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 		    WILLIAM HENRY SMITH MEMORIAL LIBRARY :: collections  
  The collections in the William Henry Smith Memorial Library are briefly described below, along with general strengths. Additionally, many collection guides are available for online viewing.

Please choose from the following:


Manuscript and Visual Collections

Manuscript Collections

Strengths of the manuscript collections include:

  • Personal papers of Indiana Civil War soldiers and civilians

  • Papers documenting the early settlement of the Old Northwest and Indiana Territories, including conflicts with Native American tribes
  • 19th-century Indiana political history, including biographies of legislators
  • Indiana social history, especially as documented in the records of social service organizations
  • 20th-century Indiana African American history
  • Indiana women's history
Information on the manuscript collections can be found through:
  • The library's online public access catalog, available on the Internet
  • Collection guides or inventories to  individual collections, many accessible on the Web (see the Collection Guide Index)
  • Manuscript and Visual Collections Department subject collection guides, online subject guides briefly describing collections in women's history, ethnic history, and African American history
  • Entries in the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC), available online from the Library of Congress
  • Entries in ArchivesUSA, a subscription database available at many research libraries
  • The card catalog (available onsite in the Indiana Historical Society Library), which contains information on many collections that were accessioned at an early period, processed according to older standards, and are not yet reprocessed and accessible in the online catalog or online collection guides
  • A Guide to the Manuscript Collections of the Indiana Historical Society and the Indiana State Library, compiled by Eric Pumroy and Paul Brockman (Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1986), available in numerous libraries
  • ArchIE, a database for architectural records and photographs of buildings
  • Consultation with specific staff members in the department.
For additional information: A thorough search of the resources on the Indiana Historical Society Web site can give you a lot of information about our manuscript collections. If you are searching for particular names, try the search bar on the IHS home page.  If you have additional questions our Web site cannot answer, please contact the Manuscript and Visual Collections Department. Staff can devote a limited amount of time providing reference. We can also provide a list of researchers who will do extended research for a fee. To inquire about the manuscript resources at the Indiana Historical Society, email us and include the following information, all of which is required so that we can help you:
  • your full name and mailing address
  • a concise question or statement of your needs
  • an indication of the sources you have examined or other archives or libraries you have consulted
E-mail requests are distributed among Manuscript and Visual Collections Department staff members, placed in a queue with other requests (mail, telephone, and in-person) and answered in order of receipt.

Visual Collections

The Library's visual collections include photographs, postcards, prints, posters, paintings, films, and videotapes. 

Strengths of the visual collections include:

  • Photographs of Indianapolis, including the Bass Photo Collection, and Terre Haute, primarily the Martin Collection
  • Small town and rural Indiana at the turn of the 20th century
  • Indiana architecture

Information on the visual collections can be found through:

Printed Collections and Artifacts

Printed Collections

Printed collections in Indiana Historical Society Library include published books, pamphlets, maps, sheet music, and printed ephemera. The collections cover a broad range of subjects and all time periods in Indiana and Midwestern history.

Strengths of the printed collections include:

Information about printed collections can be found through:
  • The library's online catalog, available on the Internet
  • OCLC's WorldCat
  • The card catalog (available only on site at the Indiana Historical Society), which contains pamphlets cataloged in the Dewey Decimal System
  • Collection guides or inventories for individual collections, accessible online via a link in the cataloging record
  • Consultation with the Director, Printed Collections and Artifacts
Artifacts

Artifacts in the IHS Library consist of three-dimensional objects, mostly small in size.

 Strengths of the collection:

  • Political badges, buttons, ribbons, and other campaign paraphernalia
  • Pins, badges, buttons, and ribbons from G.A.R. encampments and related Civil War reunions
  • Memorabilia of Indiana's U.S. presidents and vice-presidents
  • Medicine bottles and equipment
  • Commemorative coins and medals
  • Printing and advertising blocks and plates
  • Product samples and commemorative articles representing various businesses, churches, and social organizations around the state
  • Three-dimensional items that are associated with a manuscript or mixed collection

 Information about the artifacts collection can be found through:


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