Donations from students, alumni, and friends
College Archives accepts artifacts related to the institution or to your time here. Special format materials documenting the history of St. Olaf College include, but are not limited to:
- audio and audiovisual materials, and (soon) audiofiles
- still photographs, slides, negatives, films, and (soon) digital images
- oral histories and their transcripts
- maps, blueprints, etc.
- scrapbooks, notebooks, photo albums, diaries, notebooks, letters, etc
- tickets, fliers, and other ephemera
- textiles
We do not accept:
- yearbooks (see our complete digital collection)
- college catalogs (see our digital collection)
- back issues of the Manitou Messenger (see the digital collection)
- triplicate publications (we strive to keep two copies when available, but no more)
- publications better suited to the Rolvaag Library Collection, Special Collections, or NAHA
- artwork better suited to a museum collection
- most clothing
- moldy or damaged items
Deposits from campus offices and departments
The College’s official retention schedule offers a detailed list of materials to be retained. Please refer to the schedule when preparing your department files for deposit in the College Archives. Each college department/office/entity is responsible for organizing their files, culling duplicates, and arranging deposits to the Archives. Please work with your student employees to complete this work before depositing material with us.
We do not accept:
- Blank forms and unused printed or duplicated materials
- Duplicate material (retain only the original and any annotated copies)
- Replies to questionnaires if the results are recorded and preserved in the Archives or in a published report