I chose to visit the Special Collections and University Archives at Perry Library at ODU for my special/archives library visit.

The Space and Physical Access

The archives are on the third floor of the Perry Library, near the elevators and study carrels.  They are brightly labeled with one of the library’s light up signs.  Two glass doors serve as the entrance to the archives.  

The first room of the archives is small and cozy.  There is an office to the left of the entrance, and a staff kitchen/break room to the right.  Although the archives are narrow, they go very far back.  The first room is mainly made up of desks and tables, with a few comfortable chairs for seating.  The archives go further back, with two consecutive rooms of archived materials.  The first of these two rooms contains materials that have already been archived and a section of items that have yet to be processed. There are large tables where people can work with materials.  The second room is all archived material.  There is also a storage room with some additional materials behind this.  The archives are currently expanding into another space across the floor so they can remove materials from the storage room and have more space to spread out.  Even though it is in need of updating, I personally felt that it was welcoming.

The entire archives require staff assistance to visit.  You need to make an appointment, and the staff will open the doors and allow you in at that time.  The area is very narrow and cramped, and I believe that the back rooms would be difficult to access for people with mobility aids.

Figure 1.  Archived materials on space saving shelves in the first archive room.

Services and Intellectual Access

The archives focus on scanning, digitizing, and housing materials.  All visits to the archives require an appointment.  Students are able to consult with the staff for help in their research, which helps them decide what materials they need to see or handle for their projects.  Archive staff teaches online classes for students, and they partner with professors to co-teach classes or help professors figure out how to incorporate archival elements into classes.  The Special Collections and University Archives believe that connecting students to the archives is important because “[s]tudies have shown that…[this] has a positive effect on student engagement, performance, and, in some cases, student retention” (n.d.).

There is very clear signage on the third floor to point out where the archives are located.  Within the archives, signage is small but helps with organization. There are little signs on each shelf (pictured in figure 1) to label what materials belong in that aisle.  The archives are organized by collection.

Figure 2. Light up “Special Collections” sign on the third floor. The wood and glass doors to the left are the entrance.

People (Patrons and Staff)

The archives serve ODU students, faculty and staff, and alumni.  Usually, an appointment is required, which can be made online.  However, I did not plan to visit the archives until I was in the ODU library, so I did not have an appointment.  After knocking on the door and explaining why I wanted to look around, though, Steven Bookman, the university archivist, offered to give me a tour.  There were two other employees there.  One was typing at her computer in the front room, and the other was looking at maps back in the archives.  

Because I was the only person there, I cannot comment on anyone else’s experiences when it comes to interactions.  As Rubin and Rubin (2020) say, special and archival libraries “tend to have a relatively small number of users and restricted access to relatively small but highly specialized collections” (p. 198).  

In my personal experience, I had a really great time on my tour with Steven.  He was excited to show me around the archives, and he answered every question I asked.  He even took the time to show me some of the newest things they’ve received.  Students who need to use the archives for the first time for a research project may feel intimidated, but I imagine that with some direction from Steven, they will feel more comfortable.  It is great to work with passionate library staff.

Collections

The archives have collections that are inside the archives area, outside on display, and online on their website.  Inside the two archive rooms, most items are kept on large shelves.  Non-book archived materials are kept in special boxes, as shown in figure 1.  

There is a huge variety of physical collections.  The archives catalog ODU history, starting from when the university was founded.  This includes documents on the history of the university, official records, personal faculty papers, and records of student life.  This collection aims to reflect all facets of student life.  Steven showed me a hat and a beer stein that had yet to be cataloged into the student life section.  In addition, the ODU history collection includes bound copies of every dissertation written by ODU students from 1965-2016, when dissertations became digitized.

The rare book collection is in the back room of the archives.  Steven said that 90% of these books are donated, as the archives simply doesn’t have the budget to purchase many rare books.  He showed me a first edition copy of The Road to Oz by L. Frank Baum, and a very large Bible written in an older form of German from the 1500s.  

Figure 3. The first shelf of the rare book collection.

Also in this room is a collection of local history materials.  Much of this is donated by families in the area.  This collection includes manuscripts, local political papers, artifacts, family history documents, pictures, and maps.  There is a wide file cabinet to house the oversized maps.  

Outside of the archives, there is currently a music special collections display in the Diehn Fine and Performing Arts Building.  Although it is not in the display now, Steven showed me an Emmy that was willed to ODU by a former student-turned-composer.  

Digital Access

Digital access is very important when it comes to the archives, as a part of what archival staff does is scanning and digitizing material.  On the homepage of the Special Collections and University Archives website (https://www.odu.edu/library/special-collections), you can connect with staff through a chat box, their email address, or by requesting a research appointment.  You can find information about the staff by going to the library staff directory (https://www.odu.edu/library/directory), where all five staff members are listed, along with links to their phone numbers and email addresses.  Two unique positions are the special collections metadata specialist and the music special collections and research specialist.  I personally find the website fairly easy to navigate. However, there are no accommodation options for people who do not read English or people with visual impairments.  

Online collections are a very important part of special collections.  I was surprised that an ODU login is not needed to access these.  The website has collections you can browse, such as digitized pictures of the history of ODU.  There is an option to share information and documentation about your experiences during the COVID crisis, which the special collections staff is gathering for a future collection. Scanned copies of Our Own Community Press, a local LGBTQ+ newspaper that ran from 1976-1998, is one of their newest digital collections.  Steven showed me the physical copies of the newspapers when we were back in the archives.  

Rubin and Rubin (2020) talks about the importance of academic libraries “increasing attention to social justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion issues” (p. 196).  The special collections program specifically addresses this, saying: “[we] will demonstrate our commitment to these principles by increasing access, eliminating barriers, creating reflective metadata, working objectively with materials and with empathy for their creators, and providing a space where…understanding and active learning is supported” (Ritchie, 2022).  

Other

I had never been to a special collections archive before this visit, and I had not thought much about this type of library, either.  However, I had a wonderful time visiting.  I was surprised about just how much material could be housed and the huge variety of collections.  There is diversity in the physical collections and the digitized collections, which include many collections about segregation in Norfolk schools.  I definitely enjoyed visiting this library, and I would love to go to another special collections library or archives and spend more time there.

References

Ritchie, J. (2022). Special collections & archives guide. Old Dominion University. https://guides.lib.odu.edu/specialcollections#s-lib-ctab-19768284-2

Rubin, R. E., & Rubin, R. G. (2020). Foundations of library and information science (5th ed.). ALA Neal-Schuman.

Special Collections and University Archives. (n.d.). Special collections and university archives. Old Dominion University. https://www.odu.edu/library/special-collections