Mission Statement and Collection Policy

Mission Statement

Special Collections and University Archives is the department within Wichita State University Libraries that acquires, arranges, preserves, and makes available to the public rare books, manuscripts, University Archives, photographs and other images, and Kansas maps and atlases. Its purpose is to enhance Wichita State University Libraries' general collection, support the research and teaching programs of Wichita State University, and provide opportunities for research to the people of Wichita and Kansas and to the research community at large.

Collection Policy

In establishing any policy regarding the acquisition of materials, the following factors must be considered:
I. Research programs at Wichita State University and users of Special Collections and University Archives, Wichita State University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives will support research interests at WSU by:
A. Developing existing strengths within its own collections.
B. Identifying and filling gaps in the collections.
C. Complementing the University Libraries' general collection.
II. The collection policies of other institutions, inside and outside Kansas.
A. Special Collections and University Archives will be aware of the existing strengths of other institutions that duplicate or overlap its collections.
B. Special Collections and University Archives will avoid excessive competition or costly duplication of materials whenever possible.
III. The media, format, volume, and condition of materials.
A. Special Collections and University Archives will consider the physical nature of the materials available for acquisition. Ordinarily, materials in formats for which the it or the library does not have the equipment necessary for retrieval of information will not be acquired.
B. Special Collections and University Archives will consider volume and physical condition in making collection determinations.
IV. Limitations of financial and personnel resources. All special collections and manuscript repositories have an obligation to preserve and make available for research the materials they acquire. Special Collections and University Archives takes this obligation seriously and will not indiscriminately acquire materials for which it does not have the resources to correctly house, process, access or preserve.

Taking the above factors into consideration, Special Collections and University Archives will observe the following collection policies for each collecting area:

I. Rare Books
A. Purpose and scope
1. Special Collections and University Archives will acquire through purchase, gift, or general stack transfer, unique printed materials in established collecting areas, including, but not limited to, the following:
a. Retrospective works relating to the intellectual, social, political and economic aspects of local, Kansas, and regional history.
b. The Arkansas River Valley.
c. Hypnotism and Mesmerism.
d. History of aviation in Wichita and Kansas with secondary selections of general aviation history and development.
e. History of printing and books.
f. Books, magazines, and broadsides by and about W. H. Auden.
g. Books by and about the U.S. Sanitary Commission.
h. Books about the abolition of slavery in the United States, with a special emphasis on books by and about William Lloyd Garrison and his associates.
i. Books about the history and culture of Native Americans in the region.
2. Printed materials that are unique or of high monetary value will be transferred from the general stacks to Special Collections.
3. Emphasis will be placed on retrospective acquisitions, but not to the exclusion of materials currently available. Materials already being received through normal acquisitions procedures will not be acquired by Special Collections and University Archives, except for those items considered to be key reference sources for Special Collections and University Archives or small editions of locally produced books on town and business histories.
B. Physical format
1. Acquisitions will be generally limited to published materials and microforms.
2. As new methods of information storage are introduced, examples will become part of the history of printing collection.
C. Language
1. The predominant language of the collection is English.
2. Materials in other languages are collected.
II. Manuscripts
A. Purpose and scope
1. Special Collections and University Archives will acquire through purchase and gift unpublished materials that complement existing holdings and which offer new opportunities for original research. While 19th-century materials will continue to be sought, special emphasis will be placed on the acquisition of 20th-century materials. Collecting areas include, but are not limited to, the following:
a. The intellectual, social, political and economic aspects of local, state and regional history.
b. The Arkansas River Valley.
c. Comprehensive collecting of aviation history in Wichita and Kansas with secondary interest in general aviation history and aviation during World War I and World War II.
d. W. H. Auden and his associates.
e. The U.S. Sanitary Commission.
f. The struggle over slavery and for its abolition, especially with reference to Kansas.
g. William Lloyd Garrison and his associates.
h. The U.S. Civil War, especially with reference to Kansas or Kansans.
i. Selected writers and poets from Kansas, especially those with ties to Wichita.
j. The construction of the Panama Canal.
k. The re-emergence of Native American culture and the study of the culture in the late 20th century.
B. Physical format
1. Acquisitions will include the following printed formats:
a. Original correspondence.
b. Diaries.
c. Reports.
d. Journals.
e. Photographs.
f. Literary manuscripts.
2. Acquisitions of non-print materials will include these formats:
a. Sound recordings.
b. Video tapes.
c. Films.
d. Machine-readable records.
III. Kansas Maps and Atlases
A. Purpose and scope
1. Special Collections and University Archives will acquire through purchase and gift maps and atlases that depict the current state of Kansas and the geographical area that would become the state of Kansas.
2. Important maps that depict discovery and exploration in the Western United States will be sought as a secondary collecting field.
B. Physical format
Acquisitions will be in printed and manuscript formats.
IV. University Archives
A. Purpose and scope
1. Special Collections and University Archives is the official repository for the archives of Wichita State University in all its manifestations.
2. The University Archivist will work with individual University offices for the orderly transfer of records to the archives and the appropriate disposal of non-archival records.
B. Physical format
1. Archival records may include printed documents in the following formats:
a. Manuscripts.
b. Publications.
c. Photographs.
d. Drawings.
e. Posters.
2. Non-printed archival records may include:
a. Film.
b. Video tape.
c. Machine-readable formats.


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