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Miami archives move to King

By Laura Fitzgerald, Senior Staff Writer

Scrapbooks, presidential memos, class pictures and fraternity paraphernalia sit nestled in boxes in the University Archives at Withrow Court. Tucked between the shelves are artifacts like shriveled track shoes, a cannonball and even the door from the murder in Reid Hall 304, faded handprints still staining the old wood.

With the demolition of Withrow scheduled, the Miami University Archives are moving to the third floor of King Library alongside the Havighurst Special Collections.

It will take about three weeks to a month to move all the artifacts and documents, University Archivist and Associate Librarian Jacqueline Johnson said. Documents will start to be moved on March 27 and will go to about April 27. The third floor is currently being renovated to accommodate the archives.

Johnson says she is excited for the move because it may increase the visibility of the archives and make it more accessible for the community.

"It makes us more available to people. People come in, the archives are right there," Johnson said. "People can find us easier."

The archives contain three collections of documents and artifacts to each of the three universities throughout Miami's history: Miami University, Western College for Women and Oxford Seminary. There are about 3,800 boxes of documents in the archives, Johnson said.

Johnson said undergraduate and graduate students, community members and researchers use the archives.

"Some people may come in with a quick reference question, and they just want to have a picture," Johnson said. "Then we could work with a researcher up to three years."

There are a few items that need special care, such as glass negatives Johnson said. Glass negatives are an early technology in photography, in which pictures were captured on glass instead of paper. Movers use preservation boxes to carefully move the items.

Department of History Lecturer Helen Sheumaker says she brings her class to the archives to help them with research. Having that resource on campus is invaluable, she says, and allows students to feel and have a connection with the materials.

"Because the records are from university and colleges, that's the same environment that the students are currently in, so there's an immediate connection," Sheumaker said.

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Senior Hannah Blubaugh, a student worker for the archives, said the process for moving involves packing up documents and taking inventory of each box to make sure all the documents are in order. It also involves throwing out duplicates of documents and books that aren't needed.

She said alumni donate to the archives and also frequently use the archives to look up memorabilia from their time at Miami.

"Alumni come in usually wanting to look up class pictures and be able to relive their time here," Blubaugh said.

William Modrow, head of special collections assistant librarian at University Libraries, said there will be a reading room and a display room, where artifacts like the Reid Hall door will be displayed so everyone can see them. This is different from Withrow, where artifacts didn't have much visibility and were scattered amongst the shelves.

A consistent temperature and humidity is key when preserving old documents, Modrow said. The library will have an updated air handler, a device that will better control the ventilation and air quality of the room.

The archives contain documents and artifacts related to each of the three universities' histories.

This differs from Special Collections, which houses rare documents and books that are unrelated to Miami.

The archives were originally housed in the basement of the Old Oxford College, which is now the Community Arts Center. The archives moved to Withrow in 2001.

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