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Inside the vault, a part of the library's Archives and Special Collections Research Center, visitors will fi nd rare photographs, manuscripts, and a plethora of aged books worthy of attention. Straw, director of Archives and Special Collections, says the archives were established when the library was opened in its current location 30 years ago. Before then, there was no central location to house historic, rare, or valuable holdings. "When the library was located in North Quad, the Delaware County archives were available, along with some books, but there were no special collections," Straw explains. "The special collections were established and dedicated on March 26, 1976, the same day the library was dedicated."
The expansive collections now consist of four entities. First are the University Archives, including anything that documents the history of Ball State and the campus.
Second, are the rare books and manuscripts. The holdings include first, limited, and signed editions of books and everything from American poetry collections to illuminated manuscripts from the 15th century. The Stoeckel Archives, which includes Muncie and Delaware County records, make up a third entity. Records for local churches, organizations, businesses, and industries are part of the Stoeckel collection. The last is the Middletown Studies collection, featuring the work of Robert and Helen Lynd and materials supporting Middletown research. The Lynds studied how Muncie residents earned a living, raised their children, and practiced religion in the 1920s.
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Since the 1960s, Ball State has expanded its Steinbeck holdings to become the third largest in the nation. "The John Steinbeck collection was intentionally acquired through both purchases and donations," Straw says, attributing Emeritus Professor Tetsumaro Hayashi who taught at Ball State from 1968-1993. "Dr. Hayashi was a well-known Steinbeck scholar who was founder of the Steinbeck Quarterly and the Steinbeck Society of America," Straw says. "He started building the collection with the support of President John Pruis and Dean Richard Burkhardt. Recently, Dr. Hayashi also gave us his personal collection of material."
While security is paramount, Straw and his team of fi ve full-time faculty members are committed to making the resources available to users. With 300-600 archive-related inquiries a month, Straw says that primary users include students, the media, and the general public. The collections have attracted serious researchers from throughout the nation and abroad.
"Just recently, two scholars from Oxford, England came and stayed for two weeks to do research for a biography on Sir Norman Angell," Straw says. "We've also had scholars from Australia and Canada come in and use resources."
Giving a further example, Straw continues, "We have Ku Klux Klan photographs here because the group was so prevalent in Indiana in the 1920s. These photos have been used by the history channel and the late Peter Jennings, in a couple of his books."
In October 2005, University Archives celebrated its anniversary in conjunction with the 30th anniversary of Bracken Library. To commemorate the event, Straw and his staff displayed photographs of Bracken Library during its construction in addition to planning documents, drawings, newspaper articles, and photographs of books being moved from North Quad to the new facility.
To continue the success of the collections, Straw believes in expanding the holdings at every level for its users. Inviting individuals to not only use the archives but also to make inquiries as to how they might contribute, Straw concludes, "Without the archives there would be no history of the institution or the special collections. It has an importance to current students, current faculty, and to alumni and, on a broader scale, to the whole history of higher education."
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