October 5, 2007

Purdue Archives and Special Collections marks American Archives Month with 'Griffin's Gold' exhibit

The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, features Purdue documents, photographs, diaries, letters, and journals and rare books among the artifacts. The exhibit is open 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday in Stewart Center's Room 279. It also will be open 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 27 during Purdue's Homecoming.

The exhibit is Purdue's way of celebrating American Archives Month, which is a collaborative effort by professional organizations and repositories around the nation to highlight the importance of records of enduring value.

The exhibit is called "Griffin's Gold" because the griffin is part of the university's seal and gold represents the rare treasures in Archives and Special Collections, Morris said. Griffins are legendary creatures reputed to have been used to guard gold.

Purdue Libraries' exhibit includes university documents, including a portion of the Morrill Land-Grant Act, which led to the founding of Purdue; a first copy of Purdue's yearbook, the Debris; the first student newspaper, course catalog and student thesis; and the warranty deed for the university.

Photographs on display show Homecoming, aerial shots with a detailed explanation of how archivists date photos that don't include date information and the library in University Hall with a description of the dating process.

Early Purdue benefactor Amos Heavilon's diary, along with letters from Booth Tarkington and John Purdue are displayed. Rare books in the exhibit represent a variety of experimental printing and binding styles.

Among artifacts displayed are children's clothing from the recently donated Ross and Benjamin Hippensteel collection, a Purdue Grand Prix helmet from 1966, and Frank and Lillian Gilbreth's chronocyclegraph.

"We have a wonderful variety of collections, so if one format or subject area doesn't interest an individual, another area could," Morris said. "This exhibit is not only an opportunity to showcase some of our most unusual and unique collections, but it is also intended to educate visitors on the wide variety of types of media and content collected for research use by a university archives."

Archives and Special Collections is seeking donations of materials to enhance its collection, such as research papers and publications; scrapbooks, films and photographs; university artifacts, including senior cords and beanies; university documents; and old tests and quizzes from faculty, administrators and the community. To see the types of material collected by Archives and Special Collections, view its collecting policy online at https://www.lib.purdue.edu/
spcol/aboutASC/policies.html.

Writer: Jim Bush, (765) 494-2077, jsbush@purdue.edu

Source: Sammie Morris, (765) 494-2905, morris18@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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