Mission of the Archives and Special Collections Department

The primary mission of the Archives and Special Collections Department is to collect, organize, provide access to, and preserve records of historical, legal, fiscal, and administrative value to the institutions at the Auraria Higher Education Center; namely, the Community College of Denver (CCD); Metropolitan State College of Denver (MSCD), and the University of Colorado at Denver (CU- Denver). In addition, the Department collects selected official publications of the various governing boards as they relate to the Colleges and Occupational Educational Systems (SBCCOE), Trustees of the State Colleges in Colorado, the Regents of the University of Colorado, the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE), and the Auraria Board of Directors. By Making available and encouraging the use of these archives by members of the academic institutions and the community at large, the Archives and Special Collections Department will promote knowledge and understanding of the origins, goals, and programs of these institutions and will serve research and scholarship in the area of higher education development and administration.

The Archives and Special Collections Department collects special materials, such as manuscripts, papers, photographs, and ephemera, that support and supplement the general collections of the Auraria Library. The Department actively seeks special collections that support research in the various institutions and centers on campus, such as the Center for Improvement of Public Management and the Center for Public-Private Sector Cooperation. The Department also solicits additions to its established collections in the areas of state and local policy issues, regional design and planning, civil liberties in Colorado, history and culture of the original town of Auraria, and the growth of the Auraria Higher Education Center. Because the Denver Public Library, the University of Colorado Western Historical Collections, and the Colorado Historical Society are committed to collecting primary source materials relating to Denver and Colorado history, the Archives and Special Collections Department of Auraria Library does not attempt to duplicate these collections. However, to encourage the research use of original source materials and to act as a clearinghouse for student and faculty researchers, the Department collects guides and finding aids from these and other regional archival repositories.

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Reading Room Regulations

The Archives and Special Collections Department of the Auraria Library welcomes the use of its materials. In order to facilitate use of our holdings, the following policies have been formulated for your consideration. If there are any questions, please refer them to the staff.

When using manuscript material readers are requested to sign a Reader Registration Form on the initial visit.

All materials must be used in the Reading Room under staff supervision.

All materials are to be handled with sensitivity. Marking, tearing, smudging, erasing, or writing on items in the Archives and Special Collections Department is strictly prohibited.

Care must be taken to preserve the original order and arrangement of archival and manuscript material. Should any item be missing, please report such the staff.

The use of ink pens for note taking is prohibited.

Food and beverages will not be allowed in the Reading Room.

Duplication of material will be handled on an individual basis, dependent on the physical condition of the item. If photo-duplication would in any way damage an item, such duplication will not be undertaken.

Where permissible, publication of any document, or photograph, from the Archives and Special Collections must be accompanied by proper credit. Please check with staff for the proper citation format.

The patron agrees to assume full and complete responsibility for any infringement of copyright or literary rights arising from the publication of material from the Archives and Special Collections Department.

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Contact Information

MAILING ADDRESS:
Auraria Library
Archives and Special Collections Dept.
1100 Lawrence St.
Denver, CO 80204-2095

TELEPHONE:
Voice: (303) 556-8373
Fax: (303) 556-3528

ELECTRONIC MAIL:
Francis.Tapp@cudenver.edu

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Reading Room Hours

MONDAY - FRIDAY: 10:00 AM - Noon and 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

SATURDAY & SUNDAY: Closed













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Collections

Three major types of collections are housed in the Archives and Special Collections Department of the Auraria Library. These are: Special Collections, Manuscript Collections and Institutional Archives.

Special Collections

Special Collection books include signed editions, certain first editions and works by campus authors. Other criteria for inclusion in special collections are condition, age and subject matter. Some titles, such as those with a history of theft or vandanlism, are included in the Special Collections area for their own protection. The master copies of Dissertations and Theses completed on the Auraria Campus are located in the Special Collections area. Several out of print titles about Denver and Colorado history (as illustrated by the example shown on this page), which are expensive and hard to replace, are located in Special Collections. We also have several collections which have been donated to the library in the Special Collections area: these include the Thonssen Rhetoric Collection, The Kirschner and Beebe Science Fiction Collections, and the Boyer Cartoon Book Collection. All Special Collections books are indexed in the Library's on-line catalog system. They are all listed with "Archives" as the location. Books located in Special Collections must be used in the Archives and Special Collections Department Reading Room. They can not leave this area for any reason. The Archives staff can make limited copies from Special Collection titles in accordance to the Library's copyright policy.

Manuscript Collections

The Archives and Special Collections Department also includes Manuscript (abreviated as MSS) Collections. These collections are typically the papers and records of an individual or organization. For an individual, this can include material such as writings, both unpublished and Published, diaries, correspondence, finalcial records, photographs and so forth. Oganizational records, often include charters, by-laws, meeting agenda and minutes, financial records, photographs (such as the one on this page from the Joseph McClelland Collection MSS-007) newsletters, correspondence and other such documents. Each MSS collection has its own finding aid, or guide, which lists the materials contained within. Finding aids for our manuscript collections are available in paper or electronic versions. Both the manuscript collections, and the finding aids for them, are indexed in the Auraria Library's online catalog. The catalog record includes a link to the electronic version of the finding aids. The links below will lead to a list of the MSS collections held by Archives and Special Collections and to the electronic version of the finding aid for each collection.

Manuscript Collections
Online Finding Aids

Institutional Archives

Institutional Archives held by the Archives and Special Collections Department are comprised of several individual archival collections. There are separate collections for The University of Colorado at Denver; Metropolitan State College of Denver; The Community College of Denver; The Auraria Higher Education Center: and the Auraria Library. The kinds of documents contained in these Institutional Archives include newspapers, newsletters, meeting agenda and minutes, brochures, catalogs, reports, memorandum, correspondence, or any ohter material which has been appraised as having sufficient evidential, informational or histroical value to warrent perminent retention. Artifacts, such as the silver plated shovel used in the Auraria Higher Education Center ground breaking ceremony are also sometimes contained in these collections. Institutional Archive collections are usually arranged by the offices producing the documents, using a structure that generally reflects the schools organization chart. The Archives and Special Collections Department staff should be querried to determine whether required information is located in the Institutional Archives. These collections are not indexed in the library's online catalog.


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