Friends Collection and College Archives  Tags: history quaker archives earlham esr  

Some of our policies may contrast with the policies of Lilly Library as a whole. Our hours are different, and we do not allow food or drink in the archives. Many of our items cannot be used outside the reading room. If you need copies from a rare book or manuscript collection, we will make them for you. Why?

Our hours are more limited as we have two professional archivists available for reference and research help during the day and occasional evening/weekend hours. Student workers help keep our archives open on the weekend and weekday evenings for limited research help. We wish we could be open more extensively, but with a professional staff of two it simply is not possible. If you have a class project that might require using primary sources, it is best to plan in advance!

Archives materials are valuable and often unique items, which is why we need to keep the Archives locked and secure after hours. Our rare books and manuscript collections must be used within our cozy reading room so they do not accidentally get lost. Many of our older items are brittle and must be handled carefully. If something happens to our rare books or manuscripts, they cannot be replaced. Consistent with Earlham's principles and practices, we put a high level of trust into our student workers and the Earlham community by not requiring registration for research and allowing backpacks into the reading room.

Rare items will be photocopied by archives staff so as to help better preserve them. Sometimes, if you use a particularly rare book or handle photographs, we may ask you to use white gloves for preservation purposes.

Food and drink is NOT allowed due to crumbs attracting various critters. Sightings have included silverfish, cockroaches, ants, and salamanders. Please help us preserve our unique materials!

(edit text )

The Friends Collection is one of the four or five largest in the world, with more than 12,000 books and nearly as many pamphlets, some going back to the 17th Century when the Society of Friends was founded. These works are supplemented with an extensive collection of Quaker genealogical materials. Personal diaries, letters, and detailed records of monthly and yearly meetings reveal the lives of thousands of Quaker men and women. Documents and Earlham's rare book collection are preserved under climate-controlled conditions. Some of these date back to the Middle Ages, and many are too fragile or rare to be housed on the open shelves. The Friends Collection draws hundreds of scholars and genealogists to Lilly Library annually. In addition to assisting these visitors, College Archivist and Curator, Thomas D. Hamm, answers nearly 400 inquiring letters each year. The Friends Collection includes about 150 manuscript collections open for research.

A few of our finding aids are available at the finding aid tab here in Libguides.

Currently, we provide brief descriptions of our manuscript collections and other Quaker records at the page below: