Video by Alex Ramirez
The library’s Special Collections and University Archives (SCUA), located on the third floor of Vasché Library, is where Librarian Mary Weppler and her assistants work hard on preserving the history of CSU Stanislaus and the surrounding area.
Special Collections contains an assortment of one-of-a-kind items including exclusive monographs, paintings of previous university presidents, maps of the Turlock area and much more.
“It is our job to arrange, describe and make those available,” says Weppler. “And if they are historically significant, particularly to the university’s history, then we digitize those items.”
SCUA encourages researchers to find these collections through digital discovery methods like OneSearch and to reach out to the department for research appointments.
The University Archives encompass material that is relevant to the history of Stan State since its founding in 1957, such as published student theses, administrative documents, and even previous publications of the Signal. SCUA is currently undertaking the immense task of digitizing past publications of the Signal, currently dating all the way back to the 1960s. These historical newspapers are available to all Stan State students on Jstor.
Students who want to strengthen their research or have an interest in the history of the Stan State campus are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the Special Collections and University Archives, and to examine the wealth of information they maintain.
