Archival Collections
Alumni Publications represents a wealth of writings by and about the alumni and faculty of Dartmouth College and the professional schools. The collection was begun by Harold Goddard Rugg 1906, Associate Librarian of the College, and represents an interesting and comprehensive history of alumni writings for the first 150 years of the College. From 1922 to the present the collection is more limited. Titles published by contemporary alumni and faculty which support the Manuscript Collections or otherwise are of significant interest are actively sought. Works by Dartmouth professional school graduates, professional school faculty, and honorary degree recipients are not acquired with any regularity. Biographical material on all alumni and faculty is added to the collection. Clippings and reprints of articles are added to the Alumni Files; reprints and offprints by graduates prior to 1926 are in the Alumni Pamphlets Collection (these are accessed via the card catalog in Special Collections).
The Alumni Publications measure over five hundred linear shelf feet of books and one hundred and fifty linear shelf feet of pamphlets and articles. Examples of alumni and faculty represented are: John Ledyard 1776, explorer; George Ticknor 1807, educator and author; John Humphrey Noyes 1830, social reformer; Salmon P. Chase 1826, Secretary of the Treasury and Chief Justice; Richard Hovey 1886, poet; Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa) 1887, physician; Ernest Just 1907, biologist; Charles H. Hitchcock honorary 1908, educator and geologist; Ramon Guthrie honorary 1938, educator, novelist, and poet; Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) 1925, author and illustrator; Richmond Lattimore, 1926, educator and interpreter of the classics; Nelson A. Rockefeller 1930, governor and Vice-President; Budd Schulberg 1938, novelist; Louise Erdrich 1976, poet and novelist. The Alumni Publications are cataloged: they can be accessed by name, title, or subject via the online catalog.
The Dartmouth College History collection is a major component of the Dartmouth College Archives, consisting of publications by and about the College, including the professional schools, as well as the town of Hanover and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Examples include: course catalogues, directories, bulletins, committee minutes and reports, financial reports, annual reports, college and local histories, posters, sports publications and directories, yearbooks, student newspapers and literary journals, alumni magazines and class publications. The collection supports the administrative records of historical value in the College Archives. It occupies well over three hundred linear shelf feet of printed material, and fifty plan file drawers of oversized items. Dartmouth College History publications are cataloged: they can be accessed by author's name, title, or subject via the online catalog.
Alumni Files contain biographical information about the deceased alumni of Dartmouth College. The information comes from newspapers, the "Dartmouth Alumni Magazine," class newsletters, and a multitude of other sources; most of the information is compiled by the Alumni Records Office. The Alumni Files may contain newspaper clippings, obituaries, alumni survey forms, directory survey information, reprints and offprints, some correspondence, and occasional photographs. In addition to the alumni of Dartmouth College, there are files for honorary degree holders, and "adopted" members of the class. There are also alumni files of Dartmouth Medical School for the Classes of 1798 - 1900. There are alumni files of some alumni of Thayer School. There are similar files for faculty, staff, and administration of Dartmouth. The Alumni Files occupy nearly three hundred linear feet.
Vertical Files are a "ready reference" source of subject files. The files cover a range of topics from "chinning" (a 1920s term for fraternity rush), to the dedication of the Berry Sports Center, to the decision to make Dartmouth a coeducational institution. The subject files are compiled from numerous sources such as the student newspaper, committee reports, and alumni magazine articles. While the files frequently provide an overview of a particular campus issue or topic, they do not substitute for the source records. The Vertical Files are accessed via a topical list; they occupy more than 70 linear feet.
The Webster Collection is a comprehensive collection of manuscripts and publications by and about Daniel Webster (1782-1852). Webster was an 1801 graduate of Dartmouth College, a member of Congress 1813-17 and 1823-27; U.S. Senator 1827-41 and 1845-50; and Secretary of State 1841-42 and 1850-52. There are approximately 2,000 manuscripts in the collection. Most of the documents are letters to or from Webster. The manuscripts also include his speeches and other writings such as his notes in preparation for the Dartmouth College Case. In addition to the manuscripts, there is a large collection, approximately 150 volumes, of his published speeches and writings. Also notable are the approximately 250 volumes published eulogies commemorating Webster. The Webster Collection also includes more than 55 linear shelf feet of books about Webster. The Microfilm Edition of the Webster Papers is available via interlibrary loan. A guide to the microfilm edition has been prepared. Access to the holdings of the collection can be gained in several ways. Most of the manuscripts are cataloged, accessed through the card catalog in Special Collections. Manuscripts that have been acquired in the past 10 years are accessed in the online catalog, as are the book collections. Published speeches and the eulogies are not cataloged.
The Hanover Town Records collection is a joint effort by the Dartmouth College Library and the Town of Hanover to manage, preserve, and make available for research the public records of the town of Hanover. In 1988, the Town of Hanover deposited a segment of its records in the Special Collections Department. These records begin in 1761, the year Governor Benning Wentworth granted a charter to the colonial proprietors, and continue into the twentieth century. Among the records are documents from the proprietors, town meeting minutes, nineteenth century documents concerning paupers and the insane, tax inventories and assessments, and vital statistics. The records are open to the public. A guide to the collection is available in the Special Collections Department.
The Photographic Records Catalog is a collection of thousands of images that are a visual record of Dartmouth College life (locale, people, and events). These images were created by College Photographers Adrian N. Bouchard (1938-1976), Stuart Bratesman (1985-1993), Joseph Mehling (1993-2011), Eli Burakian (2011-present) & Robert Gill (2015 - present). Only images from ca. 2000 will be viewable online, though text descriptions of most images are available by searching the collection. Please note the call number of any image that you wish to use in your project. For a description of services and a price list, please check here.
Email : Photographic Records
The Photograph Files contain approximately 300,000 photographic prints of the campus grounds and facilities, Dartmouth people, and campus events. The photographs date from the nineteenth century to present; there are albumen prints, tintypes, cyanotypes, and modern black-and-white glossy prints. The holdings are accessed by a topical list. There are some additional sources for photographs in Special Collections. The photographic images created by the College Photographer are maintained in Photographic Records. Photographs of individual alumni are generally filed in the alumnus' Alumni Files. Photographs are also found in the Iconography Collection and "Mem Book" [Scrapbook] Collection. Reprographic services are available. For a description of services and a price list, please check here.
Oral histories and video recordings provide researchers with a rich and varied perspective on Dartmouth during the twentieth century. The College Archives collects oral history interviews, both audiotapes and transcripts when available, with past presidents, administrators and staff, faculty, alumni, and students. Notable among these are interviews by Edward Connery Lathem, Emeritus Dean of Libraries, with Robert Frost and Pres. Ernest Martin Hopkins, as well as interviews by Professors Jere Daniell and Arthur M. Wilson with Pres. John Sloan Dickey, administrators, and faculty. Researchers will find interviews with Biology Professor Hannah Croasdale and President David McLaughlin, as well interviews concerning campus planning conducted by architect Lo-Yi Chan '54. Among the video recordings are interviews with President John Kemeny, selected Dartmouth faculty, and women at the Dartmouth Medical School. For further information about holdings search the online catalog via individuals' names, as well as using the subject access points: Dartmouth College interviews, oral histories, and video recordings.