Special Collections & Archives

We help instructors incorporate archival research into their classes through:

• Sessions on how to locate and use archival materials
• Customized sessions on materials to support specific topics
• Tours and demonstrations to familiarize students and instructors with Special Collections & Archives
• Partnering to design course activities using archival materials
• Consultations with students and instructors on their research projects

Classes can take place in the Library or elsewhere on campus, depending on the archival materials needed. (Rare and fragile materials must remain in the Library.)

Contact us through Ask a Librarian or call Lisa Dunn at 303-273-3687.

Tours -- Come see a working archive! We host tours by appointment, open to everyone. Tours are approximately 45 minutes and typically in small groups (maximum 10). For participants, there will be standing and light walking. Let us know if you need physical accommodations. Please request a tour via Ask a Librarian.
 

Presentations -- We'll come talk with your group about:

• A specific subject or collection
• Show & Tell with the audience (including children) 
• Preservation tips for your personal items

Events -- 

• Exhibits in the Library
• Celebrations
• CSM History Roadshow -- Yes, we do take our act on the road

Primary sources are original materials that provide firsthand evidence or account. They are as close to what actually occurred at the time as its possible for you to get. Examples of primary source materials:

• Original photographs
• First-hand accounts published in the Oredigger student newspaper
• Correspondence between a mine owner and investor
• Descriptions and site maps created by the engineer in the field

Secondary sources interpret, rephrase, or analyze the event. Examples of secondary sources:

• Conference proceedings on mine remediation
• Scholarly articles about ropeway technology applications
• CSM press releases
• A published history of the School of Mines

Don't Overlook...

Advertisements -- What's advertised, where does it appear and how frequently? What's the message or "hook" for the viewer?  What does this tell you about the audience?

Cartoons, illustrations, caricatures -- Look at the subject and how it's depicted. What's the purpose of the work?

Biographies, obituaries, travel accounts -- These provide career histories and anecdotes on life experiences (mostly for alumni and faculty). International travel accounts are often full of interesting details.

Jokes, satire, pranks -- What is the author poking fun at? What are the underlying messages? Think about differences between how the work would have been received at that time and how it would be viewed today.