Archives and Special Collections Online: This is an online database of archival collections on specific individuals, organizations, and university records at Purdue. It contains detailed descriptions of archival collections and their creators.
e-Archives: This is an online database that contains digitally-created and digitized photographs, manuscript collections, videos, and oral histories located in Archives and Special Collections. Notable collections in e-Archives include a full run of the Debris yearbooks, the Board of Trustees Minutes, and the George Palmer Putnam collection of Amelia Earhart papers.
Purdue Alumni Directories: The alumni directories contain information on when a particular student graduated, their area of study, their address, and their occupation and place of employment after graduating. Coverage is from 1987-2008, however, the directories prior to 1969 are much more detailed than the more current ones.
Debris: The Debris yearbook is useful because it is heavily illustrated with photographs and contains information about student life, student organizations, campus activities, and profiles of graduating seniors. Coverage available from 1889 until 2008.
Vertical Files: Vertical files contain clippings from the Purdue Exponent and Lafayette Journal and Courier and occasionally other Purdue publications. They are organized by subject and span from 1950 to the early 2000s. They are a useful resource if you are trying to find background information on someone or something.
Publications Index: The Publications Index contains references to Purdue publications such as the Exponent, Debris yearbook, and the Alumnus alumni magazine from 1920 until 1970. It is useful in locating background information on an individual affiliated with Purdue or an event and predates the Vertical Files. The Index is available to search online.
Purdue Course Catalogs: Early Purdue course catalogs (prior to circa 1940) contain a surprising amount of information, including listings of students and faculty, information on campus buildings, facts pertaining to university history, and more.
Purdue Annual Reports: Annual reports are a good source of information on what happened at Purdue during a specific year. The Board of Trustees minutes are useful for this type of information as well.
Faculty Papers
The university archives is responsible for collecting the personal papers of prominent Purdue University faculty and staff. These materials are a rich source for historical research and include items such as biographical information, professional and personal correspondence, teaching materials, research materials, drafts and manuscripts of books and articles, publications, and photographs.
Alumni Papers
Alumni papers include items such as scrapbooks, photo albums, Purdue clothing, correspondence, artifacts, and materials specific to the careers and accomplishments of those who attended Purdue. These materials are useful for informing others about what student life was like at Purdue during a particular time period.
Organizational Records
The university archives collects materials pertaining to activities of campus organizations, including both student groups and official university organizations.
Departmental Records
Each department at the university generates records that document the activities of the university, and it is part of the university archives’ mission to collect and preserve them. Such materials are instrumental in tracing the history of the university and of prominent individuals on campus.
Administrative Records
Administrative records document the actions and reasons of decision making bodies on campus.