The purpose of The Ohio State University Archives is to identify, preserve, and make available the records and papers of continuing administrative and historical importance to the university.
The Archives contains records, papers, publications, audiovisual materials, and approximately two million photographic images. These items range in age from the 1870s, the beginning of the university, to the present.
The University Archives collects:
- Official records from administrative offices
- University photographs and audiovisual material
- University publications
- Student organizations records
- Papers of distinguished faculty.
- Student papers (records of student activities on campus such as scrapbooks, photographs, and programs).
- Records from professional organizations within which The Ohio State University is active
The University Archives may also accept:
- Papers of distinguished faculty. Criteria for selection includes: length of service at OSU, administrative positions held, and internal or external recognitions for teaching, research, or service. Faculty members in the Department of English may be directed to the Rare Books and Manuscripts Department.
- Student papers (records of student activities on campus such as scrapbooks, photographs, and programs). Criteria for selection includes: uniqueness of the items, their representation of student life on campus, as well as their condition.
- Records from professional organizations within which The Ohio State University is active. An agreement explaining the relationship between the organization and the Archives is required.
Typically, materials in the University Archives from students, faculty, and professional organizations arrive as donations. For potential gifts that require extraordinary resources in preservation, storage, processing, and cataloging, the University Archives consults The Ohio State University Libraries, in accordance with The Ohio State University Libraries Special Collections Gift Acceptance Policy.
Although the collecting mission of the Archives has the history of the university within its broad focus, there are areas not within that focus.
The University Archives does not collect:
- Student transcripts (Issuing office: University Registrar)
- Personnel files of staff members (Issuing office: Office of Human Resources)
- Papers of alumni unaffiliated with The Ohio State University or after they are enrolled
- Books produced by The Ohio State University Press
- Athletic film (Issuing office: Department of Athletics)
- Magnetic tapes or disks from the university’s computer and data processing services
- Raw data files and personal research notes which are used to create reports, articles, and other writings
- Papers and records relating to the history of the State of Ohio or the City of Columbus (Contact: Ohio History Connection)