Research Guides: Virginia Tech History Resources: Home

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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. - VT American Indian & Indigenous Community Center

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LM Rozema

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Special Collections and University Archives
University Libraries (0434)
Newman Library, Virginia Tech
560 Drillfield Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24061

About the Virginia Tech History Resource Guide and University History

Welcome to the Virginia Tech Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA) guide to Virginia Tech History Resources! This guide features tools and information to help you locate unpublished and published resources about the university from its founding in 1872 thru today. Materials in SCUA include the following:

University Archives, comprising the official records created by administrators, offices, and student groups at the university;
publications and printed material, such as books, journals, newsletters, pamphlets, and posters;
audiovisual items like oral histories, campus maps, architectural drawings, and historic photographs of the campus, employees, and students; and
papers of alumni, staff, and faculty about their experiences and research.

This guide will also highlight related resources located in SCUA, Newman Library, and other places.

We'll be adding to this guide as new resources arrive, but we also encourage you to contact us with questions as your research or interests develop.

Related Research Guides

Special Collections and University Archives: A Basic Introduction
If you're new to primary sources, archives, and special collections, or Virginia Tech Special Collections and University Archives specifically, this guide includes a basic introduction to the materials we house, our mission, and our services. This guide will tell you about the different types of materials we collect as well as more in depth information on how to search/use different resources.
Historically Marginalized Communities Resources
This guide includes resources for historically marginalized and underrepresented communities, such as Appalachian, LGBTQ+, Black/African American, and Asian and Asian American communities. Many resources relate to Virginia Tech history.
Oral History @ VT: Oral History Collections
The Oral History Collections page on the Oral History @ VT research guide contains information about collections held by Special Collections and University Archives. Many of these collections relate to the history of Virginia Tech and individuals associated with the university and New River Valley.

Major Resource Search Locations

Below are the main places to look for materials held by SCUA. The items on other pages are primarily pulled from these databases, which you can search on your own by keyword for departments, individuals, and subjects for more.

Record Groups in the University Archives
This list includes the major overview of the University Archives' Record Groups. Record Groups are the official records of the university held by Special Collections and University Archives. This includes official records, newspaper clippings, and printed material.

The records are divided into assigned Record Groups designated by the prefix, RG. For example, materials relating to the Board of Visitors are identified as RG 1/x, whereas the papers of the various presidents of the university are designated RG 2/x.

There are two versions, a spreadsheet for sorting and filtering and a document that includes a page per RG number.
Virginia Heritage
Virginia Heritage is a consolidated database of more than 12,000 finding aids which provide information about the vast array of manuscripts and archival materials housed in historical societies, libraries, museums, colleges and universities across the Commonwealth. The continuous addition of new and updated finding aids makes this a great tool for discovering primary source materials documenting the history, culture, and people of Virginia.
Library catalog
This is the Virginia Tech University Libraries' online catalog for publications and other material held by the University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives material, including books, pamphlets, audiovisual media, and some manuscript collections and archival records.

HathiTrust
- This link opens in a new window
HathiTrust provides scanned version of print materials. We now have access to all out-of-copyright materials (those are downloadable) and in-copyright materials that are in our local print collection (those are readable through your browser). Use the yellow Login button, choose Virginia Tech, then login with your PID/password/2nd factor.

You can search for books in our collection by title. Use the Temporary Access link to read that book in your browser. You cannot download in-copyright books. Temporary Access books will checkout to you for one hour. If no one else is trying to access that book, your checkout will automatically renew. Books in use by another person will show that you will have to wait for access.