EDHE 6064: Higher Education in the United States: Locating Materials by Format

Locating materials by format

This section contains the following topics. They can be quickly accessed using the dropdown menu in the page tabs. Each page provides directions and tips for locating materials of that type in Special Collections and University Archives that relate to the history of higher education. Pages also include some selected collections that may be of interest. These are not complete lists and we encourage researchers to use the tools available (the library catalog, finding aids, and thesauri, for example) to dig through our holdings.

Pages in this section are:

Please note: This guide includes suggested, representative readings and collections reflecting some of the materials in Special Collections and University Archives -- we have extensive materials regarding the history of Virginia Tech, though the early records of the university were destroyed in a fire in 1905.

If you need assistance finding resources, as there is no one search tool, check out the sections linked above for advice on how to use Virginia Tech's search tools. For materials at other cultural heritage institutions, visit the Additional Guides & Search Tools. You can also contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) for assistance.

"L" Squadron, Historical Photograph Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA (Photographs.001)

About Special Collections and University Archives

Hours

Special Collections and University Archives is currently open Monday-Friday from 8am to 5pm.

Appointments are not required, but strongly encouraged (**see below)

Appointments can be made by visiting the SCUA Seat Reservation page (instructions are included on this page)

Virtual reference help remains available at specref@vt.edu or by phone at 540-231-6308

**By making an appointment, you will help us limit the number of researchers using our Reading Room at any one time for health and safety; guarantee you a seat at the requested time; and help us plan for your visit, for example, making sure the materials needed are on site and available.

Connect with us

Email: specref@vt.edu
Phone: 540-231-6308
Twitter: @VT_SCUA
Information for Visitors

Find us online

Our website
Our digital collections
Our blog
Our LibGuides

Land Acknowledgement

Virginia Tech acknowledges that we live and work on the Tutelo / Monacan People’s homeland, and we recognize their continued relationships with their lands and waterways. We further acknowledge that the Morrill Land-Grant College Act (1862) enabled the commonwealth of Virginia to finance and found Virginia Tech through the forced removal of Native Nations from their lands in western territories. We understand that honoring Native Peoples without explicit material commitments falls short of our institutional responsibilities. Through sustained, transparent, and meaningful engagement with the Tutelo / Monacan Peoples, and other Native Nations, we commit to changing the trajectory of Virginia Tech's history by increasing Indigenous student, staff, and faculty recruitment and retention, diversifying course offerings, and meeting the growing needs of all Virginia tribes and supporting their sovereignty.

Labor Recognition

Virginia Tech acknowledges that its Blacksburg campus sits partly on land that was previously the site of the Smithfield and Solitude Plantations, owned by members of the Preston family. Between the 1770s and the 1860s, the Prestons and other local White families that owned parcels of what became Virginia Tech also owned hundreds of enslaved people. We acknowledge that enslaved Black people generated wealth that financed the predecessor institution to Virginia Tech, the Preston and Olin Institute, and they also worked on construction of its building. Not until 1953, however, was the first Black student permitted to enroll. Through InclusiveVT, the institutional and individual commitment to Ut Prosim (that I may serve) in the spirit of community, diversity, and excellence, we commit to advancing a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community.

Full and short versions of the acknowledgements can be found on InclusiveVT's website.

This guide was adapted with permission from a course LibGuide originally created by Kira Dietz.