Are you moving offices or retiring or just wondering what to do with all the stuff you’ve accumulated over the years? Summer is a great time to donate your papers, flash drives, meeting notes, photos, annual reports, artifacts, and other ISU documents or memorabilia to Milner Library’s Dr. Jo Ann Rayfield University Archives.
If you aren’t familiar, the Dr Jo Ann Rayfield University Archives is the official home for the historic records and memorabilia of Illinois State University. Our archivists and staff collect all materials related to the history and memory of the university, including the research and teaching of our faculty members.
Why would we want to collect these materials? Part of our mission is to collect and preserve the ‘institutional memory’ of ISU. That means, we also collect papers that highlight the research and teaching of our faculty and staff. With faculty papers, we can show how different disciplines have evolved and how the teaching of certain courses and subject fields have changed. While not a complete list, faculty papers can include:
- Syllabi
- Lecture notes
- Teaching aids (overhead transparencies, slides, PowerPoint files)
- Examples of quizzes and tests
- Original works created for classroom use
- Original research
Additionally, we collect materials related to student life, special events, and other activities that will enable future scholars and students to understand what life was like at ISU during certain periods of time. If you work in student affairs, marketing and communications, alumni affairs, athletics, or other areas, we’re interested in:
- Event programs
- Marketing brochures and materials
- Registered student organization materials
- Photographs and other media
- Meeting agendas and minutes
Your materials will help us to better document the history of our university. If you would like to discuss donating your materials to the Dr. Jo Ann Rayfield University Archives, please contact University Archivist April Anderson-Zorn at (309) 438-5525 or at aander2@IllinoisState.edu.
