Archives & Special Collections

The Alden Room holds special treasures of Milne Library including the archives, special book collections, and an extensive lantern slide collection.  Materials are available by appointment for browsing, research, classes, and tours.  Please email Heather Stalter or Sophia Dunne for more information.

Many materials in the Archives and Special Collections are rare, fragile, or irreplaceable.  To ensure their protection and good condition for future generations, all visitors to the Alden Room are asked to follow these guidelines.

Visiting the Alden Room

• The Alden Room is open to everyone during open hours (Mondays when classes are in session, from 1:00 - 5:00 pm) and by appointment
• Visitors can sign the guest book
• Food, drink, and gum must be left outside of the room
• Items in the Alden Room do not circulate and must remain in the room
• Yearbooks are available for browsing

Requesting Materials

• If you are interested in looking at specific items or have a topic in mind, please contact Heather Stalter or Sophia Dunne in advance

Use of the Materials and Care in Handling

• All items must be handled carefully
• Before touching items, hands must be clean and dry, and free of lotion and hand sanitizer
• If pulling a book off the shelf, never pull it out by the top of the spine; instead pull it by grasping the front and back covers
• Notes can be taken in pencil or on a device, making sure not to lean on or mark materials
• Pens, highlighters, and markers are not permitted
• Documents must remain flat on a table
• Use care when turning pages
• Keep all other objects away from items, and make sure not to place books, pencils, or other objects in the items
• Remove only one folder at a time from a box
• Documents within a folder must be kept in the exact same order and facing the same direction as they were originally
• For additional guidelines, see Handling Rare Books from U Texas, San Antonio Libraries 
• If you're unsure, ask a librarian or student assistant for help!

Reproductions

• Reproductions for personal or research purposes are available upon request
• Visitors may use cell phones or personal cameras (no flash) to photograph materials

The Archives document the history of the College and student life going back to the College's foundation as the Oneonta Normal School in 1889.  These materials include:

• Photographs
• Student publications such as newspapers, yearbooks, and notebooks
• Faculty publications such as catalogs, brochures, and official documents
• Memorabilia such as scrapbooks and freshman beanies
• Faculty papers
• Biographical material

Special Book Collections include:

• Educational Theory Collection
• Early American Textbooks
• Faculty Publications
• O'Mara Native American Collection
• New York State History Collection
• New York State Verse
• Cornell-Gladstone-Hanlon-Kaufmann Collection of nature writing
• Popular Fiction Collection
• Private Press Publications
• SCC Miscellanies