Mission Statement
Archives Mission Statement
To appraise, collect, organize, describe, preserve, and make available Institute records of historical value and special collections materials documenting nineteenth and twentieth century science and technology as defined in the department’s collection development policy. To provide adequate facilities for the retention, preservation, servicing, and research use of such materials. To serve as a research center for the study of the Institute’s history and the history of science and technology by members of the Institute and the scholarly community at large. To provide information services to assist in the Institute’s administration and operations. To serve in a public relations capacity by promoting knowledge and understanding of the origins, programs, and goals of the Institute and their development.
The Institute Archives & Special Collections are housed in the Fixman Room on the 3rd floor of Folsom Library.
Archival collections consist of the official records of the Institute which provide documentation of the development and growth of the Institute.
Materials include:
- Records of the presidents and senior administrators;
- Board of Trustees minutes;
- Department records (administration, curriculum, and programs);
- Campus publications;
- The Institute’s role in the community at large;
- The activities of its student body and alumni;
- Development of its physical plant and grounds.
Special Collections are comprised of manuscript collections, rare books, photographs, and pamphlets focusing on nineteenth and twentieth century science and technology.
Materials are collected in the following subject areas and disciplines:
- Civil engineering, especially bridge, canal, and railroad design and construction;
- Mechanics and mechanical engineering;
- Geology; chemistry; physics; mathematics; architecture; and science and technology studies;
- Alumni papers that document careers or student life
Among the department’s collections are the materials relating to John and Washington Roebling, Eben Norton Horsford, Amos Eaton, George Low’s tenure at NASA, and the Gerald and Sue Friedman History of Geology Rare Book Collection.
