New Digital Collection – Ulysses B. Roach Diaries

The Digital Library Center has recently digitized a set of diaries and farm accounts from Ulysses B. Roach, a farmer and plantation owner in Jefferson County, Florida. The diaries give us a detailed glimpse into the day-to-day life of Roach, who meticulously documented the weather and the quality of his crops. Ulysses B. Roach wrote

Spring 2023 Service Update

During Winter Break, Strozier Library’s basement and sub-basement experienced water damage due to an air handler coil freezing. Due to this, our services here at Special Collections & Archives will be altered for the Spring 2023 semester. Thankfully, we did not lose any collections or sustain significant collections damage in the flood. Damage to flooring,

Interacting with the Archives

In honor of October being Archives Month, I wanted to go over all the ways and places you can interact with our collections. There are multiple ways you can visit the archives at FSU. You don’t need an appointment, you don’t need to be doing deep research, and you don’t even have to come to

Welcome Back FSU!

Welcome back to all the new and returning students and faculty! We hope you all had a great first week back on campus. FSU Special Collections and Archives are excited to welcome you all and wish you luck with the fall semester! Be sure to come visit the SCA Reading Room to come see our

Postcards from the Library

This month, Special Collections & Archives teamed up with Student Outreach at Strozier to present Postcards from the Library, highlighting books and objects about travel, home, and identity. Our window display addresses FSU memorabilia and the International Program, general travel containing objects from the collections of our donors, World’s Fair souvenirs, and immigration and identity.

Introductions and the Medial S/f

We decided we would tell you a little about ourselves and the work we do in Special Collections and Archives. I am Dianna Bradley and I have been assisting in Special Collections and Archives for a little over 4 years now. I am a cataloger at FSU Libraries and work on managing our records, including

The Elmo TT-12F Document Camera and Special Collections Instruction

While the buzz of a classroom filled with excited discussion was somewhat lost in the move to a virtual space, this technology allowed us to share as much of the tactile experience of archives work as we could. 

Library History at FSU, Part 2

In this second installment of Library History at Florida State, we’ll be looking at the trajectory of the Library School since its reorganization in 1947. We’ll also be exploring how Special Collections & Archives has grown since its establishment in 1956. As mentioned in our previous library history post, the School of Library Training and

Library History at FSU, Part 1

The history of the Libraries at Florida State University traces back over 100 years to our beginnings as the West Florida Seminary. In the 1880s, students had access to both a reference library, housed in College Hall, and a more expansive “university library,” which was located off-campus. The first librarian for the university, J.A. Arbuckle,

Earth Day 50th Anniversary

Today, April 22 2020, is the 50th anniversary of the first celebration of Earth Day. The first Earth Day in 1970 was a major mobilizing event of inestimable historical significance. The event was such a success because it came at the right time as awareness of human effects on the balance of nature was growing.