One reason for the ALA’s decision to house the ALA Archives at the University of Illinois forty years ago was because of the university library and archives’ strong existing holdings in library science history. In combination, the University of Illinois Archives and the ALA Archives house a wealth of American librarianship historical materials in Champaign-Urbana. The following record series are part of the University Archives’ collection that hold records of interest to researchers in library history. For access to published materials in the history of library science held in the library’s collection please consult the librarians at the Library Science Library.
The University of Illinois Library system
The University of Illinois library is currently the 3rd largest academic library in the United States and has been making detailed records on its activities and functions since the late 19th century. The records of the University Library start with number 35.
Early records of the library include:
- General Correspondence, 1897-1979
- Departmental Correspondence, 1898-1904, 1910-1936
- Library Reports, 1897-2001
- Handbooks, 1907-1910, 1941-
Records documenting the transition to a digital catalog in the 1970s are also of particular interest:
- OCLC Bulletins, Newsletters, and Manuals, 1976-1992
- Library Computer Systems Documentation and Reports, 1976-1999
The Graduate School of Library and Information Science
The Graduate School of Library and Information Science also has records dating from the birth of the libraries movement at the end of the 19th century, and provide documentary evidence in the evolution of library science education in the United States. The records of GSLIS start with number 18.
Records documenting the early history of the school include:
- Director’s Letterbooks, 1896-1907
- Course Materials, 1893-2005
- Public Libraries Surveys, 1898-1903, 1950-60
Papers of UIUC Librarians
Many University librarians and library science professors have deposited their papers at UIUC. Here is a complete listing of all librarians’ papers in the archives:
- Phineas L. Windsor Papers, 1890-99, 1909-1965
- Carl M. White Papers, 1938-1943
- Robert B. Downs Papers, 1927-90
- Lucien W. White Papers, 1960-1973
- Robert W. Oram Papers, 1959-1978
- Mary L. Bull Papers, 1916, 1926-1966, 1982
- Hugh C. Atkinson Papers, 1965-1983
- Marianna Tax Choldin Papers, 1974-2004
- Carl Deal Papers, 1975-1993
- Robert Wedgeworth Papers, 1980-2001
- Theresa Hitchler Papers, 1914
- Paula Kaufman Papers, 1999-2013
- Katharine L. Sharp Papers, 1881-1919, 1962-1963
- Ernest J. Reece Papers, 1914-15, 1944, 1967-72
- Alice Lohrer Papers, 1914-86
- George S. Bonn Papers, 1936-76
- Rolland E. Stevens Papers, 1956-80
- F. Wilfrid Lancaster Papers, 1967-75
- Herbert Goldhor Papers, 1939-81
- Cora E. Thomassen Papers, 1961-76
- Class Photograph Negatives, 1920-29
- Jerome K. Miller Papers, 1969-83
- Kathryn Luther Henderson Papers, 1965-1990
- Leigh Estabrook Papers, 1964-2003
- Donald W. Krummel Papers, 1953-2002, 1953-2002
- Martha E. Williams Papers, 1934-1994
- Walter C. Allen Papers, 1954-1997
- Christopher U. Faye Papers, 1934-1961
- Arnold H. Trotier Papers, 1933-1966
- Helen M. Welch Papers, 1948-1968
- Josie B. Houchens Papers, 1917-42
- William H. Huff Papers, 1961-1980
- David A. Cobb Papers, 1949-65, 1972-88
- Arnold S. Wajenberg Papers, 1955-94
- Felicia L. Turyn Papers, 1940-77
- Warren Albert Papers, 1947-1968
- Gail Hueting Papers, 1978-20011
- Ruth McBride Papers, 1982-1984
- Edwin B. Peebles Papers, 1854-1857, 1864-1865, 1890, 1929, 1956-1966, 1969-1976
- Irene M. Gaines Papers, 1913-19, 1924-70
- Gwladys Spencer Papers, 1918-1921, 1923-1934
- Marion E. Sparks Papers, 1917-1928
- Leslie W. Dunlap Papers, 1941-43, 1949-51, 1955-59
- Jay Allen Papers, 1944-1947, 1959-1965
- Bernita Davies Papers, 1921-22, 1929-67, 1972
- Icko Iben Papers, 1920-73
- Martha Friedman Papers, 1929-41, 1955, 1958-1998
- Harriet E. Wallace Papers, 1957-1982
- Elvin Warrick Papers, 1937-1939
- Wayne S. Yenawine Papers, 1929-1972
- Ruth B. Powers Papers, 1951, 1966-1976
- Edward J. Hess, Jr. Papers, 1949, 1953-1976
- Dorothy M. Black Papers, 1965, 1984
- Carol Boast Papers, 1975-91
- Margaret Chaplan Papers, 1975-94
- Lucille M. Wert Papers, 1974-1989
- Madhavarao Balachandran Papers, 1982-93
- Eleanor Blum Papers, 1962-91
- Jean Geil Papers, 1980-1992
- Mary Frances Collins Papers, 1980-81
- Alfred Kagan Papers, 1994-2009
- Maynard Brichford Papers, 1967-2002
- James Williams Papers, 1989-1991
- Patricia Stenstrom Papers, 1967-1997
Illinois Library Association
University Archives holds the early records of the Illinois Library Association:
- Illinois Library Association Correspondence, 1892-1893, 1896-1940
- Illinois Library Association Minutes, 1902-1912
- Illinois Library Association Officers Correspondence, 1915-1917
Library Student Life and Culture
There are records of campus student organizations related to library science:
- ASIST Student Chapter Records, 1991-2002
- ALA Student Chapter Records, 1984, 1986-1996, 1998-2009
- Library School Class and Student Council Minutes, 1947-59
Special Materials
- LeRoy Henry Fischer Papers, 1935-1939, These papers hold examples of student coursework in library science at UIUC in the mid 1930s
Research guide by Denise Rayman, published 2014.