Hours:
Monday-Friday 8am-5pm & By Appointment
Contact us:
Email: specref@vt.edu
Telephone: 540-231-6308
Information for Visitors
Find us online!
Website: http://spec.lib.vt.edu
Blogs:http://vtspecialcollections.wordpress.com/
and https://whatscookingvt.wordpress.com
Staff
Aaron Purcell, Director, Special Collections and University Archives
Marc Brodsky, Public Services and Reference Archivist
Kira Dietz, Assistant Director, Special Collections and University Archives [appointment calendar]
Jeff Flanagan, Project Archivist
Ren Harman, Oral History Projects Archivist/Project Manager, VT Stories
John Jackson, Archives Assistant
Alan Munshower, Digital Collections Archivist
Bess Pittman, Project Archivist
LM Rozema, Processing and Special Projects Archivist
Jade Snelling, Collections Archivist
Anthony Wright de Hernandez, Community Collections Archivist
[vacant], University Archivist (please contact specref@vt.edu)
The primary purpose of Special Collections and University Archives is to collect, preserve, arrange, describe, and provide access to unique historical materials and significant research collections. To support and complement this primary mission, we engage in many other activities and offer several services.
Reference Services
Scanning and Copying
Compliance with copyright restrictions on use of photocopies and scans are the responsibility of the patron. Special Collections and University Archives reserves the right to refuse to accept a request to make copies or scans if, in its judgment, fulfillment of that request would involve violation of copyright law. Permission/order forms are available from Special Collections and University Archives.
Instructional Services
Special Collections and University Archives has for many years been involved in an effort to make our department—its materials and their accessibility—known across all elements of campus. To that end, an active program of instruction through university courses has been developed, and instructional sessions both to introduce Special Collections and University Archives and to enrich more specific topics are available to all instructors. For more information on these services or to request a session, contact Special Collections and University Archives directly (see contact information to your left) or use the request form on the Library's webpage.
Though we do many sessions for the History and English departments, as one might expect, we have also provided instruction to classes in Art History, Architecture, Africana Studies, Appalachian Studies, Cinema, Engineering, Forest Resources, Humanities, Horticulture, Public Administration, Science and Technology Studies, and others. We continue to offer sessions to K-12 classes from time to time, as well.
Outreach and Exhibits
Special Collections and University Archives maintains an active schedule of in-house exhibits. We are also engaged in a busy program of collaborating with other campus departments and, on occasion, off-campus institutions.
Blogs
The department maintains two weekly blogs, each with the aim of increasing the Collections' online profile and to have some fun promoting our materials: