Manuscript and Visual Collections

The Manuscript and Visual Collections at the William H. Smith Memorial Library provide a wealth of information for researchers.

Manuscript Collections

Manuscript collections in the William H. Smith Memorial Library include but are not limited to personal papers, such as letters and diaries, business records and oral histories. Strengths of the manuscript collections include:

• Old Northwest and Indiana Territories
• Indiana Ethnic History
• Indiana Civil War Soldiers and Civilians
• 19th- and 20th-century Indiana African American History
• Indiana Women's History
• Midwest Railroad History
• Indiana social history, especially the records of social service organizations
• 19th- and 20th-century Indiana political history, including biographies

Information on the manuscript collections can be found through:

• Searching the Library Catalog
• Searching the Alphabetical Index to Processed Manuscript and Visual Collections, alphabetical listings of collections
• The manuscripts card catalog, available in the library, contains information on collections that are not in the online catalog

Visual Collections

Visual collections in the William H. Smith Memorial Library include photographs, postcards, prints, posters, paintings, films and videotapes. Strengths of the visual collections include:

• Indianapolis, including the Bass Photo Co.
• Terre Haute, including the Martin's Photo Shop
• Abraham Lincoln
• Public Buildings
• Small town and rural Indiana
• Businesses
• Civil War
• Railroads

Information on the visual collections can be found through:
• Searching the Library Catalog
• Searching the Alphabetical Index to Visual Collections for which online collection guides or records in our online catalog exist.
• Visual Collection Descriptions for which no collection guides presently exist.