Archives and Special Collections Catalog

University Archives:

The University Archives is the memory center for Denison’s history. The Archives holds photographs, papers, letters, student scrapbooks, departmental files, faculty research, and more. These items collectively tell the story of Denison’s past in order to help inform its present and future. This database contains “finding aids” that describe the boxes and folders that are inside of the collections.

• Search the finding aids by keyword using the search box above.
• Browse the finding aids by department or topic.
• Use the “Add to research cart” function to create a list of items you want to come see in person.

Special Collections and Denisoniana:

The Library’s Special Collections hold a variety of rare, collectible, unusual, and fragile books. It includes medieval manuscripts, artists books, limited edition classics, sheet music, Bibles, and more. The Denisoniana collection contains books written about and published by Denison University, its faculty, and its alumni.

• If you are looking for a specific title or author, search the Special Collections in the library catalog Consort.
• If you want to browse, visit the list of collections and learn more about what makes each set special.
• If you want to view images of the Artists’ Books Collection, browse thumbnails of each book.

Search Tips:

If searching by keyword, consider these tips:

• In this database, it is better to search for a name or a place instead of a subject or topic.
• Try using quotes around your search term to find a specific phrase. Ex: “Slayter Hall”
• Try using a minus sign to omit a specific term from your results. Ex: 'bass -fish' finds bass guitars but not bass fishing.

Harmful Content Warning

The Denison University Archives & Special Collections is charged with maintaining the historical records of the college to tell the story of the institution and its community. As such, we maintain records and descriptions of items that may be harmful or difficult to view.

Some examples of items that may be harmful include:

• Items that include racist language, images, opinions, or context.
• Items that contain sexist or misogynistic language, opinions or context.
• A lack of representation in our collection that may reflect bias or exclusion in prior collecting practices.

How is the Archives working to address this problem?

• Making users aware of the possibility of encountering harmful materials.
• Working to improve our collection practices to better represent all Denisonians.
• Inviting users to explore the archives and comment on their findings.

We welcome further discussion about these aspects of Denison’s history in an effort to learn from our past, rather than hide from it. Feel free to contact us at archives@denison.edu.