, not valuable, or that you're not allowed to see it.
We realize it's easy to search and convenient to view materials online, which is why we're working to make more collections accessible. While we work, we also encourage you to contact us if there are materials you'd like to use, but they are not yet online. We can do virtual video consultations, email high-quality scans, and welcome you in-person to browse and view.
