This site includes Special Collections and University Archives resources related to the following topics:
You'll also find links to other academic and research organizations with significant collections about these topics.
If you have questions about the collections, locating resources, need help with a project, or just want to see some interesting or unique items, feel free to contact me.
We actively collect new material about these topics:
In addition, we have inactive collecting areas including:
You might notice that the topics covered by this guide are mostly not in this list of collecting areas. The only one that appears explicitly is Women's History appearing in the form "History of Women and the Built Environment." This is because we don't have a subject focus on the history of traditionally marginalized communities. There are other archives that have that focus and do an excellent job. In order for us to collect material about one of these traditionally marginalized communities, it needs to fit within one of the topics listed above.
Here are some examples of materials we collect and why they are in our collections.
We have about 900 manuscript collections related to one or more of the traditionally marginalized communities covered in this guide. You can view the finding aids for these collections through Virginia Heritage, a state-wide search tool. To limit your search to Virginia Tech materials, select "Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University" from the Repository drop-down. Then, enter your keywords and click search.
All of our books relating to these communities can be found using the library's catalog. Some of these books are in Special Collections and University Archives, but many are also in the circulating collection. If you are looking generally for materials about these populations, you can use a variety of search terms such as "African American", "LGBTQ", or "Latin American" in the Keyword form. Suggested search terms for each group are included on the appropriate page of this guide.
Special Collections and University Archives has some material in our online collections related to these communities. You can find these items on Special Collections and University Archives Online. The site includes a search box in the upper right corner where you can search using keywords to locate materials related to a specific community or communities.
Special Collections and University Archives is currently closed to the public due to COVID-19. We are available for virtual reference at specref@vt.edu, and we continue to check voicemail at our reference desk number (540-231-6308).
Email: specref@vt.edu
Phone: 540-231-6308
Twitter: @VT_SCUA
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We acknowledge the Tutelo/Monacan people, who are the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and live, and recognize their continuing connection to the land, water, and air that Virginia Tech consumes. We pay respect to the Tutelo/Monacan Nations, and to their elders past, present, and emerging.
From the American Indian & Indigenous Community Center