SPECIAL COLLECTIONS & VANCE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
Located on the main level of the Owen D. Young Library, this department is responsible for the rare book, manuscript, and photograph collections of St. Lawrence University. Special Collections also houses the Vance University Archives. While our collections support research in a variety of fields, we consider our collections to be primarily undergraduate teaching resources.
Hours
The
Frank and Anne Piskor Reading Room is open Monday - Friday: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30
p.m., and Wednesday evenings 6:00 - 9:00 when classes are in session. Telephone and e-mail inquires may be made from 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday. The Reading Room is also closed on holidays when the library is closed. Check the hours
of the main library for more information on holiday hours.
Guidelines
for collection use
Anyone is welcome to use the special collections and archives. If
you are coming from out-of-town, we would prefer that you contact us ahead
of time so that we can make any necessary preparations, but if that is
not possible, please feel free to visit anyway. Before using the collections,
you will be required to present valid identification and fill out a request
to examine specific materials. None of the items in these collections
circulate, and all must be used within our reading room. Users are welcome
to bring laptop computers. If you are taking notes manually, you must
use only pencils--no ball-point or fountain pens are allowed. Manuscript Collection and Rare Book Collection.
Resources for faculty
Special Collections materials inspire students by adding another dimension to their understanding of ideas and texts. Books, documents, maps and photographs-- in their original or early formats-- offer additional “texts” (sometimes called paratext) for students to consider. Plus they are just plain fun. Just ask! Play stump-the-librarian! In recent years we have worked with classes in Economics, English, History, Fine Arts, Global Studies, Sociology, and the First Year Program.
We have items and collections that are of interest to disciplines across the curriculum, and we can:
- Prepare specialized resource lists of materials available for particular courses & subjects.
- Host class visits in the Special Collections Reading room to introduce your classes to our resources and effective ways to use them.
- Assist you in designing assignments that use our materials.
- Assist students in ongoing research projects using our materials.
- Assist you in your own research by acquiring or locating specific materials.
Photocopying
Although users may not photocopy material themselves, our staff will
make copies for you at a charge of .25 cents/exposure and $2.50/quarter
hour, provided the item is strong enough to withstand copying. We reserve
the right to limit the number of photocopies made for any patron.
Proper
form for citing the collections
Please give credit to St. Lawrence University in any publications
of archival or special collections materials, using the following form:
Collection Name, Special Collections, St. Lawrence University Libraries,
Canton NY. Plans for publication of any material from our collections
should be discussed with the curator of special collections.
Copyright
information
Users should be aware that in many cases we do not own the literary
rights to the collections under our care. According to law, the writer
of a letter or unpublished manuscript has the sole right to publish the
contents thereof, unless s/he specifically gives up that right. Regardless
of the physical ownership of the manuscript itself, that right remains
with the writer and his or her heirs. Therefore, it is the responsibility
of an author to secure permission of the owner of the literary property
rights when quoting any unpublished material from the collection.
For more information on our services please see the Special Collections FAQ.
Online Collections
Stoddard Photographs
The Stoddard Photographs are part of the Adirondack Mountains Collection (Mss. Coll. 32). Scope Note: The Adirondack Collection consists of ephemera, promotional literature, maps, magazines, commercial photo albums, picture books, Seneca Ray Stoddard photographs, and 2 groups of unidentified photographs. Also included are the records of Citizens to Save the Adirondack Park, from 1975-1982.SLU Libraries Bookplates
The modern bookplate originated in the mid 15th century with the advent of printing in Europe. Libraries have used bookplates to identify ownership, recognize donors, and acknowledge gifts. Here is a sampling of some of the bookplates in the St. Lawrence University Libraries from the past 150 years.
For more information please contact:
Darlene Leonard, Assistant to the Archivist
Voice: (315) 229-5956 Internet: dleonard@stlawu.edu
Owen D. Young Library, St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York 13617
